- Duration
- 10 Days / 9 Nights
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Minimum
- 2 people
Client Reports
Arturo J. GómezAugust 2011
Muchas gracias a todo el equipo de Aventuraquechua por habernos ayudado a cumplir nuestro sueño.
Hemos pasado 11 días maravillosos recorriendo la cordillera Huayhuash, la atención recibida, el mimo con el que habéis cuidado todos los detalles han hecho que un trekking "duro" se nos hiciese un paseo.
Gracias por todo
Arturo J. y Maricruz Pellín
Howard ScotlandJuly 2011
Our group used Aventura Quechua for a custom climbing and trekking trip of 11 days through the Vilcanota Range. Carlos and his crew covered every detail without fail. He handled everything from airport pick-up and Machu Picchu tickets to all of the logistics or a trek from Tinqui through to Pitumarca. Our cook, Domingo, surpassed the skill of all prior cooks we've hired over the course of 6 prior trips to the Andes. Arrieros Leo and Rocque covered every pack train need and many more tasks that just made the trip come together. Driver and facilitator John covered road transportation and miscellaneous needs on time, on route, and without a hitch, every time.
Simply said, Carlos and his crew met every logistical need and constructed a smooth custom trip, from airport pick-up to airport drop-off. I recommend him without reservation. For additional details as to our experience with Aventura Quechua please see the peru 2011 narrative at www.climbingwithbob.com.
Marie-Aimée DurandJanuary 2011
Bonjour à toute l'équipe de Carlos (surtout sa maman adorable hôtesse de Mi Casa à Huaraz!)
Nous étions 4 pour ce séjour de 4 semaines au Pérou de juin à juillet 2010, 10 jours de tourisme ou de transfert de ville à ville et 18 jours de trekking. Le sud d'abord avec son surprenant et grandiose canyon de Colca avec ses ramasseurs de cochenille; une étape farniente sur le lac Titicaca avec l'hospitalité chaleureuse des habitants de l'Ile d'Aman Tani; puis le trek de Choquequiraw, véritable enchantement des yeux, visite d'un site Inca très peu connu des touristes car il n'est accessible qu'après 2 jours de marche et se situe à 3000 m d'altitude, dépaysement total dans ses immensités sauvages et les sommets majestueux de la cordillère Vilcabamba. Nous découvrons aussi le chaleureux accueil des péruviens qui sont prêts à tout pour nous satisfaire alors que leur vie est très rude. La fin du trek nous emmène dans la vallée de l'Urubamba qui a été dévastée par les pluies diluviennes du printemps; le Machu Pichu nous apparaît au lever du soleil pour nous dévoiler tous ses secrets. Retour à Cuzco, ville royale dont le rues ont conservés des murs incas et où l'architecture espagnole est dominante comme dans beaucoup de villes du Pérou. Départ pour Lima, puis Huaraz, départ de notre trek dans la cordillère blanche. Malgré la pluie, les magnifiques sommets glaciaires à 6000m comme l'Alpamayo nous ont émerveillés.
Grand bravo aux guides, à l'équipe des muletiers et des cuisiniers, à Suzanna et bien sûr à Carlos qui nous a accueilli dans ce pays magique. Je reviendrais et ne manquerais pas de faire appel à vous. Marie-Aimée
Journeys & Trekking in Peru Manu Jungle Tour and Machu Picchu
This tour starts off in the capital city of Lima. You travel from Lima to Cusco, then on to Manu National Park for five days to enjoy the jungle animals and scenery. Then back to Cusco where you will have a chance to see some of the culture and history of Peru. You visit the famous site of Machu Picchu, as well as many interesting sites in the Sacred Valley north of Cusco.
Itinerary
Day 1 ARRIVE LIMA
You arrive into Lima and will be transferred to your hotel in the Miraflores district for an overnight stay.
ACCOM – Hotel
- Accommodation
- Hotel
Day 2 LIMA - CUSCO
You are transferred back to the airport to catch your short flight to the Imperial City of Cusco. This afternoon you will be having a guided tour of this magical city (Cathedral, Koricancha, Sacsayhuaman, Q’enko, Puca Pucara and Tambo Machay). This evening you can prepare for your early morning departure to the jungle.
ACCOM – Lodge / Meals – B
- Accommodation
- Hotel
- Meals
- B
Day 3 CUSCO - MANU
Early morning departure in the private vehicle from Cusco. The destination today is the cloud forest near the southeastern boundary of Manu Park, nested between the grasslands and the lowlands of the Upper Madre de Dios River. You travel southeast through small Andean villages where you can observe cameloid shepherds and native peasants in their colorful attires. You travel at leisure making several stops along the way, including many photo opportunities, and the colorful colonial town of Paucartambo. As you reach the Acjanaco Pass, near the southern-most tip of the Manu Park, a delicious lunch is the perfect complement to the magnificent views of the elfin forest, cloud forest, and the lowland Amazon Basin below. You reach the Manu Cloud Forest Lodge to have a relaxing evening on the lodge's veranda. The sound of Union Creek by the lodge and a visit to the lodge sauna will help you relax and have a pleasant sleep.
- Accommodation
- Lodge
- Meals
- B, L, D
Day 4 MANU
After breakfast, you head towards Atalaya, the first navigable port on the Upper Madre de Dios River. The ride will take you through small villages of Andean colonists and indigenous people whose main economic activities are rudimentary farming and low-scale logging. Once at Atalaya you board our motorized boats, equipped with individual cushioned seats, and long tarps to provide shelter from the baking sun, or the sudden tropical downpour. River journeys are long in Manu and visitors have rated our boats as the most comfortable in the entire region. You boat down the fast-flowing, braided, clear water, upper Madre de Dios River for about four hours to the confluence with the meandering, Manu River. As soon as you enter the great Manu wilderness, every river bend will bring us a vista of unspoiled beauty. You may see Black Caiman, White Caiman, toucans, parrots, scores of wild macaws, several species of raptors, and maybe even a magnificent Jaguar. The best proof of the presence of Jaguars and the possibility of many of the tour groups to see these great cats, are the many wonderful amateur photographs that customers have provided the company. After about four hours, you arrive at the Juarez Lake sandbar, then hike 600 meters along a flat trail to the Juarez oxbow lake, where guides paddle you in a catamaran to the secluded Manu Lodge, the only full Lodge in the entire protected wilderness of Manu. If during the dry season the catamaran cannot be used due to the low water level in the lake, you will walk a one kilometer trail (about twenty minutes) only taking your hand-bags with you while the main luggage is carried by the Lodge personnel.
- Accommodation
- Lodge
- Meals
- B, L, D
Day 5 MANU
You rise to the loud call of Howler Monkeys, and to the option of a dawn paddle on the lake. During breakfast from the dining room, you may be able to see entire troops of Squirrel Monkeys, Brown Capuchins, and White-Fronted Capuchins that may be visiting the lodge clearing in search of palm fruits. Without any doubt, one of the highlights of Manu Lodge is the family of four Giant Otters who usually breed there. Manu Lodge visitors have been able to see these playful and gregarious carnivores from a 15-meter distance without causing any disturbance of their daily activities. This group of Giant Otters visits the Manu Lodge every now and then, and when at Juarez, they can be seen at different times of the day. Surprisingly, a few dead logs in front of our dining room are their favorite spot to eat fish, preen, and play. Manu Lodge offers the largest and most complete trail system available in Manu (over 20 km of marked trails), and the result of standardized trail walks completed by groups of researchers over the course of several years, show that "it is actually those sections closest to the lodge and most heavily visited, which were the most productive in terms of mammal sighting. This suggests that the presence of tourists and researchers is not having a disturbing effect on the local mammal population." (1995, Durham University Expedition Report.)
- Accommodation
- Lodge
- Meals
- B, L, D
Day 6 MANU
Two miradors are located within a close distance from the Manu Lodge; when clear they allow visitors with a vista of the canopy that stretches to the snow-capped peaks near Cusco. A dawn visit to the miradors is the most rewarding and while you look at the seemingly endless horizon, several primate and bird species may reward our patience. Mirador visitors regularly see: White-throated Jacamar, Paradise Tanagers, Opal-rumped Tanager, and Swallow Tanager. Eye-level sights of Red and Green Macaws, Scarlet Macaws, and Blue and Yellow Macaws as they fly by the mirador, and turn their heads to look at you is an unforgettable memory. On some occasions visitors have been rewarded with sights of Ornate-Hawk Eagle, and the monkey-eating Harpy Eagle. At over a meter-high, its yellow legs and talons seem larger than human arms and hands.
Macaw Roosting & Nesting Site: In the afternoon you will visit old oxbow lake, within a 15-minute boat ride from Manu Lodge presents large stands of Mauritia Palms, which make wonderful roosting and nesting sites for dozens of Blue and Yellow Macaws and Red-bellied Macaws. An elevated platform will provide visitors with "next to stage seats" to watch these colorful birds, as they play, preen and display while their bright plumage reflect the golden light of the setting tropical sun.
Optional: Canopy climbing. During your stay in Manu Lodge you have the chance to explore the rainforest canopy at a closer range. Our staff can take you for a spectacular and safe climb to a platform located 76 feet above the ground. Overnight: Manu Lodge.
This is an optional activity and must be reserved in advance and paid in cash at the Manu Lodge. There are almost 500 bird species recorded in the vicinity of Manu Lodge. Some of these species have traditional nests right next to Manu Lodge. These "neighbor" species include: Black-tailed Tityra, Yellow- rumped Cacique, Golden-bellied Euphonia, Palm Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, and Masked-crimson Tanager. immediate vicinity of the Juarez lake offers you easy and superb sightseeing of: Striated Heron, Wattled Jacana, Yellow-billed Tern, the bizarre Hoatzin, White-winged Swallows, Black-capped Donacobius, and Red-capped Cardinal. Other frequent visitors of the Manu Lodge are: Great Egret, Green Ibis, Osprey, and Black-collared Hawk. All of them can be easily seen from the lake banks or from our comfortable catamaran.
- Accommodation
- Lodge
- Meals
- B, L, D
Day 7 MANU - CUSCO
At 06:00 o’clock you start your three-hour river journey back to the confluence of the Manu and the Madre de Dios River (Boca Manu). From the airstrip in Boca Manu you shall board the small plane to fly back to Cusco.
You have the rest of the day free in Cusco.
- Accommodation
- Hotel
- Meals
- B
Day 8 SACRED VALLEY
You depart early in your private transport for your day in the Sacred Valley. You will first be visiting the town of Pisaq and the impressive local market there before heading on to the unique agricultural ruins of Moray. From here you visit the still functioning salt mines of Maras before once again descending into the Valley to the fortress town of Ollantaytambo, where you will have a tour of the ruins. You will be spending the night here.
- Accommodation
- Hotel
- Meals
- B
Day 9 SACRED VALLEY - MACHU PICCHU- CUSCO
You leave the Sacred Valley early for the 1.5 hour journey in the Tourist Train to Aguas Calientes. By bus you will reach the Machu Picchu archaelogical site, then you will have a guided tour of these magnificent ruins, if time permits, you may go up to Huayna Picchu to enjoy the views of the whole area, before taking the bus back to Aguas Calientes you will have time on your own to explore the area. You return to Cusco late in the day.
- Accommodation
- Hotel
- Meals
- B
Day 10 CUSCO - LIMA
You are transferred from your hotel in Cusco to the airport for your flight to Lima.
Meals – B
- Meals
- B
What is Included:
- Private transfers from airport to hotel and return to airport in Lima and Cusco
- Hotels in Lima, Cusco and Ollantaytambo
- Meals as listed in itinerary
- Professional, English and Spanish speaking local guides
- Private transport to and from sites
- Ground and boat transport from Cusco to Manu Lodge
- Naturalist English-speaking guide
Accommodations at Manu Cloud Forest Lodge and Manu Lodge - Train and bus to Machu Picchu
- First Aid Kit
What is not Included:
- Medical Insurance
- Flights from Lima to Cusco or return (can be arranged upon request)
- Flight from Boca Manu to Cusco (can be arranged upon request)
- Manu National Park Fee ($50)
- Entrance fees in Cusco, the Sacred Valley or Machu Picchu
- Airport Taxes
Tips to Staff
Some meals
Alcoholic Drinks, Laundry and any other Personal Expenses
Please note
- Important note: In case of small air-plane delays and/or cancellations there will be additional accommodation and food expenses. In case that the small air-plane cancels its operations there will be significant extra expenses to take clients out from Manu to Puerto Maldonado or Cusco . Clients will have to cover all additional expenses such as: accommodations, meals, alternative river and ground transport.
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