MANU ANDES & PARROT CLAY LICK 4 DAYS / 3 NIGHTS
(Bus -Bus) (WEDNESDAY - THURSDAY)
Country:PeruCategory:Easy
Season:All year around (departures on Wednesday)
Transportation: Bus, boat and airplane
Accommodation: Camping and lodge
Highlights: The cloud Forest,Tropical Rainforest flora and fauna, jungle exploration and the Parrot clay lick.
DAY 01.-It is necessary to leave Cusco early in order to reach the cloud forest - traveling through Andean landscapes of great beauty, with deep valleys, highlands, rural communities and picturesque colonial towns such as Paucartambo, which has been the gateway to the Manu forests since pre-Hispanic times. Acjanaco pass (3,850 m.a.s.l) marks the official entrance to Manu National Park. From here the road descends to the cloud forest, passing the important ecosystem comprised of Andean grassland, where vegetation is sparse, before reaching the cloud forest in the afternoon. This is a very rich area in terms of flora and fauna, the habitat of the Cock-of-the-Rock (Rupicula peruviana), Quetzal, Blue-crowned motmot, Toucans, Spectacled Bear (South America's only bear), White-tailed deer, butterflies, ferns and orchids. We will spend the first night in our cloud forest Paradise Lodge.
DAY 02.-After our first night in the cloud forest, and before breakfast, we will take a walk in the forest to see the Cock-of-the-Rock in a daily ritual in which eight to ten males perform in order to attract the attention of the female. We will then return to the Lodge for a healthy and fortifying breakfast and continue our trip to the port of Atalaya, from where we will board our boat downstream to our camp in the hot springs in the Upper Madre de Dios River, near to a Macaw clay lick.
DAY 03.-Before breakfast about 5:30 a m, we will hike to a position some 30m (90ft) from the collpa, a rich deposit of natural minerals and clay in the river sidewall. From here, we can observe several species of parrots and parakeets arriving, followed by macaws in a colorful and impressive show. If there is a good weather you can have the opportunity to see around 300 individuals. After this unforgettable spectacle and a good breakfast we will continue downstream to the village of Boca Manu, where we will be joined by others passengers arriving by light aircraft from Cusco. As we travel downriver we will be able to see a variety of birds among the trees as well as caimans. More or less at noon we will enter the Reserved Zone of the Park for a 4 hour hike in this primary forest. At nightfall we will stay in a comfortable lodge In Boca Manu, at the entrance to the Park. This is an opportunity for a nocturnal walk, during which we will hopefully see nocturnal birds such as the sand-colored nighthawk as we listen to the spectacular sounds made by Night monkeys (Musmuqui), the world's only nocturnal primate, the Amazon bamboo rat, numerous species of toads and insects and other inhabitants of the forest which only emerge at night.DAY 04.-In the morning we will go to the airfield at Boca Manu, where we will board our plane to Cusco. Staff from our office will be waiting for you at the Cusco Airport to take to your hotel.