|
Browse Trips by Destination
 |
|
Eco-Lodges
|
|
Browse Trips by Activity
|
|
Armchair Travel:
Destination Guides |
|
Guidebooks
|
|
Ambles & Rambles Articles
|
|
Travel Smart
|
|
Travel and Conservation
|
|
About Sacred Earth Travel
|
Manu National Park is known as the most pristine wilderness reserve in
Peru, boasting the richest wildlife and least disturbed ecosystem. In order to keep the wilderness wild and to protect wildlife as much as possible, access to the
reserve has been restricted. Only certain limited areas are open to a small number of
tourists, scientists and film crews and unlike many other Nature Reserves,
Manu does not have many eco-lodges situated along its periphery. Thus, most
journeys to this remote wilderness area are very low impact camping trips that are designed for active, healthy
travellers. Participants must be in good physical condition and be prepared for a certain amount of physically demanding environmental
factors. Such 'close to nature wilderness travel' is undoubtedly the best way to really experience untamed nature.
Sacred Earth is proud to be working with one of the most conscienscious eco-travel organization operating low impact camping tours in Manu. The company is run by a very dynamic young Dutch biologist and her staff. Their mission is to help protect the fragile environment of this pristine rainforest wilderness by opening people's eye's to its wonders and teaching them about the intricate ecology. Lead by expert naturalist guides, who love to share their extensive knowledge and enthusiasm for the rainforest, these tours are like an 'in situ' ecology workshop.
All of the trips offered here are low impact trips. Most are camping trips, though some also offer a few nights at one of the only lodges situated in the cultural zone of Manu Reserve. The camping trips are 'fixed departure' journeys, which run on a regular weekly schedule. Group sizes are kept small to ensure the best quality and individual attention. Private tours and individual stays at the lodge can also be arranged.
All camping equipment, food etc. is provided and all wastes are 'packed out' on return so as to leave no traces. Check the 'What to bring list' to see what gear you'll need.
Pantiacolla Lodge is set in beautiful rainforest on the side of the turbulent
Madre de Dios River. It nestles in the Manu foothills at the base of the Pantiacolla
Mountains, which is a very unique area of the national park. The mountains rise up
to more than 1000 m behind the lodge and are a contributing factor to the
enormous variety of wildlife that inhabits this area. These mountains are
in fact part of the last Andean range and merge with the vast expanse
of Amazonian lowland forest that stretches to the east.
They are home to an unusual mix of montane and lowland species.
Pantiacolla Lodge has 11 cabin style rooms and a total of 22 beds. Paths lead to the bathroom complex which offers flush toilets and showers, and to a spacious and comfortable dining room and bar.
The 900 hectares of land around the lodge offer the enthusiastic explorer miles of gridded trails to walk through a wide range of different habitats. The forest in this area has eight species of monkey most of which live close to the lodge. There is even a healthy population of Manu's least known and most elusive primates, the monk saki monkey. Also, there is a good chance to see coatis, deer, peccary and even tapir. One trail leads to natural hot and cold water springs that provides a perfect bathing opportunity. There is also a very unusual natural oil spring . A short walk early in the morning to a recently discovered clay-lick enables visitors to observe macaws and parakeets as they cluster around the clay wall, breaking off and swallowing lumps of clay - all at a distance of 25 meters.
Pantiacolla Lodge is an ideal rainforest destination for all types of jungle enthusiasts. For birders it offers superb opportunities to see unusually high numbers of birds in a very small area; for first time visitors it offers a comprehensive trail system that accesses all parts of the surrounding forest and offers great wildlife watching opportunities. For families it offers an *almost* mosquito free environment in which both children and adults can discover the secrets of the tropical rainforest.
Cloud Forest, Tropical Lowland Rainforest, Macaw and Mammal Licks
7 days/ 6 nights - in by bus, out by plane
Leaving Cuzco we head over the Andes, stopping at the beautiful colonial
village of Paucartambo for breakfast. Continuing we climb to a highpoint of
almost 4,000 m before descending through cloud forest. After lunch, we take
a walk through this stunning forest to visit the display area or lek of Manu's
most brilliantly coloured bird, the cock-of-the-rock. We spend the night at
the Cloud Forest Lodge.
We continue the bus ride to the tropical lowland rainforest. In the small village of Atalaya we board a motorized canoe to take us down the Alto Madre de Dios River as far as Pantiacolla Lodge, a lodge which nestles at the foot of the Pantiacolla Mountains. Pantiacolla has a very rich bird community, some species of which are endemic to the Pantiacolla area, many species of monkey and other difficult to see mammals like deer and peccary. At night we explore the forest by torchlight looking for insects, frogs, snakes and the uniquely nocturnal night-monkey or 'douricouli'. We spend the next two nights in Pantiacolla Lodge in rustic and comfortable surroundings.
We take to the trails around Pantiacolla once again. With patience there
may be a chance to see one of Manu's least known primates, the monk saki
monkey before heading off to an area of natural oil and thermal springs.
The water coming from the mountains has also formed pools where we can
swim. Following the oil stream will take us back to the Alto Madre de Dios
River, where our canoe will be waiting for us.
From Pantiacolla Lodge we head downriver to Blanquillo and the macaw lick on the Madre de Dios River, where we will spend the night. As night falls we take a short walk to Lake Blanquillo to go moonlight caiman spotting.
At first light we head to the macaw lick to watch the dazzling spectacle of
hundreds of parakeets, parrots and macaws eating clay. In the afternoon
there will be an excursion to one of the nearby lakes to look for monkeys,
lakeside birds and the rare giant otter. We leave Blanquillo in the late
afternoon for a short boat ride to Manu Wildlife Center, where we will be
spending the next two nights. Here, at dusk we make a short hike to an
amazing clay lick to wait for the Amazon's largest land mammal, the
Brazilian tapir to appear. Studies have shown there is a 50% chance to see a
tapir there, usually at a distance of about ten meters.
This day gives those who would like to, the chance to visit either the macaw or the tapir lick again. The rest of the day is spent on the trails or on the Blanco River looking for anaconda and capybara.
A short boat ride takes us to Boca Manu airport from where we take our return flight over the rainforest and the Andes to Cuzco by light aircraft.
Private tours, arranged by demand, no fixed departure dates.
Prices on request. For further information and booking questions contact Sacred Earth.
