Andes to Amazon

6 days from £2010pp plus international flights.

highlights

See changing landscapes as you journey through Peru
Witness life in rural Andean villages
Observe the varied bird life of the cloudforest
Explore the Amazon by boat and on foot
Watch as scarlet macaws flock to the clay lick

This journey offers a spectacular descent from Peru's Andean mountains through the cloudforest and down into the rainforest. It is a wonderful trip for seeing the birdlife, plant life and wildlife of these diverse regions and ecosystems.

You will see valleys at high altitude where farmers eek a living from this tough terrain, grasslands and elfin forest, the unique cloudforest, tropical valleys where tropical fruits and coca are cultivated, and you'll end in the prolific, lush Amazon rainforest.

You'll travel by road and by boat, and return from the forest by plane.

Manu Wildlife Centre is in one of the bio hot spots of the world, and offers some truly amazing wildlife viewing in its proximity.

This is a nature and wildlife adventure par excellence, and has a real sense of journey too.

Itinerary

DAY 1: ANDES TO CLOUDFOREST

Leave Cusco and travel through the Andes, reaching an altitude of 3,900m before descending through grassland and forest. On the way you will stop at mountain villages, pre-Inca site and for a picnic lunch. We reach the lush cloudforest with its overhanging trees, giant ferns and teeming birdlife in the afternoon and arrive at Cock of The Rock Lodge with time to visit the viewing platform and the chance to spot Peru's dazzling national bird, after which the lodge is named.

DAY2: CLOUDFOREST TO AMAZON

An early visit to the lek to see the Cock of the Rock and a secluded nature walk to the river and back looking for wildlife. After breakfast, we continue our drive through rolling hills and farmland. We should reach the port of Atalaya by midday and should arrive, river conditions permitting, at Amazonia Lodge in time for wildlife viewing along one of the many forest trails.

DAY 3: MANU WILDLIFE CENTRE

After a short hike on the lodge trails, we continue our journey, following the Alto Madre de Dios river past the last foothills of the Andes. We stop at the mouth of the Manu river and walk to the boatyards at Boca Manu, where dugout canoes are built. It is approximately a 6 hour boat ride to Manu Wildlife Centre, one of the world's top 10 wildlife lodges. After settling in, we head out into the rainforest on forest trails, learning about plants and forest ecology and hopefully encountering some of the native monkeys.

DAY 4: MANU WILDLIFE CENTRE

A boat ride and forest walk brings us to the Macaw Lick project. From the hide we will watch the scarlet macaws, first in twos and threes and then in flocks, scraping clay from the hard surface. After lunch at the lodge we explore the network of trails and reach the Canopy Tower in the late afternoon, before walking to the Tapir Clay Lick. From the viewing platform we can watch these normally shy creatures as they snack on the clay, seemingly oblivious to our presence.

DAY 5: MANU WILDLIFE CENTRE

This morning we take catamaran ride on an oxbow lake, looking for Giant Otters, monkeys and water birds. We may also see and hear Hoatzins amongst the bushes near the waterline. After lunch at the lodge, we have the option of a guided wildlife tour or to explore the trails at our leisure. If the river level allows, there will be a chance to search for caiman and other nocturnal life along the riverbank.

DAY 6: DEPART

We leave the lodge early for the two and a half hour boat ride downstream to the Colorado Village, enjoying breakfast en route, watching wildlife and observing native settlements. This is followed by an overland journey to Puerto Carlos, a crossing of the Inambari River and the two and a half hour drive to the airport in Puerto Maldonado, where the tour ends.

Price & Dates

Guide price from (pp sharing): £2010 (ex. international flights)

Price notes: 2017 guide price pp sharing: £2010 on fixed departures each Saturday from March to December. Private departure are available at extra cost every day in these months.

Includes:

Bus and boat transportation; twin share accommodation; all meals and snacks; purified water and juices; bilingual naturalist guide; visits to the Macaw Clay Lick Project, Tapir clay licks, oxbow lake, canopy platforms and trail hikes.

Excludes:

Flights and taxes; visa; insurance; meals not shown; drinks; tips; personal expenses.

Getting there:

To get to Peru you need to fly into Lima. From here a domestic flight takes you to Cusco. From Europe Iberia Airlines or KLM are most frequently used for this route. There is no direct flight from the UK to Lima. A return flight will cost from about £900.

Departure dates: This is a set departure trip which departs on a Saturday every week from March through December. If you're interested in this holiday, please drop us a line for actual dates.

places you will see

Manú and Tambopata
Giant otters, harpy eagles, tapirs, red howler monkeys, the famous macaw clay licks ... All this and stunning rainforest, cloud forest, oxbow lakes and jungles in this incredibly bio-diverse region of the Peruvian Amazon. It's a nature-lover's delight.

accommodation

Our recommended accommodation options include:

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