Manu Wildlife Center
(4 Days / 3 Nights)

This lodge is located east of the Manu River on the north bank of the Madre de Dios River. It is reached by a 45-minute flight from Cusco aboard a modern, radar-equipped, turboprop aircraft, followed by a 90-minute motorized canoe ride, and offers the Amazon’s finest short, in-depth wildlife safari. The lodge is famous for its abundant and varied wildlife, with its own Tapir clay lick, a nearby macaw and parrot clay lick, two nearby oxbow lakes and two tall canopy viewing towers among its impressive highlights.

Please note that all rainforest itineraries may vary slightly so as to maximize wildlife sightings, depending on the reports of our researchers and experienced naturalist guides

ITINERARY
Day 1: Cusco to Boca Manu and Manu Wildlife Center.
An early morning transfer to Cusco airport will be followed by a 45-minute flight by turboprop aircraft to Boca Manu, and then a 90-minute motorized canoe journey down the Madre de Dios river to Manu Wildlife Center, in time for lunch.

In the afternoon we make our first acquaintance with the rainforest, exploring some of the 30 miles of forest trails that surround the lodge. We have an excellent chance of encountering some of the 12 species of monkeys, including the Monk Saki and Emperor Tamarin, which inhabit the surrounding forest.
After dinner there will be an enchanting night walk along the trails, in search of the nocturnal birds and animals of the rainforest.

Day 2: Manu Wildlife Center: the Macaw Claylick, Canopy Tower & Tapir Claylick.
Another early start (inevitable on wildlife expeditions), is followed by a short boat ride downstream. We take a 20-minute trail through palm plantations to a cut-off channel of the river, where we find the Blanquillo Macaw Lick. A spacious hide provided with individual chairs and a convenient place for cameras and binoculars is our ringside seat for what is usually a very spectacular show. We enjoy a full breakfast here while waiting for the main actors to arrive.

In groups of twos and threes the big Red-and-Green Macaws come flapping in, landing in the treetops as they eye the main stage below -- the eroded clay banks of the old channel. Meanwhile the supporting cast appears: these may included Blue-headed, Mealy, Yellow-crowned, and Orange-cheeked Parrots -- and the occasional villain, a menacing and unwelcome Great Black Hawk.

The drama plays out in first in tentative and then bolder approaches to the lick, until finally nearly all the macaws, parrots and parakeets form a colorful and noisy spectacle on the bare banks, squabbling as they scrape clay from the hard surface.

(Please note that the clay lick is most active from August to October and less so during the months of May and June.)

We return to the lodge for lunch, and then we continue to explore and discover the rainforest, its lore and plant life, on the network of trails surrounding the lodge, arriving in the late afternoon at our 34m/112ft Canopy Tower. On its platform we witness the frantic rush-hour activity of twilight in the rainforest canopy, before night closes in.

Later we set off along the “collpa trail”, which will take us to the lodge’s famous Tapir Clay lick. Here at the most active tapir lick known in all the Amazon, our research has identified from 8-12 individual 600-pound Tapirs who come to this lick to eat clay from under the tree roots around the edge. This unlikely snack absorbs and neutralizes toxins in the vegetarian diet of the Tapir, the largest land animal of Latin America. The lick features a roomy, elevated observation platform 5m/17ft above the forest floor. The platform is equipped with freshly-made-up mattresses with pillows. Each mattress is covered by a roomy mosquito net. The 50-m-long, elevated walkway to the platform is covered with sound-absorbing padding to prevent our footsteps from making noise. This Tapir Experience is unique and exciting because these normally very shy creatures are visible up close, and flash photography is not just permitted, but encouraged.

The hard part for modern city dwellers is to remain still and silent anywhere from 30 minutes to two or more hours. Many prefer to nap until the first Tapir arrives, at which point your guide gently awakens you to watch the Tapir 10-20m/33-66ft) away below the platform. Most people feel that the wait is well worth it in order to have such a high probability of observing the rare and elusive Tapir in its rainforest home.

Day 3: Manu Wildlife Center: Cocha Blanco and the Wildlife Trails. We set off early for Cocha Blanco, an old oxbow lake full of water lilies and sunken logs. As we circle the lake on our catamaran we might encounter the resident Giant Otter family on a fishing expedition, or troops of monkeys crashing noisily through the trees. Wattled Jacanas step lightly on the lily pads, dainty Sun Grebes paddle across the water, supple-necked Anhingas air-dry their wide, black wings, and perhaps an Osprey scans for fish from a high branch.

Among the bushes near the waterline, Hoatzins, which look like rust-colored, punk chickens, announce their presence with distinctive, bizarre wheezing and grunts. Woodpeckers, tanagers, macaws, toucans and parakeets all finally come swooping in to trees surrounding the lake. Many of them roost around the lake for the night.

After lunch at the lodge our guide is available to lead us on freewheeling expeditions in search of further wildlife encounters, or we may take one of the lodge’s many trails on private and personal excursions to commune with the spirits of the rainforest.

This evening, from late afternoon until after dinner, we can take a boat ride in search of caiman (alligator-like reptiles), and other nocturnal wildlife along the riverbank.

Day 4: Manu Wildlife Center to Cusco.
After an early breakfast, we leave on the two-hour boat trip to the Boca Manu airfield, enjoying early morning wildlife activity as we go. From here we fly to Cusco, where our rainforest adventure ends with a pickup and transfer to our hotel.