Manu Reserve Zone to Blanquillo Macaw Clay Lick 8d/7n

After breakfast, we drive to Atalaya Port and board our riverboat. Gliding down the Alto Madre de Dios River, we observe snowy egrets, cormorants, capybaras, and sunning reptiles. We stop at natural thermal springs for a rejuvenating jungle bath before reaching our eco-lodge near Boca Manu. An evening night walk introduces us to nocturnal frogs, tarantulas, and night monkeys.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Overnight: Boca Manu Eco-Lodge.

We register at the Limonal park ranger station and enter the heart of Manu National Park. Over 5 hours of boat safari on the Manu River give us exceptional chances to spot Jaguars sunbathing on the beaches, families of capybaras, and massive Black Caimans. In the afternoon, we arrive at the community-managed Casa Matsiguenka Lodge deep inside primary rainforest.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Overnight: Casa Matsiguenka Lodge.

At daybreak, we navigate Cocha Salvador on a quiet catamaran, encountering the playful and vocal Giant River Otter family. We observe Hoatzins, Spider Monkeys, and Emperor Tamarins in the surrounding primary trees. Later, we hike through virgin forest to Cocha Otorongo, climbing its 30-meter observation tower for high-canopy birding and breathtaking rainforest panoramas.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Overnight: Casa Matsiguenka Lodge.

We start at dawn drifting down the Manu River for final chances to photograph big cats and tapirs on the beaches. Passing Limonal, we head down the Madre de Dios River to the renowned Blanquillo Biological Reserve. In the afternoon, we explore Cocha Camungo and climb its spectacular 45-meter canopy tower attached to an enormous Kapok tree, providing unmatched views of toucans, macaws, and mixed canopy bird flocks.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Overnight: Blanquillo Jungle Lodge.

At 5:30 AM, we enter the comfortable, camouflaged floating blind situated directly in front of the Blanquillo Macaw Clay Lick. As the sun warms the cliff, hundreds of green parrots, parakeets, and then brilliant Red-and-green Macaws and Scarlet Macaws gather in a noisy, breathtaking explosion of colors to ingest the mineral clay. After lunch, we rest before walking to the Tapir Clay Lick, where we wait quietly on an elevated platform with mosquito netting to observe wild Lowland Tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) and pacas feeding at dusk.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Overnight: Blanquillo Jungle Lodge.

After morning birding around the Blanquillo reserve trails, we board our boat to navigate upstream toward Boca Manu or explore the rich floodplain forests along the Madre de Dios River. We visit an indigenous native community to gain genuine appreciation for their cultural heritage, basket weaving, and organic cacao cultivation. In the evening, we enjoy our farewell group dinner celebrating an epic journey.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Overnight: Eco-Lodge.

We embark on the final boat section up to Atalaya Port. Rejoining our private ground transport, we ascend the dramatic Manu Road through the cloud forest, enjoying a gourmet picnic lunch on our way over the Andean crest. We arrive in Cusco between 6:00 PM and 7:30 PM, delivering you safely to your hotel with memories of a lifetime.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
• Drop-off: Cusco hotel.