Adventures in the Manu Biosphere Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon

March 3, 2015 Pirwa

Peru’s largest national park is Manú Biosphere Reserve, which stretches from the cloud forest and high-altitude jungle of the eastern slopes of the Andes down into the Amazon Basin. It’s one of the world’s most bio-diverse parks, protecting 15,000 plant species, more bird species than the United States and Canada combined, and more mammals than other Latin American rainforests.

The park remains fairly inaccessible to this day, and a large percentage of it remains pristine and off-limits. Those who want to experience the unrivalled diversity of exotic plants and mammals, and even meet indigenous communities, can do so by visiting the park’s Cultural Zone, which is protected but less-so (it functions as a buffer zone for the rest of the park).

Visitors can explore the park by navigating along its system of rivers; the main ones being the Amazon, Marañón, Huallaga, and Ucayali. The common 4-day tour actually departs from Cusco and passes through the Cloud Forest, allowing you to observe the national bird, the Cock of the Rocks and its mating dance. With special luck, one could perhaps spot a spectacled bear. The following day, the journey into the Amazon continues along a narrow road passing waterfalls and canyons, until reaching the rainforest and Atalaya Port on the Alto Madre de Dios River. Continuing to the lodge by river allows you to observe the wildlife which gathers at its shores, and after reaching your lodge you can begin to explore the jungle’s trails with a local guide.

A series of hikes and boat rides will allow you to see the exuberant plants and giant trees as well as tropical birds such as the colorful toucans and macaws and the great egrets. What mammals can you keep an eye out during your visit? Giant River Otters (the world’s largest), Sloths, Tapirs, Capybara, and Monkeys. Pink and gray boto dolphins, caimans, and piranha populate the rivers. It’s startling to think that one in ten of the known species of the world can be found in the Amazon! As a special treat, all tours include a visit to a collpa, a clay lick wall where hundreds of parrots and parakeets gather to feed.