Itinerary
Day 1
We leave Cusco early in the morning. Around mid-morning we visit the interesting Pre-Inca tombs of Ninamarca, commonly known as "Chullpas". We continue to Paucartambo, a picturesque Spanish colonial town, and then to the Acjanacu pass, which marks the beginning of the Cultural Zone of Manu Biosphere Reserve. Overnight stay in Orquideas de San Pedro lodge.
Day 2
Today we wake up very early to observe the Cock-of-the-Rock, Peru's national bird. After breakfast we continue by bike down the narrow road between waterfalls and canyons toward Pilcopata town (*1) for 2 hours approximately. We then take a 30 minutes bus ride to the port of Atalaya. From here, we board our covered boat and head down the Alto Madre de Dios River for approximately 30 minutes toward our private reserve of "Erika Lodge", where we will spend the next two nights. On arrival you will have a short tour of the area surrounding the lodge.
(*1) Optional:
Descend with mountain bikes from the Cloud Forest (1,700m) to Pilcopata town (700m). For experienced bike riders only.
Day 3
Erika Lodge is located in a transition zone between high and low jungle (600m to 1,150m), encompassing different habitats. This altitude range explains the high diversity of wildlife found around this lodge, so immediately after breakfast, we will start walking near the riverbanks, during the hike our guide will talk about insects, medicinal plants, trees, reptiles, mammals, etc. This afternoon we board our boat, and after five minutes, we will walk for another 30 minutes down a pretty trail to Machuwasi Lake where we can observe great egrets, tucanets, carpenters, Keskadees, cardinals and more. In the evening we take a short night walk to observe American bullfrogs, horned frogs, tree frogs and an incredible variety of insects.
Day 4
We wake up early and take a walk with our guide who will explain us about the animals of the habitat. After breakfast we have time to do some activities. Early afternoon we will look for the wildlife in this jungle: Possibility to do night walk. Overnight our lodge.
Option: Canopy Zip Lining:
Our guests traverse from tree to tree and platform to platform zip-lining. Expert guides assist you in this exciting journey through the different layers of the virgin rain forests and explain what's going on around you, from the time you leave the ground, until you rappel back down to the forest floor.
Day 5
This day we will get up very early to board our boat, and after five minutes, we will arrive to a Parrot Lick "Collpa", which is a wall of clay in the riverbanks, where many species of parrots such as the blue headed parrot, white-eyed parakeet, feed for mineral and salt supplements to their digestion of seeds and fruits. After breakfast we will board the boat to Atalaya port, which will take us to Cusco city. We have lunch on the way arriving late in the afternoon in Cusco.
