Inca Trail Hiking Tours

Located in the jungle of the departments of Cusco and Madre de Dios, the Manu National Park represents the largest natural treasure in Peru, for the number of species it houses and the diversity of ecosystems it protects. Manu is one of the few wild areas in the world where animals abound and live in a totally natural state. The jungle of Manu offers an extraordinarily high density of wildlife, collpas of mammals and macaws where the animals are concentrated and it is easy to observe them. Exotic birds such as the  Frentirrufo, Cotinga Carinegra. No other area in America offers such an excellent sighting of rare or difficult to observe animals.

Location and Altitude

Manu National Park is located between Cusco and Madre de Dios. At 1400 kilometers from Lima. It was established as a national park in 1973 on an area of 1,532,806 hectares and declared a Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987. It covers a latitudinal variety that goes from the 4,300 m.a.s.l of the high Andean puna to the 200 m.a.s.l of the Amazon plain. On average, the areas covered by the visits are at 183 m.

Access

A road starts from Cusco and leads to the towns of Atalaya and Shintuya (9 and 12 hours respectively), points from where it is possible to start the trip by river (5 to 6 hours). There are also small plane flights that connect Cusco and the town of Boca Manu (30 minutes), from which it is necessary to continue by river (4 to 6 hours). You have to hire the services of the authorized agencies. It is from the city of Lima, by air, or from the city of Puerto Maldonado you can reach the Reserve by land or river.

Weather

Rainy season from December to March, although outside it is not rare the downpours. The months from May to August, with temperatures above 30 ° C, are the most recommended for your visit. The normal climate of this zone goes from 26 °C to 32 °C, but in rainy days it is from 13 to 18 °C.

Flora and fauna

The Manu National Park is home to a large number of wildlife species.It has registered about 160 species of mammals, more than 1,000 species of birds (mostly residents), about 140 species of amphibians, 50 species of snakes, 40 of lizards, 6 of turtles, 3 of alligators and 210 of fish.

Among the large mammals are the otorongo (Pantheraonca), the black tiger (Felisyagouaroundi), the sachavaca (Tapirusterrestris), the huangana (Tayassupecari), the sajino (Tayassutajacu), the deer (Mazama americana), the gray deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the river wolf (Pteronurabrasiliensis), the ronsoco (Hydrochoerushydrochaeris), the monkey boar (Alouattaseniculus), the black maquisapa (Ateles paniscus), the woolly monkey (Lagothrixlagotricha), the white machin monkey (Cebusalbifrons) and the black machin monkey (Cebus apella ). The number of plant species is very high. The various registers indicate that there are at least 162 families, 1,191 genera and 4,385 species identified. In a single hectare, up to 250 varieties of trees were found. The forests of aguajales are one of the most outstanding ecosystems, where the palms of aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa) and huasaí (Euterpe precatoria) are the dominant ones. They develop over areas that are almost permanently flooded, especially on the right bank of the Manu River.

Suggestions:

Wear light clothing, swimwear, something waterproof (if it rains), sandals and mosquito repellents. The rainy season is from January to March, but unexpected rain can occur all year round. The recommended season is April - December. Apply the vaccine against yellow fever 72 hours in advance. Also, it is very important to wear sunglasses with UV protection, sunscreen and lipstick. Due to height, dizziness, headache and nausea are common. Therefore, it is advisable to hydrate with coca infusions and take remedies such as Coramina, Gravol or pills.

• Services Within the Park: shelters, interpretation center, hygienic services, park rangers and radio.
• Services Outside the Park: Boat rental, police post, medical post.
• Activities: bird watching, flora, fauna and landscape, hiking, camping, research studies, taking photographs and filming.
• Observations: the authorizations for the entrance to the Manu National Park for tourism are granted to the operating agencies, which in turn offer various services and packages within the park. It is not possible to enter freely. The taking of photographs or films has a cost of 10% of the ITU

Visits and trips:

Within the park, there are areas enabled for tourists and visitors, and other areas are limited only for the entry of researchers. In the area of tourists, there are accommodation facilities. Next to the best hotels and / or lodges, there are guided tours for tourists, as well as housing and work facilities for researchers and scientists. To visit the Manu National Park, you have two alternatives: The first is to carry out a land trip or flight rental from Cusco, through Paucartambo, until you reach the park area and then continue with the river tour. The trip is full of beautiful Andean landscapes and the entrance of the forest surface is of indescribable beauty. It is more advisable to arrive in the same way, by air to Puerto Maldonado, and then by river to the area enabled for tourists and visitors within the Park. In both possibilities we consider that it is essential to coordinate your expedition with expert guides

• The intangible zone is where the "uncontacted" tribes live in voluntary isolation and where one of the world-renowned biological stations, called Cocha Cashu, is located. As a tourist, it is not allowed to access this area since it is dedicated only to research and a special permit is required. It is located from the checkpoint of Pakitza, the Manu river and the left bank on the Alto Madre de Dios river.
• The reserved area or buffer zone where tourism has access only through the 8 agencies that have special permission. It goes from the confluence of the Alto Madre de Dios and Manu rivers, called Boca Manu to the Pakitza checkpoint.

Reasons to visit Manu National Park:

• It is the area of greatest biological diversity in Peru and throughout the world.
• Know the most outstanding and impressive animals of the Amazon. Jaguar (Panthera onca), giant otter (Pteronura braciliensis), Cock of the Rock (Rupicola peruviana), harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja), red and green macaw (Ara chloroptera), black alligator (Caiman niger), Cougar (felix concolor), Tamarin emperor (Saguinus imperator), spider monkey (Ateles peniscus) and smallest monkey in the world (Cebuella pigmaea).
• To know a better preserved Natural and Cultural Heritage in the Amazon.
• To learn more about the different Amazonian ethnic groups with their different degrees of contact with the outside world.