Day 1    Cusco - Paucartambo - Pilcopata Lodge
We leave Cusco early in the morning in our prívate transportation and will arrive mid-morning at the interesting tombs of Ninamarca, commonly know as Chullpas. After a brief visit we'll continue to Paucartambo, a picturesque colonial town where we will stop for a few mintues to learn about its' history. We will continue up to the Acjanacu pass which marks the beginning of the Cultural zone of the Manu biosphere reserve. Here, a thick cloak of clouds provides perpetual humidity and makes an ideal habitat for epiphytic plants such a bromeliads. During our descent into the cloud forest we'll take a break from the bus and do some walking to look for cloud forest birds such as trogons and the Peruvian National bird, "Cock of the Rock" (Rupicola peruviana) as well as a great variety of orchids, tree ferns, heliconias, mosses and lichens. In the afternoon we'll reach our lodge for dinner where we have electricity and hot water. Night in lodge.

Meals LD

Day 2    Atalaya - Shintuya Lodge
After breakfast we'll transfer 15 mins to the Manu Wildlife Center where we can get up close and personal with capibaras, tapirs, peccaries, monkeys and macaws. We will continue for another 15 min until we reach the port of Atalaya and our motor boat. We'll head down river by boat 2 hrs until we reach the Pantiacolla mtn range and the community of Shintuya where we can stop and explore. We continue by boat a few minutes until we reach our lodge where we will have lunch. Afterwards we'll trek up into the jungle to the waterfalls. Returning to the lodge we can relax in the hotsprings at twilight. At night we'll have a night walk looking for bullet ants, colorful spiders and termite nests. Night in lodge.

Meals BLD

Day 3    Clay Lick - Machuhuasi - Soga de Oro Lodge
Very early in the morning we take a boat to Parrot clay lick "Collpa de Loros" located on the river banks where many species of parrots such as the Blue-Headed Parrot and White-Eyed Parakeet can be seen licking the clay to get minerals and salt supplements very important for their diet of seeds and fruits. The clay is negatively charged and helps rid them of toxins. After that we'll head upriver by boat 2 hrs to Lake Machuhuasi where we will hike 20 mins to the lake where we will explore the lake by catamaran (log rafts). Afterwards, we'll cross the lake in our boat to our lodge for lunch. In the afternoon we'll trek up into the jungle in search of the Choro monkey learning about the native plants and trees along the way. Night walk options. Night in lodge.

Meals BLD

Day 4    Atalaya - Cusco
After a delicious breakfast we will come back by boat to the port of Atalaya then return by bus to Cusco observing the cloud forest on the way. We'll arrive around 5 - 7 pm.

Meals BL