4
nights Manu Lodge, Machu Picchu and Cuzco with city and
Pisac/Ollantayambo tour
10 days / 9 nights
From $3367 per person, double occupancy for 2008
Includes
domestic air, accommodations, guided excursions, transfers
and meals as specified
All Lost World Adventures itineraries are
privately guided, and may be modified to suit personal
travel dates, interests and budgets.
Day 1: US - Lima
Upon arrival at Jorge Chavez International Airport,
claim your baggage and proceed to Customs & Immigration.
You will then be met by our local representative and transferred
to your Lima hotel.
Overnight accommodations at the new (opened
June 2007) Hotel Costa del Sol Ramada Lima, with daily
buffet breakfast included. Conveniently close to the airport,
this four star hotel features 130 rooms, restaurant, bar,
business center, wireless internet, spa, and beauty salon.
Day 2: Lima
- Cuzco
Proceed on own to the Lima Airport (located across the
street). Check in for your flight to Cuzco. Airport reception
in Cuzco and transfer to your hotel, the Posada
del Inca Hotel or similar.
After settling in set off on a tour of
Cuzco and the nearby Inca ruins. Cuzco, the oldest continuously
inhabited city on the continent, was the capital of the
Inca Empire and is considered by many Quechua peoples
to be the spiritual center of the world. Much of colonial
Cuzco was built on Inca foundations, and your guide will
point out Inca stonework along the many streets. Visit
the main square, the Cathedral, Santo Domingo Church,
as well as a first introduction to Inca stonework at the
ruins of Puka-Pukara, Qenqo, Tambo Machay, and the renowned
fortress of Sacsayhuaman overlooking Cuzco and the surrounding
valley. (B)
Day 3: Pisac
& Ollantaytambo
This morning depart with your guide for a full-day excursion
to the village and ruins of Pisac located 20 miles from
Cuzco. After exploring the ruins you will visit a colorful
Indian market where you'll be able to trade with locals
for a variety of handicrafts. Lunch will be served in
Urubamba, followed by a tour of the town and fortress
of Ollantaytambo located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
(B,L)
Day 4: Cuzco
- Machu Picchu
Set off on a scenic four-hour trip through the Urubamba
Valley, followed by a 20-minute bus ride up to the breathtaking
"Lost City of the Incas"--Machu Picchu. Set in the saddle
of a mountain 1,000 feet above the Urubamba River, Machu
Picchu escaped ransacking by the Spaniards. Explore the
walls, stairways, temples and terraces with your guide.
For the more energetic, a moderate 2-mile hike up to the
Sun Gate offers fabulous views overlooking this ancient
wonder. Overnight at Machu
Picchu Pueblo Hotel, or for an additional charge,
upgrade to the Machu
Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, located adjacent to
the ruins. (B,L)
Day 5: Machu
Picchu - Cuzco
Enjoy a full morning visit to the citadel. In the afternoon,
return to Cuzco by train, where you'll be met and transferred
back to your hotel, the Posada
del Inca Hotel. (B)
Day 6 (Thursdays):
Cuzco - Manu Lodge
Early morning departure on our comfortable Trans Manu
bus, equipped with reclining seats and HF radio. Our destination
today is Manu Nature Tour's 1,300 Ha. Private Reserve
in the cloud forest near the southeastern boundary of
Manu Park, nested between the grasslands and the lowlands
of the Upper Madre de Dios River. You travel southeast
through small Andean villages while you observe cameloid
shepherds and native peasants in their colorful attires.
You travel at leisure making several stops along the way,
including many photo opportunities, a group of pre-Inca
"Chullpas" or funerary monuments, and the colorful
colonial town of Paucartambo. As you reach the Acjanaco
pass, near the southern-most tip of the Manu Park, a delicious
lunch is the perfect complement to the magnificent views
of the elfin forest, cloud forest, and the lowland Amazon
Basin below.
You reach the Manu Cloud Forest Lodge to
have a relaxing evening by the lodge's veranda. The sound
of the Union Creek by the lodge and a visit to the lodge
sauna will put you into a pleasant sleep. (L,D)
Llama Taxis: As you reach the southern-most
point of Manu National Park, in the grasslands, you will
have the chance to ride a Llama Taxi. Led by local peasants
and pulled by a couple of these intelligent cameloids
you will have a chance to get off the bus and ride from
the Andean grasslands to the elfin forests as you watch
the Amazon basin in the far horizon, 11,000 ft. below.
This is an opportunity to learn about the Andean culture,
their way of life and the use of cameloids to participate
in ecotourism, while preserving these wild ecosystems.
The Llama Taxi initiative has been funded and started
by Manu Nature Tours in an effort to include local Andean
peasants in the benefits of ecotourism. Two, llama-assisted
treks are now being planned to descend from the Andes
into the rainforest.
You may ride a Llama Taxi for segments
of 30 minutes. If you want to bird watch, these vehicles
are ideal. At a 5 km/hour speed, they are slow, silent,
and patient.
Mountain Biking: For those with the
energy and a sense of adventure we will offer the choice
to use a sturdy mountain bike to descend effortlessly
on the most scenic and beautiful part of the single-lane
dirt road into the heart of the cloud forests. For your
security, and since this is not a competition but a chance
to enjoy nature, you will have to ride behind our transport.
We provide bike helmets and gloves.
Day 7: Manu
Lodge
After breakfast, you head towards Atalaya, the first navigable
port on the Upper Madre de Dios River. The ride will take
you through small villages of Andean colonists and indigenous
people whose main economic activities are rudimentary
farming and low-scale logging. Once at Atalaya you board
motorized boats, equipped with individual cushioned seats
and long tarps to provide shelter from the baking sun
or the sudden tropical downpour. River journeys are long
in Manu and visitors have rated our boats as the most
comfortable in the entire region. You will boat down the
fast-flowing, braided, clear water, upper Madre de Dios
River for about four hours to the confluence with the
meandering, Manu River. As soon as you enter the great
Manu wilderness, every river bend will bring a vista of
unspoiled beauty. You may see Black Caiman, White Caiman,
toucans, parrots, scores of wild macaws, several species
of raptors, and maybe even a magnificent Jaguar. The best
proof of the presence of Jaguars and the possibility of
many tour groups to see these great cats are the many
wonderful amateur photographs that our customers have
sent back to our company.
After about four hours, you arrive
at the Juarez Lake sandbar, then hike 600 meters along
a flat trail to the Juarez oxbow lake, where guides paddle
you in a catamaran to the secluded Manu Lodge, the only
full lodge in the entire protected wilderness of Manu.
If during the dry season the catamaran cannot be used
due to the low water level in the lake, you will walk
a one kilometer trail (about twenty minutes) only taking
your hand-bags with us while the main luggage is carried
by lodge personnel. Overnight at Manu Lodge. (B,L,D)
Day 8: Manu
Lodge
We rise to the loud call of Howler Monkeys, and to the
option of a dawn paddle on the lake. During breakfast
from the dining room, you may be able to see entire troops
of Squirrel Monkeys, Brown Capuchins, and White-Fronted
Capuchins that may be visiting the lodge clearing in search
of palm fruits. Without any doubt, one of the highlights
of Manu Lodge is the family of four Giant Otters who usually
breed there. Manu Lodge visitors have been able to see
these playful and gregarious carnivores from a 15-meter
distance without causing any disturbance of their daily
activities. This group of Giant Otters visits the Manu
Lodge every now and then, and when at Juarez, they can
be seen at different times of the day. Surprisingly, a
few dead logs in front of our dining room are their favorite
spot to eat fish, preen, and play.
Manu Lodge offers the largest and most
complete trail system available in Manu (over 20 km of
marked trails), and the result of standardized trail walks
completed by groups of researchers over the course of
several years, show that "it is actually those sections
closest to the lodge and most heavily visited, which were
the most productive in terms of mammal sighting. This
suggests that the presence of tourists and researchers
is not having a disturbing effect on the local mammal
population." (1995, Durham University Expedition
Report.)
Two miradors are located within a close
distance from the Manu Lodge; when clear they allow visitors
with a vista of the canopy that stretches to the snow-capped
peaks near Cusco. A dawn visit to the miradors is the
most rewarding and while we look at the seemingly endless
horizon, several primate and bird species may reward our
patience. Mirador visitors regularly see: White-throated
Jacamar, Paradise Tanagers, Opal-rumped Tanager, and Swallow
Tanager. Eye-level sights of Red and Green Macaws, Scarlet
Macaws, and Blue and Yellow Macaws as they fly by the
mirador, and turn their heads to look at us is an unforgettable
memory. On some occasions visitors have been rewarded
with sights of Ornate-Hawk Eagle, and the monkey-eating
Harpy Eagle. At over a meter-high, its yellow legs and
talons seem larger than human arms and hands.
(B,L,D)
Optional: Canopy climbing. During your
stay in Manu Lodge you have the chance to explore the
rainforest canopy at a closer range. Our staff can take
you for a spectacular and safe climb to a platform located
76 feet above the ground. Overnight: Manu Lodge.
There are almost 500 bird species recorded
in the vicinity of Manu Lodge. Some of these species have
traditional nests right next to Manu Lodge. These "neighbor"
species include: Black-tailed Tityra, Yellow- rumped Cacique,
Golden-bellied Euphonia, Palm Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager,
and Masked-crimson Tanager. immediate vicinity of the
Juarez lake offers you easy and superb sightseeing of:
Striated Heron, Wattled Jacana, Yellow-billed Tern, the
bizarre Hoatzin, White-winged Swallows, Black-capped Donacobius,
and Red-capped Cardinal. Other frequent visitors of the
Manu Lodge are: Great Egret, Green Ibis, Osprey, and Black-collared
Hawk. All of them can be easily seen from the lake banks
or from our comfortable catamaran. Overnight: Manu Lodge.
Macaw Roosting & Nesting Site:
In the afternoon we will visit old oxbow lake, within
a 15-minute boat ride from Manu Lodge presents large stands
of Mauritia Palms, which make wonderful roosting and nesting
sites for dozens of Blue and Yellow Macaws and Red-bellied
Macaws. An elevated platform will provide visitors with
"next to stage seats" to watch these colorful
birds, as they play, preen and display while their bright
plumage reflect the golden light of the setting tropical
sun.
Day 9: Manu
- Puerto Maldonado
At 06:00 o'clock you start your river journey back to
the confluence of the Manu and the Madre de Dios. This
journey is your last chance to spot a Capybara, the world's
largest rodent, or a Tapir, a relative of horses and the
rainforest's largest mammal. After about three hours you
will reach Boca Manu for a brief stop and to refuel the
boats. From Boca Manu you will explore the lower portion
of the Madre de Dios River where you may have a chance
to see the large Red-and-Green Macaws perched on the trees
or making short and long flights to the rain forest canopy.
Although the lower Madre de Dios River, in the vicinity
of the Macaw Lick is not within the protected Manu National
Park, the riverine wildlife viewing is surprisingly diverse.
On a recent scientific survey on this area our biologist
guides have spotted: Black caiman, white caiman, capybara,
river turtles, over 200 wood storks, roseate spoonbills,
horned-screamers, turkey vultures, snowy egrets, great
egrets, cattle egrets, several species of oropendolas,
swallow-winged puffbirds, white-banded swallows, white-winged
swallows, black-collared hawk, large-billed terns, yellow-billed
terns, neo-tropical cormorants, scarlet macaws, blue and
yellow macaws, tui parakeets, shiny cowbird, great-black
hawk, giant cowbird, bat falcon, black cara-cara, cocoi
herons, road-side hawks, Orinoco geese, bare-necked fruit-crows,
black skimmers, pied lapwings and tropical kingbirds.
You will also see several lowland
native settlements and gold miners digging and panning
gold along the banks of the Madre de Dios River. The river
ride is perhaps the best option to spot the diversity
of wildlife that each bend of the river may offer to all
visitors. About seven hours later, you will stop in the
far-west type gold-mining town of Laberinto to start the
overland journey to Puerto Maldonado. Upon arrival in
Laberinto you will have the chance to see a true frontier,
gold-mining town where everything, from food supplies
to outboard motors is praised in "grams" (grams
of gold, that is!) From Laberinto a comfortable van will
take you to the jungle city of Puerto Maldonado in approximately
one-hour along the inter-oceanic highway that will link
Brazil with the Pacific Ocean. Only 11 kilometers of the
fifty of this road are now paved.
The city of Puerto Maldonado sits at the confluence of
the Tambopata and the Madre de Dios River and it is the
capital of the jungle department of Madre de Dios. Arrival
in Puerto Maldonado and transfer to a local hotel. (B,L)
Day 10: Puerto
maldonado – Lima - Int'l Departure
Hotel pickup and transfer to the Puerto Maldonado airport.
Check in for your flight to Lima. Upon arrival in Lima
you will be met and assisted to your international flight
home. (B)
*Optional 5, 6 and 7 night programs
available at Manu.
Contact
us for a customized itinerary of Peru.
