4 Nights / 5 Days
This 5-day program takes travelers from the city of Cusco to Andean highlands, through colonial villages and down into the Amazon basin, with its fabulous biological diversity and fascinating living culture. Active travelers may choose to take part in a downhill mountain biking program through the cloud forest, or whitewater rafting on a jungle river. The lowland forest macaw clay lick offers one of the greatest spectacles seen anywhere in the natural worldPersonal items and medicines (gear, clothing, laundry service, telephone calls, etc.)
Tips to local staff (we recommend $8-10 per day of service for each guide or driver)
Alcoholic beverages
We will leave the city of Cusco early in order to have plenty of time to enjoy the attractions on the route to the cloud forest. We will pass through the Andean scenery of the Cusco region, crossing grasslands and inter-Andean valleys with their small, traditional farming communities. During this trip it is possible to see highland birds such as mountain caracaras, Puna ibises and Andean flickers. Archaeological sites along the way include the pre-Inca Lupaca culture burial towers on the road to Paucartambo, where we will visit the local church and view the colonial-era Carlos V Bridge. From Paucartambo, our journey continues as far as the high pass at Acjanacu (3,850 meters / 12,628 feet), and the entrance to Manu National Park. It is from here that the road passes through high Andean grasslands inhabited by Andean guans, white-collared jays, crimson-mantled woodpeckers and the endemic Puna thistletail. Passing through these grasslands, we will enter the cloud forest, where there will be time to walk along the road to observe local flora and fauna. Birdlife here includes the cock-of-the-rock, golden-headed quetzal, blue-crowned motmot, mountain toucan, flycatchers, jays, hummingbirds and several varieties of tanager. Spectacled bears and white-tailed deer also inhabit these forests, along with butterflies, ferns and many species of orchids. Our first night in the cloud forest will be spent at the comfortable Paradise Lodge
Driving distance: 181 km / 113 miles (6 to 8 hours)
Included: Lunch & evening meal
Altitudes: (1,470 meters / 4,821 feet).
Your first full day in the cloud forest begins with an early morning walk, during which we will observe the remarkable courtship ritual of the cock-of-the-rock, when up to 10 males perform to attract a female. We will return to the lodge for a nourishing typical local breakfast, after which we will spend the rest of the day walking in the forest, in search of interesting birds, monkeys, mammals, plants and insects. There will also be time for a swim in the cool waters of a jungle stream. In the late afternoon, we will board our bus for the drive to the river port at Atalaya, where we will take a boat downstream to a typical local jungle lodge. After our evening meal, there will be time for a walk in the surrounding forest in search of nocturnal species, before getting an early night to prepare us for the next day.
Driving distance: 71.6 km / 44.8 miles
After a good local breakfast, we will board our boat and head downstream as far as the village of Boca Manu. During this river journey it is possible to see several species of birds, such as great-billed terns, tiger herons, snowy egrets, black skimmers and black vultures, while the river is also home to caimans. After visiting the village, we will continue to the Blanquillo private reserve, where birdwatchers will have a chance to spot birds of prey, including harpy eagles, falcons and vultures. After your evening meal, you will be invited to join your naturalist guide on a walk in the forest around Lake Blanquillo to observe caimans and enjoy the sounds of the forest, including the calls of toads and insects and the cries of night monkeys, known locally as musmuquis. This is the world’s only nocturnal primate.
Making an early start, we will walk for 30 minutes to the camouflaged blind located just 30 meters (90 feet) from the macaw clay lick, an area of the riverbank rich in the minerals essential to the diet of parrots and macaws. We will watch as several species of parrots and macaws gather in large numbers, in what is an incredibly noisy and colorful spectacle. After enjoying this astonishing experience, we will return to our camp for breakfast, before setting off once more to spend the day at Lake Blanquillo. Fauna here includes giant river otters, caimans and turtles. There will be time to walk the nature trails around the lake during the day, and after dark we will walk in the forest and board our canoe in search of nocturnal species, including caimans.
After a nutritious breakfast, we will board our boat for the ride downstream to the gold mining village of Colorado, where our private vehicle will be waiting to take us to the Inambari River. After crossing the river, we will continue by bus to Puerto Maldonado, arriving in the late afternoon, where we will spend the night in a comfortable hotel.
Andean Adventures Peru is located in the ancient city of Cusco, at the heart of any trip to Peru. We have been offering and operating cultural, ecological and adventure travel in the Andean region and the Amazon basin since 1985. Read More...
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