The Manu Biosphere Reserve has the highest diversity of life on Earth and is one of the most important conservation units in the world. This tour provides a superb cross-section of all the habitats. We also visit the world-famous Inca ruins of Machu Picchu surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery on Earth.

Day 1: Lima
You will be met at the airport and transferred to a comfortable hotel for the night.

Day 2: Huacarpay Lakes
This morning we will take a flight to the ancient city of Cusco where we will head out with a picnic lunch to the Huacarpay lakes south of town. Here we will see a variety of high Andean waterfowl, wetland birds, and a selection of typical highland passerines. We will likely see the spectacular and endemic Bearded Mountaineer feeding in flowering bushes near the lake. Night in Cusco.

Day 3: Cusco to Manu
Today we will leave early, first driving through scenic intermontane valleys. We will make selected stops for two smart endemics: Creamy-crested Spinetail and Chestnut-breasted Mountain-Finch. We’ll spend the night in the new Wayqecha Cloudforest Research Center. This new addition to the tour is a perfect stopover to break up the long trip down the Manu Road, and allows us better coverage of the higher elevations. (Occasionally Wayqecha is unavailable, in which case will spend this night in Cock-of-the-rock Lodge)

Day 4: The Upper Manu Road
As we continue our decent down the eastern slope, it’s hard not to be awed by the steep slopes blanketed with cloudforest as far as the eye can see. We’ll target some tough birds like Red-and-white Antpitta, and jump out of the bus at the first sign of a mixed-species flock, and may see such gems as White-collared Jay, Barred Fruiteater, White-browed Conebill, Golden-collared Tanager, or Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan. In the afteroon, we arrive at the comfortable Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, where we spend two nights.

Day 5: Cock-of-the-rock Lodge
Just a few minutes walk from our lodge is a spectacular Cock-of-the-Rock lek furnished with comfortable blinds to observe the amazing males during their mating rituals. Along the trail system we can explore the mossy cloudforest, searching for the likes of Moustached Wren, Slaty Gnateater, and Chestnut-breasted Wren. Birding up and down the road we will quickly build up a list of mid-elevation birds, and possibilities include Solitary Eagle, Golden-headed Quetzal, Black-streaked Puffbird, Blue-banded Toucanet, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Yungas Manakin, and a dazzling array of tanagers.

Day 6: Lower Manu road
After a final morning in the birdy cloudforests we will descend further down the Manu road to the comfortable Amazonia Lodge, located at an elevation of 1750 ft (500 m) on the upper Madre de Dios and our base for the next three nights.

Days 7-8: Amazonia Lodge
We have two full days at this family-run hacienda, which already has a bird list of well over 500 species. It is situated where the last low foothills of the Andes begin to flatten out into the vast Amazonian lowlands. The floodplain near the lodge is covered in second growth only a few decades old, while on the steep hillsides tall primary forest is found. While birding the varied habitats at the lodge we will see a very rich assortment of birds. Some species we will especially look for include Blue-headed Macaw, Rufous-crested Coquette, Bluish-fronted Jacamar, Chestnut-capped Puffbird, Fine-barred Piculet, Bamboo Antshrike, Black-backed Tody–Flycatcher, and Golden-bellied Warbler.

Day 9: River trip
After another couple of early morning hours at Amazonia Lodge we will board our motorized dug-out canoe that we will take us down the Madre de Dios to Manu Wildlife Center.

Days 10-12: Manu Wildlife Center
We have three full days based at this premier jungle lodge, one of the best and most renowned in all of South America. Diversity is spectacular, and we’ll our time birding trails, towers, and oxbow lakes. Large stands of bamboo hold many local and sought-after species, and the extensive varzea, terra firme and transitional floodplain forest hold a mind-boggling variety of bird-life. A canopy observation tower gives us a chance to see the canopy birds at close range, including many species of toucans, aracaris, tanagers, euphonias, woodpeckers, parrots, oropendolas, and others. Some of the more interesting species we will be searching for in the bamboo include Manu Antbird, White-cheeked Tody-Flycatcher, and Peruvian Recurvebill. We also look for the near-endemic Rufous-fronted Antthrush, Razor-billed Curassow, Pale-winged Trumpeter, Pavonine Quetzal, Purus Jacamar, Striolated Puffbird, and Gray-cheeked Nunlet, to name but a few. There will be an optional visit to the large mammal lick here, which can attract Tapirs, Peccaries and maybe even a Jaguar.

Day 13: Macaw Lick and travel to Puerto Maldonado. This morning we will visit the lick and observe the spectacle of hundreds of parrots and macaws at close quarters from our floating blinds. Red-and-green Macaw is a highlight and the beautiful Orange-cheeked Parrot is a regular visitor here. We’ll spend the rest of the day traveling downriver by boat and bus to Puerto Maldonado, where we spend one night.

Day 14: Travel to Ollantaytambo
Today we take a commercial flight back to Cusco; depending on flight schedules, there may be some time for some morning birding near Puerto Maldonado. After a lunch in the city, we will drive north into the Sacred Valley to the town of Ollantaytambo for the night.

Day 15: Abra Málaga
We will need an early start as we drive up one of the most serpentine roads on the planet to a very high pass at 14,000 ft (4,300 m). Near the pass are groves of Polylepis woodland with several globally threatened species such as Royal Cinclodes, Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant, and White-browed Tit-Spinetail. The walking is quite difficult due to the elevation. Later in the day we will target other species in the roadside scrub such as the endemic White-tufted Sunbeam, before returning for another night in Ollantaytambo.

Day 16: Machu Picchu
After the long day yesterday we will enjoy a bit of a lie-in! We will catch a mid-morning train to Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu. The rest of the day we will explore the beautiful and fascinating ancient Inca ruins and look for a few birds such as Inca Wren. We will have a local guide to give us a walking tour of the ruins, or you may choose to explore on your own.  Night in a hotel in Aguas Calientes.

Day 17: Return to Cusco
The train doesn’t leave until after lunch, so we will have a full morning to bird the subtropical cloudforest around the town. This area is good for species like Green-and-white Hummingbird, Masked Fruiteater, Variable Antshrike, and Silver-backed Tanager – all birds that we probably would not have seen on the Manu road. Optionally, some people may wish to return to the ruins for a final visit. Night in Cusco.

Day 18: Lima and Pucusana
We fly back to Lima, where we’ll spend the afternoon birding the seashore and wetlands south of the city. After a stop in an airport hotel to shower and repack, we’ll transfer to the airport for late evening flights home.

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TRIP CONSIDERATIONS

CLIMATE: Hot and humid in the lowlands to very cold at Abra Malaga. This is a dry season tour, but there is the possibility of a “Friaje”, a strong cold front moving up from the south that can bring periods of unusually cool weather and rain.

DIFFICULTY: Moderate. There are some long journeys and early starts, but the walking is usually fairly easy. The strenuous walk to the Polylepis is optional – those not wishing to do the hike can stay with the bus.

ACCOMMODATION: The jungle lodges are comfortable but simple; some do not have full-time electricity, but provide a generator for a few hours a day to charge batteries. Amazonia Lodge and Wayqecha Research Center have shared bathrooms. The hotels in Cusco, Ollantaytambo, and Machu Picchu are superb. Single rooms are not available at Wayqecha Research Center, but we will find you a roommate of the same sex if you are booking as a single.