DETAILED PROGRAM

DAY 1: CUSCO - RAINFOREST LODGE

We leave from Cusco by our private bus, driving through the mountains, to get to the typical folkloric town of Paucartambo. Here we take a short walk around the town before carrying on to Ajanacu, the entrance to the Cultural Zone of Manu Park. From there we continue enjoying since the mountain grass land, elfin forest, cloud forest where will walk for several hours to visit a complex courtship behavior, performing impressive lek displays of Cock of the Rock national bird of Peru (Rupicola peruviana),quetzal, Motmot, monkeys and orchids. We arrive at our private Rainforest Lodge in the evening where we will stay for the night.

DAY 2: RAINFOREST LODGE - BONANZA ECOLOGICAL RESERVE

After breakfast we continue by private bus to Atalaya. On the way we stop to observe a coca plantation and at a view point where you can get a good overview of the jungle and the river. From Atalaya we leave by motorized boat to Aguas Calientes, where you can bathe in the natural hot springs. During the boat trip we will see many different kinds of animals, especially birds, and the beautiful landscape. In the evening we walk to the mammals’ clay lick where we prepare our beds (protected by mosquito nets) in the camouflaged house and wait to see wild pigs and tapirs feeding on the mineral salts. We spend the night here taking shifts to watch for nocturnal animals.

DAY 3: RESERVE ECOLOGICAL BONANZA - JAGUAR ECO LODG

We leave the lodge very early and continue our journey downriver (Alto Madre de Dios River) to go into the Reserve Zone on the Manu River. Our first stop there is a national park control point (Puesto de Vigilancia Limonal). Halfway to Jaguar Eco lodge we do a first short walk in the Reserve Zone. During the boat trip we will observe many different kinds of animals such as capybara, peccaries, monkeys, lots of birds and caimans and you will also get a chance to spot a jaguar. Later in the afternoon, we arrive at Jaguar Eco Lodge where we will spend the night. (Optional night walk there.)

DAY 4: JAGUAR ECO LODGE

In the morning we visit Cocha Salvador. From a catamaran we watch animals such as gamin herons and spider monkeys and enjoy watching family of giant otters fishing and Macaw Clay Lick. After lunch we start our excursion thought the virgin jungle to Cocha Otorongo Lake, where there is a 20m high observation tower. From this tower we will have another chance to see giant otters and black caimans. For the rest of the day, we will explore the jungle, looking for more species of monkeys. The guide will also explain about the jungle lifestyle, flora and fauna, medical plants and jungle food. We might also find a group of peccaries. In the evening we can enjoy the beautiful sunset and return to Jaguar Eco Lodge, where we spend the night.

DAY 5: JAGUAR ECO LODGE - RESERVE ECOLOGICAL BONANZA (Mammal’s clay lick)

We leave the Jaguar Eco Lodge very early to have another opportunity to see a jaguar on our way out of the Reserve Zone. After a short stop in Check Point Limonal, we continue upriver (Alto Madre de Dios River) to Reserve Ecological Bonanza. In the afternoon, we arrive at Bonanza Ecological Reserve where we will have a short rest and do our jungle walk and enjoy the beautiful Observation Tower up in the canopy, giving you the advantage to see macaws, toucans, and tanagers. After dark we look out for Tarantulas, spiders, tree frogs and snakes. We spend the night at our comfortable lodge.

DAY 6:  RAINFOREST LODGE – CUSCO

We get up early to return to Atalaya by boat. Our private bus is waiting to take us back to Cusco via the cloud forest and Paucartambo. We will arrive in Cusco in the late afternoon