Introduction
Manu Reserve Park, established in 1973 by the Peruvian government, is a biosphere reserve in the Madre de Dios region (Cusco) that is part of the immense Amazon Basin. It’s main rivers, Manu and Alto Madre de Dios join the Amazon River in Brazil. In the more than 17000 sq meters of land and rivers, visitors can find a wealth of biodiversity and wildlife.
The park is divided into two main areas: the reserve area, the largest of the two, a virgin untouched forest where five tribes with barely any human contact live; and the buffer area, inhabited by farmers and cattlemen whose main crop is coca leaves. Visitors to the park can access the buffer zone known as cultural zone, in tours that range from 2 to 6 days; 7 to 9 days tours go deeper into the cultural zone. Access to the reserve buffer zone is restricted and visitors need a special permit from the Peruvian government.
- Day 1: Cusco to San Pedro de las Orquídeas by bus
Our tour to Manu Reserve Park started with a pick up at 6:30 in the main street near our Airbnb. Once everyone else was on board, we went to small town Oropesa where we tasted it’s famous bread and waited for the last passenger who was arriving from the Arequipa night bus.
Because the entry to the park is accessed via land, traversing the Andes mountains, it was a very long journey from Cusco to San Pedro de las Orquídeas, our first lodge. On top of that, the bridge that connected the main road to the road towards the park was closed due to maintenance and the driver had to take a long detour. We just stopped a few times to stretch our legs and have lunch at the park entry.
We barely saw any bird life on our way down towards San Pedro de las Orquídeas, but we were lucky to see some interesting bugs near the lodge at night time.
- Day 2: San Pedro de las Orquídeas to Erika Lodge
The cloud forest is a type of rain-forest that grows at high altitudes (3000 to 5000 feet), it also sees more than 100 inches of rainfall and the larger trees have epiphytes. It’s usually surrounded by mist and fog, hence its name, cloud forest.
We started the day with a one and a half hour hike on the cloud forest road towards Erika Lodge, marveling at the lush forests and incredible bio-diverse plant life we found on our way. Among others we saw oropendolas (a type of bird), various types of butterflies and a myriad of plants.
After one hour and a half, our bus picked us up and we continued the journey farther down for about half an hour, when we stopped for the second hike of the morning. This time we walked for 40 minutes in search of the famous woolly monkey and other bird life. We saw a woolly monkey family from afar, eating fruit.
This time, when the bus picked us, it drove all the way down to Ataya, where we would pick the boat to reach Erika Lodge. On the way, we saw the transition area between the cloud and the rain-forest, the crops of banana and mostly coca leaves and some small villages on the lower elevations. Once in Atalaya, we took a speedboat to cross the river Alto Madre de Dios. We ate in the boat.
Once we were settled in our rooms at Erika Lodge and had rested for one hour, we went out with rubber boots to hike in the rain-forest for two hours. If the cloud forest found in higher altitudes was amazing, getting into the rain-forest was like entering another mystical world of trees, epiphytes, bugs and wildlife. Once under the magnificent canopy trees, walking on the narrow muddy paths of the verdant forest, all connection with civilization was forgotten.
We had dinner shortly after the hike. Then we took our lights and put on the rubber boots once more for a short hike of the rain-forest at night. Bugs come alive at night and during this one hour hike we saw a plethora of diverse insects: a number of different spiders, stick insects, leave insects, ants of different species, crickets, butterflies, even a small frog.
- Day 3: Kolpa, zipline adventure and Machuwasi lake
We woke up very early to witness a marvel of nature, the morning feeding of the macaws of kolpa, a mineral soil they eat to purge their system off toxic fruits. Our departure had to be delayed due to the heavy morning rain but we finally took the boat half an hour later.
After the kolpa and breakfast, we had an optional adventure on the rain-forest, canopy zipline. The activity consisted of three descents of increasing difficulty on ziplines and a 12 meters rappel down a tree. To reach the ziplines, we walked for 45 minutes through the rain-forest, soaking wet because it was still raining and we wearing our ponchos on the humid hot weather.
The guide split the group in two as there was not enough equipment for all of us. Once in the platforms, he explained how to use the equipment and some safety measures. Once we had finished the activity, we walked back to a meeting point and gave the equipment to the other group. As thrilling as the zipline activity was, I enjoyed the walk through the rain-forest the most.
Erika lodge’s cook prepared an interesting lunch, rice with chicken and eggs, cooked inside banana leaves. She also put some Pico de Gallo (onion, tomato and chilly, thinly sliced) for those who wanted a bit of spiciness in their food. It was delicious.
We were supposed to leave to Machuwasi lake just after lunch, but there was only one available boat and it was raining once again. We quickly took off with our rubber boots, a poncho and some water when boat came back to the accommodation. The trip to the lake took 20 minutes by boat and a 40 minute very wet walk as we had to cross a knee-deep river. But it was worth it. The lake was a magnificent place, with its trees, reeds and quirky punting boats. There we saw hoatzin, a prehistoric bird, vermilion cardinals, oropendolas, butterflies and even a capybara from afar.
We made it back to Erika Lodge just as night was falling, and we were lucky to see a large toad on the way to the lodge.
- Day 4: hot springs
This was our final day in the rain-forest, we would be back to Cusco on the next day, but part of our group left on the boat towards Atalaya as their had already ended. As mentioned before, there was only one boat for all and it’s engine was broken, so all trips were delayed. For the four of us remaining, it was a relaxing morning on the hammocks watching hummingbirds and reading.
The only activity for the day was a two hour trip to hot springs located downriver on the rain-forest. The hot sulfuric spring comes out of the mountain, testament to the volcanic past of the area. It is mixed with cold water from another spring on a pool they have built. It was a nice relaxing experience and we were even thankful when it started to rain.
The boat trip back to the lodge took almost three hours but we stopped on the way two times, one to see a family of howler monkeys and a second time to see a family of capybaras. On the river, we also saw some aquatic birds such as spatula rose or herons.
We had the last dinner at Erika Lodge and said goodbye to the people who had worked so hard to make our trip so fantastic, including the delicious food.
- Day 5: Erika Lodge to Atalaya by boat and Atalaya to Cusco by bus
It had down poured all night and the swollen river was full of debris, mostly broken trees. We were a bit concerned that our small boat wouldn’t make against the strong current, so we all breathed easier when we saw Atalaya, silently pushing the boat onward to reach the harbor.
As on the first day, it was a long day on the bus back to Cusco, stopping only to stretch our legs and for lunch on the park entry. On the ascent towards the entry, we saw a magnificent bird hovering on the clouds.
We had dinner with some people from the group at a fancy but nice restaurant.
*For more information visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%C3%BA_National_Park and https://www.govisitcostarica.com/blog/post/difference-between-cloud-forests-and-rainforests.aspx
**This tour was provided by tour operator Manu Adventures. For more information on this tour, visit http://www.manuadventures.com/manu_wildlife_expeditions_5days.html
