For pictures on Peru, go to http://users.pandora.be/kdb 

Introduction 

When one thinks about Amazon jungle trips, the first country that comes into mind is Brazil. However, about 50% of Peru's surface is jungle area, and it is also close to cities like Cusco, so in fact Peru might be a better option. On top of that, nature preservation is being taken very seriously, especially in Manu NP. 

Which jungle area to choose? 

There are mainly 3 jungle areas to choose from: 

Advantages and disadvantages: 

Manu:  

The main advantage that this is pure rainforest. Few people are living there, and few tourists are visiting (in 2001 there where 3000 visitors in the Reserved area, although this number is increasing each year). This means that there is almost no pressure on wildlife from hunting and pollution, and thus wildlife abounds and is not scared off too fast. On the other hand, this also implies that it's difficult to reach and transportation is not easy.  

Has probably the best Macaw clay lick and you can get closer to the birds then in Tambopata. Giant otters are relatively easy to spot at Cocha Salvador, statistics show that 70% of the groups see them. There's also a tapir lick, although unfortunately it is privately owned by the InkaNatura lodge.   

Another advantage is that if you go overland, you'll pass the cloudforest with a distinct birdlife with above all the possibility to see the Cock of the Rock, which is a beautiful bird. Also the cloudforest has a distinct flora with bromeliads and others.  

The main disadvantage is of course that it's very expensive to get there, especially if you wish to go into the Reserved zone. Count on at least 100$ per day for the camping tours and 150 to 200$ for the companies offering lodges. Also distances are quite long and you'll pass a lot of your time in bus or boat.  

Tambopata: 

I want to stress that I haven't been to Tambopata myself, so what I write here comes from what I've heard and read.   It's location near Puerto Maldonado has the advantage that it is easy to reach by commercial plane (return trip 120$). This means there are more people living and visiting, and thus there is more pressure on wildlife around Puerto Maldonado. Some people therefore advise to go upstream by boat.    They have a good Macaw clay lick a long way upstream, but from what I've heard it's not as good as the blind platform cannot go as close as in Manu. I don't know what to think of the "small Macaw lick" which some cheaper companies offer on other places, but I'm rather suspicious.  

You can also see giant otters at the Lago Sandoval. I don't know about chances to see them.  

Iquitos: 

I don't have much info on that for the moment. There are few mammals around Iquitos, except in the local zoo. A lot of tours aim at exotic food and drinks and visiting some nearby Indian villages. These tours are pretty cheap because most of these tours stay around Iquitos. If you really want to see the jungle, you'll have to book a much longer trip and spend the night in the jungle. 

Which area to choose ? 

This depends largely on 3 factors: 

If you have a lot of time, money and interest in wildlife, then Manu is number 1. If all these are less available, Tambopata will probably be your choice although if you want quality, you will also have to pay for it. 

Who should go to the jungle ? 

This looks like a stupid question, but it's not. Before going to Manu you should indeed consider whether this is really a trip for you, because not everyone will enjoy the trip, and after all it's pretty expensive: 

Manu National Park

Introduction 

For Manu, you will need at the very least 4 to 5 days, although 7 to 9 days are better.  

In 4-5 days, you'll probably have to fly in and out of Boca Manu, which adds to the cost (a bit more then 100$ one way). Also you'll miss the cloudforest and thus the Cock-of-Rock which was one of the highlights of the trip. Personally I also liked our stop in Paucartambo which is a nice village on the way to Manu.  

In 7 days you'll see most of the important sights: Cock-of-the-Rock, Macaw clay lick, giant otters, cayman and lots of other wildlife. 

Which operator? 

This will of course depend on the money you can spend. You can make a distinction between 3 kind of operators: 

The cheaper ones which only go to the cultural zone  

The ones that go into the cultural AND the reserved zone and have basic camping facilities such as Pantiacolla. Count on 100$ per day.  

The ones that go into the reserve and camp in lodges. count on 150 to 200 $ per day. 

Different tour operators 

Pantiacolla is a company run by the Dutch biologist Marianne Van Vlaardingen, thus they get a lot of Dutch customers. They have essentially 3 trips (5, 7 and 9 days). Their site includes a lot of info on their trips. This is a more or less budget-oriented company, as they mainly sleep in tents, not in lodges. 

You'll find a report on their 7-day trip on this site, see below. All of the reports I read at SAE where favorable, except 1 from 2000 who apparently didn't like the guide. They are also setting up a project with local Yine Indians living near Boca Manu. They are building a lodge there and learn the Yine how to deal with Ecotourism. The lodge will be ready in 2003 and tours can be made either separately, either as part of a Pantiacolla trip.  

Manu nature tours has both cheaper tours in tents and more expensive tours in lodges. They are the only company that has a lodge within the Reserved zone of Manu NP.  

Manu Expeditions has a beautiful website with nice pictures and info on their tours to Manu.  Their tours are somewhat more luxurious as they have a combination of staying in tented camps and lodges. They also have a collaboration project with the indigenous Machiguenga people whom they visit once a month. All their trips cost way over 1000$, and they even have a horse supported trek for 2600 $. (9/2002)   

InkaNatura also offers camping trips to Manu. They have excellent lodges near Boca Manu, and even have their own tapir lick where you can sometimes see tapirs. If you have a lot of money and not too much time, this is probably the company to go with. Count on 1200$ for 5 days all-inclusive.  

Manu ecological adventures have a site. This company has a pretty bad reputation, and this indeed reflected in the reports I read at SAE. They are a bit cheaper then the rest, but their equipment is older (tents are not replaced soon enough). Also their motorboats sometimes break down and they don't carry a spare motor. On top of that (and this was something I saw happening myself) they schedule the visit to the Macaw Clay lick on the 7th day. This meant that they saw the parakeets on the clay lick at 6.30 am, but they had to leave at 8 am to catch their flight in Boca Manu, and thus they missed the Macaws who only come around 9 am. Sometimes they thus also disturb the birds.. The boattrip from the clay lick to Boca Manu airport takes a bit more then 3 hours. That's of course very sad! Also while we spent the night at Tambo Blanquillo lodge, they spent the night on the beach without facilities. Not recommended.  

Manu Vilca expediciones (not to be confused with Manu expeditions). This is also a company with camping tours, slightly less expensive then their competitors. Some reports I read where good, others where not. One report said they had overbooked the tour with 15 people with just 1 boat and 1 guide. A second guide did join them the third day by plane. They combine this trip with mountain biking down from the park entrance to Atalaya, and also "rafting" on Alte Madre de Dios (see note underneath). They spend the second night in Erica Lodge. 

When to go 

It's best to go during dry season, and thus May through October is high season. Also in the beginning of the dry season (May and June), there are more beaches because the rivers are low, and thus there are better opportunities to see nesting birds. Also since water is scarcer inside the jungle, animals are obliged to come to the river to drink. However, there is a period when there are almost no macaws. This is usually in June, but this can vary with the rainy season. In May and July, their numbers are unreliable, although July is again normal most of the times (info LP).  

January through March is not a good time. Many roads become impassable, and your return flight can get cancelled for 1 day or more. Also it's more difficult to see the animals, and at the macaw clay licks there will be less animals.  

What to take 

If you're a photographer like me, it's best to spend some money on a good zoomlens: 200 mm is pretty poor, 300 and 400 mm are already better. You could also buy a teleconverter to double the zoom's capacity, but you thus loose a lot of light and you'll probably need a tripod. Most people prefer to take pictures of animals in sunny weather, but in jungle areas this is not always a good idea since there's too much contrast between the bright sun and the dark jungle, and lightning will become a problem. So it's best to have a slightly overcast day. As for film, there are now excellent 400 and 800 ASA films from both Fuji and Kodak, but bring these from home. Personally, I used mainly 200 ASA

and one 800 ASA for the Cock-of-the-Rock.  

Clothing is important. Wear light clothing but shirts with long sleeves and long pants to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes etc. Wear socks for the same reason. Still, I got bitten even through my pants by mosquitoes.   

Insect repellant is of course a must. Use a product containing DEET of at least 20 to 30%. Bring these from home as in Peru they are either hard to get or very expensive. Be careful not to damage your camera after you've rubbed yourself in with DEET. I advise against a spray, as a lot of the product sprayed comes in the air, or worse in your neighbor's food. Even with all this DEET, you can be sure to get bitten by sandflies and mosquitoes, and it does itch a lot. So it's a good idea to also bring a corticoid creme.  

Binoculars or a good zoom lens are essential if you want to enjoy the birds and also the monkeys. 

Bring plastic bags to protect your stuff from rain, but bring them out of the jungle at the end of the trip !! Also bring some rain gear, best not your most expensive stuff since there are lots of spikes in the forest. The cheap ponchos you buy in Cusco will only last 1 trip.  

A flashlight is also necessary, especially if you have a camping tour. A Petzl is handy, but in the jungle it sometimes causes the problem that insects come towards your face and thus fly in your eyes. In the camp itself I didn't have this problem.    

Our trip with Pantiacolla

Introduction 

We did a 7 day trip with Pantiacolla, a trip run by Marianne Van Vlaardingen, a Dutch biologist, and thus you can expect a lot of European (and also Dutch) tourists. This is probably also because Europeans tend to spend a bit less money then Americans, and thus opt for the camping tours.  

All in all I can say we had a good trip.   All practical things like transportation by bus and boat went smoothly. The boats had a spare engine in case of breakdown, but this didn't happen. The tents and sleeping mats were good quality.   

What I appreciated a lot was that we didn't loose too much time with getting ready to start a walk or a trip. I hate it when it takes hours to pack in before leaving. The transfer from bus to boat f.i. was very smooth. Also we saved some time having breakfast or lunch on the boat, and it also breaks the journey a bit.  

The food was OK, of course you have to keep in mind that all the food has to be brought in from Cusco, so don't expect any French cuisine here. Still 1 remark, on the 5th day, 4 out of 10 people in the group became ill with mainly diarrhea, but this was just for 1 day.   

The group we started with comprised 16 people, but we had 2 guides, 2 cooks, 4 boatsmen, 2 boats and after the second day we were split into 2 groups (10 people doing the 7 day trip, 6 people doing the 9 day trip).  

Above all, our guide Abraham was a fantastic guy. He was an absolute expert in spotting animals, and he was very enthusiastic trying to do this. One cry of a bird or a monkey was enough for him to start looking for it, and usually after 5 minutes or so he had located them. One funny moment was when he had seen the otters as first of the group. Everyone was very quiet and looking at them with binoculars, except 1 guy who hadn't heard what Abraham had said. While we were getting closer to the otters, this 1 guy suddenly cried after 5 minutes: "Otters !!!".  

The only negative point was the really basic campsite near Boca Manu where we spent 2 nights, although not everybody in our group did mind this. We didn't have a toilet nor shower. The other 4 nights where a bit more comfortable. 

Day 1 

Pick-up at hotel between 5 and 5.30 am as planned. Valuables and extra luggage can be left at the office of Pantiacolla (however take into account they may not be opened on your return after 1 pm, they reopen at 4 pm). They also do a reconfirmation of your flight ticket while you're away, this in case you have a flight right after your return. With 2 minibuses we were brought just outside Cusco where we switched to a big truck-bus. Departure was very smooth, we didn't loose much time.  

At 9 am, short visit of some pre-Inca ruins.  

Around 10 am we stopped in Paucartambo for breakfast and also a short visit of this nice authentic village.  

Passage of the entrance of the park at 4200 m altitude.   Stop for lunch at 2 pm and short walk along the way.  

At 4 pm, stop at the Posada San Pedro for lodging and above all spotting of the Cock-of-the-Rock bird. They've built a kind of blind, so you can easily spot the birds within less then 10 meters. Photography is a bit difficult, as it gets a bit dark for pictures at 4 to 5 pm.  Flash is not allowed here.  

Accommodation here is also pretty basic. The dining room is OK, but the sleeping huts are mere shelters without windows, you only have 2 beds with mosquito nets. It can get pretty cold at night, you are here at 1500 meters.  

NOTE: some companies like Vilca expediciones or Andean Trail offer this trip by mountain bike instead of by bus. They drop you at 4200 m and you simply ride down. They often combine this with a "rafting" trip on the Alto Madre de Dios, but I would rather call this "peddling" instead of "rafting". 

Day 2 

Wake up at 6.30 am, breakfast at 7 am, and we started walking along the road at 7.45 am for about 1 hour down the road. The truck picked us up there. We drove for about 2h30 minutes till Atalya. On the way we stopped at a coca plantation. The boattrip took 6 hours and was pretty boring. The river is very large, there are some smaller rapids, but wild enough to make you very wet.  

We arrived at dusk at the campsite. This is a very basic place where tents are put up. There's no toilet or shower here. 

Day  3 

Wake-up at 5.30 am, visit of the oxbow lake on the other side of the river till about 9 am. We spotted birds and even otters, although they were very far from us and difficult to see, let alone photograph.   Return at the camp for breakfast, and then transfer by boat to Tambo Blanquillo lodge (2h30 minutes by boat).   This is the best lodge of the trip. It has a large dormitory on stilts (sometimes the river floods the camp, that's why). The dormitory is divided into compartments of 2 persons. there is a certain smell of rotting wood, but nothing unbearable. The sanitary facilities are excellent: made of brick with good showers and toilets. Normal price here is 30 $ for a double.  

Day 4  

Wake-up at 5.10 am and transfer to Macaw clay lick by boat (30 minutes). We arrived at the blind as first group. The blind can have about 30 people in 2 rows of 15. If you arrive with 10 people, you get 5 front seats and 5 back seats. It's very easy to put a tripod.  

The clay lick is about 500 meters wide, and you never know on beforehand where the birds will start eating. So you wait, and once the birds settle, the blind is pulled via a cable (so you don't make noise) towards that place, and you get as close as about 15 meters from the birds. First the smaller parakeets arrive, then after half an hour they go away and the parrots come, and between 9 and 10 am the big macaws come and stay for about 30 minutes. Possible problems in seeing the birds are bad weather and vultures circling around.  

Photography: The clay lick is open along the river, thus easy to photograph. For the parakeets at 6.30 am, there's still not too much light, so you'll need your tripod, especially when using a zoom. At 9 am, there's already much more light, and photography becomes easier. Personally I used a 200 ASA film. I would advise against 800 ASA in this setting, especially if you plan to make posters of your pictures. PS: the nice posters you see in many places including the Pantiacolla office with macaws, turtles and jaguar can be bought in the small bookshop opposite the Monasterio hotel for 12 $ a piece. When taking pictures, also try to get the shot when the birds suddenly fly away after an alarm sound. This gives a hazy but colorful picture.  

In the afternoon, transfer to campsite in Boca Manu, on the way viewing of Brown Sloth and Capybara with babies. Also visit of "Boca Manu city" for a beer and great sunset over the river. 

Day 5 

Transfer from BM to campsite in Manu. This trip takes 7 hours, but we saw several turtles, caymen and birds along the way. No jaguar.  

The campsite was pretty good with showers and toilets.  

In the evening, we did a nightwalk with spotting of Tarantula, scorpionspider, bare tailed woolly Opossum and smaller insects. Don't miss this walk! 

Day 6 

Wake-up at 6 am, transfer by boat to the right side of the river and walk from 7.15 till 11.15. Spotting of woolley monkeys which can only be found on this side of the river.   Lunch + siesta afterwards, at 2 pm walk + catamaran trip on the Concha Salvador. There we saw the otters quite close, at about 20 meters. Unfortunately they where playing in the shadow, not too good for pictures, but this isn't a zoo of course. We were already very happy we saw them so close, and there were 12 of them!! Apart from that we also saw many birds, monkeys and after dark also plenty of baby cayman (there are more then 400 of them in this lake). 

Day 7 

Wake up at 5 am and transfer to BM airport (5 hours downstream). On the way  plenty of butterflies and birds, no jaguars.   The airport is as you can expect very small. There are 2 planes landing there, they can carry no more then 15 people. The flight to Cusco takes 45 minutes, try to sit on the right side as you can take some good pictures of the Alte Madre de Dios from the airplane.

Article Comments:

06/15/2006

Rodrigo (1)

Thank to include our information in your site however the link is not correct. Please notice that our web site is www.inkanatura.com

04/29/2006

Jennifer Klaus (1)

Thank you for the information. I appreciated the "Who should go to the Jungle" section. In fact, I'm "re-thinking" things just a bit! Thanks, Jen

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