Manu National Park is located west of Puerto Maldonado. Access is easier and cheaper from Cusco. It takes a one and a half-day journey by bus and boat. A more comfortable but expensive option is a 25-minute flight from Cusco.

This area was declared a National Park in 1973 in order to protect its great diversity of flora and fauna and its expansive pristine areas. It was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1977 and a World Natural Heritage Site in 1987 by UNESCO.

The success in preserving such a large tract of pristine rainforest is largely due to the inaccessibility of the area. Several indian groups continue to live inside the Park, some of which have not yet had contact with outsiders.

Manu is home to more than 800 species of birds, including the harpy eagle, jabiru, and cock-of-the-rocks; over 200 species of mammals such as the black maquisapa monkey, giant river otter, black cayman, jaguar, ocelot, spectacled bear, and huemal deer. There are many varieties of insects and reptiles yet to be classified. Among more than 2,000 species and unique varieties of plants there are giant orchids and trees that tower up to 45 meters high and 3 meters in diameter (147 ft tall and 10 ft in diameter).

A number of native communities also live in this area, with their own traditions, language and culture: the Matsiguenga, Amahuaca, Yaminahua, Piro, Amarakaeri, Huachipaire and Nahua.

Manu boasts the highest bird, mammal, and plant diversity of any park on Earth, including 1,000 of the world’s 9,700 bird species, 200 species of mammals, and 15,000 species of flowering plants. The most photogenic spectacles are frolicking Giant Otters, thousands of parrots and macaws at a riverbank clay lick, dancing Cocks-of-the-Rock, habituated monkeys, and huge Lowland Tapirs at a forest clay lick.

One of the lodges, Manu Wildlife Center, currently offers the world’s finest viewing of this elusive animal, which elsewhere is harder to see even than the Jaguar, which also is a frequent sight in Manu.

This five-night program provides a complete overview of the habitats and wildlife of all elevations along the road-and-river route from Cusco to the Manu lowlands. We travel in our expedition bus down the orchid-festooned cloud forest road to Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, which offers the world’s finest viewing of these blazing scarlet birds. The following day, we drive and boat to Pantiacolla Lodge in the foothills of the Andes. On day three, we boat to Manu Wildlife Center and spend three nights there exploring the vast Manu lowlands. This trip includes one visit each to the Macaw Clay Lick, the Tapir Clay Lick, a canopy platform, and a mature oxbow lake.