Peru
Packages
Inca
Roots and Manu Wildlife Center
13 Days / 12 Nights
Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu with overnight stay, Chincheros and Pisac Indian Markets,
Ollantaytambo Fortress, authentic Quechua Village, Salt Pools and Manu National Park
13 Days / 12 Nights
Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu with overnight stay, Chincheros and Pisac Indian Markets,
Ollantaytambo Fortress, authentic Quechua Village, Salt Pools and Manu National Park
Day 1 -
Friday
Arrival in Lima, the "City of Kings" famous for its Spanish Colonial
architecture and extraordinary museums.
Day 2 - Saturday
City Tour and Gold Museum. This half day tour visits both the colonial
and modern sections of this "City of Kings." Colonial sites include the
lovely Plaza Mayor with its cathedral and palace, and the exquisite Torre
Tagle Palace modern day seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In modern
Lima, drive along the exclusive residential areas of Miraflores and San
Isidro. Then visit Peru's famous Gold Museum which houses a priceless
collection of pre-Colombian gold artifacts as well as the private armory
of Miguel Mujica Gallo. Some of the cultures represented in this collection
include the Chavin, Paracas, Nazca, Tiahuanaco and Inca. (AB)
Day 3 - Sunday
Chincheros, Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Early morning flight to Cuzco. Departure
from hotel for a drive to exciting and unspoiled Chincheros. You will
take a step back in time at the Chincheros Market where the Indians from
different villages meet on Sundays to trade their wares and produces among
themselves just as they did a century ago. Continue to the Spanish Colonial
village of Pisac and the Pisac Indian Market. Here you will find excellent
bargains on Alpaca sweaters and a variety of handicrafts. After lunch
the tour continues through the sacred valley of the Incas, Urubamba, to
visit the town of Ollantaytambo and the imposing Inca Fortress. Return
to Yucay in the Urubamba Valley for overnight. (AB,L)
Day 4 - Monday
Salt Pools and Quechua Village. Morning excursion to the impressive salt
pools formed by water emerging from a lake inside a mountain in the Urubamba
Valley. Continue your excursion and visit an authentic Quechua Village
to feel the way of life of the Inca's ancestors. The Inca himself was
a noble Quechua. They live off the land and are always wearing their colorful
ponchos, see quechua children scamper about while woman are weaving their
family's clothes. A meaningful experience! (AB,L)
Excursion to Machu Picchu with overnight stay. Early wake up for a train ride through the sacred valley of Urubamba to the "Lost City of the Incas," Machu Picchu. Perched 8,200 feet above the valley, it was hidden by mountains and semi-tropical jungles for 400 years until discovered by Hiram Bingham of Yale University in 1911. Archaeologists believe that the Inca "Virgins of the Sun" took refuge from the Spanish Conquistadors here. (AB,L)
Machu Picchu / Cuzco. Free morning to enjoy one of the most incredible sights on earth, the ruins of Machu Picchu. Take as much time as you need to study the mysterious ruins, hike Huayna Picchu the pyramid-shape mountain above Machu Picchu, walk to the Inca Bridge a secret entrance used by the Inca's army, or toward the Inca Trail to find the historic Sun Gate. (AB,L)
The Amazon - Manu National Park Four nights at the Manu Wildlife Center. From Cusco we fly in a radar-equipped twin-engine plane for 35 minutes to the excellent gravel landing strip in primary forest near the mouth of the Manu River. Our motor canoe transports you 90 minutes down the wild Madre de Dios River to the Manu Wildlife Center, the only lodge offering excellent chances to see the wiggly-nosed Amazonian (Lowland) Tapir. At 400 kilos (900 pounds), this entertaining animal is by far the largest land creature in South America. This lodge is also the only one in the Manu wilderness to offer access to a large macaw and parrot clay lick. Furthermore, the lodge is equipped with a set of hot water showers and clean flush toilets, and also features private, double-occupancy bungalows, and the finest rainforest guides at any Peruvian rainforest lodge, if not any lodge in the entire Amazon Basin. During the boat ride to the Wildlife Center, you see many types of virgin Amazon rainforest, from early succession stands of wild cane, Cecropia, fig trees, and bamboo, to 130-foot-tall primary forest complete with several species of majestic palms and gigantic emergent canopy trees reaching 190 feet above the forest floor. On sunny days after a period of cool weather, yellow-headed side-neck Turtles sunbathe on exposed logs to warm themselves. White-necked Herons, kingfishers, egrets, and other water birds fish in the shallow water near the riverbank. Upon checking into the Wildlife Center, we have lunch, rest for an hour or two, and then begin preliminary explorations of the 30 miles of clean forest trails (by far the most extensive trail system at any lodge in the Peruvian Amazon, if not in all the Amazon). Those who prefer less energetic rainforest study can watch birds in the many tall trees surrounding the lodge clearing. No virgin forest was cut to build the lodge. Rather, we cleared an abandoned, overgrown farm to make room for the lodge buildings. After an early dinner at the Center, we will guide the most enthusiastic group members in a 60-75 minute hike through the night forest to the large tapir lick, where we climb up a ladder to a 17-foot by 17-foot observation platform perched 17 feet above the lick itself. We wait for lumbering tapirs to arrive to the lick, and then we use powerful flashlights to allow us to observe and to photograph them in action. The tapirs, which come on most but not all nights, start to arrive between 8.30 and 11.00pm (but they have been seen on occasion during the afternoon and early evening, and continue to come all night until dawn). The tapirs eat clay and drink water from puddles in the open, muddy area just below and to the side of the platform. Sometimes they sniff at the platform supports themselves. On many nights more than two tapirs arrive, and occasionally up to 12 to 16 tapirs come to the lick in a single evening. To put this in perspective, tapirs normally are seen in the Manu River area by only one tour group in the 15 or 20, while in the lodges around Puerto Maldonado, the probability dwindles to only one sighting for every 100 or 150 tour groups (if that). At our tapir lick, most visitors see tapirs up close for long periods. As our tapir research program continues at the lick near the Center, we will learn more about how to increase the probabilities of seeing tapirs until nearly every visitor sees these attractive and humorous creatures, which look a bit like fat, stumpy horses (to which they are related) or small, horse-like hippopotamuses. We walk back to the center at some time between 10.00pm and 11.30pm, depending on our luck with tapir sightings and the determination of the observers. (AB,L,D)
At Manu National Park For much of the year parrots and macaws visit a large riverbank clay lick on the Madre de Dios River 25 minutes downstream from the Manu Wildlife Center. To visit the lick, we rise before dawn, drink coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, and board our motor canoe for the 25-minute ride to the site. Arriving at the lick just at dawn, we board a large, floating catamaran blind that is anchored in the river near the clay bank. As the birds arrive and select a spot to eat clay on the 550 yards of riverbank, the captain silently releases rope from the anchor spot until we are close to the birds. In the early morning, between about 6.15am or 6.30am and 6.50-07.30, hundreds of medium-sized and large parrots of two or three species greedily eat the clay. As the early parrot show winds down, we serve breakfast on the roomy catamaran, which also is equipped with a resting room for your convenience. Then, the large red macaws (large, colorful parrots with long tails) start to arrive at between 08.00 and 09.00am and normally are down eating clay by 08.30-09.30. The large macaws usually eat clay for 15-40 minutes, during which the captain uses the river current and a large tail rudder on the catamaran to try to maneuver to within 80-110 feet of the bank to allow excellent views and photo opportunities.
Note that, as mentioned in our biologists' January 1994 cover story about macaws in the National Geographic Magazine, in May, June, and early July of some years the number of macaws and parrots visiting the lick declines considerably for reasons that are not understood. In general, the best months to see large number of macaws and parrots at this Manu macaw lick is from late July through November. Generally, however, the spectacle continues through March or April, and in some years even continues through May, June, and early July. Our biologists study macaw feeding and nesting all year long in the forests near the Center, so it is not necessary to go to the macaw clay lick to see macaws well during your trip. Nevertheless, we mention these details here so that visitors are aware of the seasonality of the macaw clay lick spectacle and can play accordingly.
After the macaws leave the lick some time between 09.00 and 10.30am, we re-board our motor-canoe and cruise back upstream to the Manu Wildlife Center to rest before lunch. After lunch, we rest more or strike out for an afternoon visit to one of the two beautiful lakes in the area. To visit these lakes require a 20-minute boat ride and a 10-15 minute walk on flat terrain. The lakes have populations of the strange Hoatzins bird as well as Giant Otters, and many other water birds. After dinner back at the Center, there is an optional second outing to the tapir clay lick. (AB,L,D)
At Manu National Park, Today we arise at dawn, eat full breakfast at the Center, and then spend most of the morning Exploring the forest trails with emphasis on visiting fruiting trees that our researchers say are attracting some of the ten species of monkeys found in the area. These species include Brown Capuchin, White-fronted Capuchin, Bolivian Squirrel Monkey, Saddle-Dusky Titi Monkey, Night Monkey, and Monk Saki. As we explore the trail network, we will also observe birds and study forest types and special adaptations of the thousands of plant species to life in the warm, moist Amazon. (AB,L,D)
At Manu National Park, Visit one or both of the lakes until 08.30 or 09.00am, and then visit the forest trails for a briefer period. The decision as to whether to visit the lakes before the forest or just the forest will depend on the latest reports of our team of biologists and on the interest of the visitors. After lunch at the center, we will visit the bamboo forest or other forest types requested by visitors (there will be a menu of forest types to visit). Alternatively, some visitors may wish to spend time in special photographic blinds to try to take close-up pictures of the brilliantly-colored dancing birds called Manakins (our biologists have located several traditional dancing grounds of these spectacular little jewels of nature). After dinner, particularly determined explorers can set out again for a last escorted visit to the tapir lick and can even sleep on the platform at the lick in the company of our trained guides. (AB,L,D)
Return to Cuzco On the last morning, you can eat breakfast at dawn or after dawn and pay one last brief visit to some nearby forest trails in search of monkeys, toucans (of which there are eight species), or other fruit-eating birds and mammals. At some time between 07.30 and 10.00am (depending on the arrival time of your return flight), you board the motor-canoe for the two-hour return trip to the Manu landing strip, from which you fly to Cusco, where your jungle adventure ends. (AB)
Cuzco and nearby Ruins Morning walked tour of the ancient capital of the Inca Empire. Visitors are caught up in the excitement of this city. The tour includes a visit to the Cathedral and Santo Domingo Church, passing the main streets and Plaza de Armas. You will walk through the most astonishing Cuzco streets to reach the San Blas Church. Cuzco is a delightful combination of Inca and Colonial architecture. Afternoon tour includes a visit to the ruins of Kenko, Puca-pucara, Tambomachay and to the Sacsayhuaman fortress. (AB)
Lima, Pachacamac Ruins, Home Excursion to the Pachacamac Ruins and Museo de la Nacion. Lunch at La Rosa Nautica, a fine restaurant right on the beach near Miraflores. Day room at a hotel in Lima for luggage storage and refreshing before international flight. Late afternoon transfer to the airport for your flight home. (AB)
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