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Colca Canyon - Machu
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Lake Titicaca
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Archaeological & Ecological
Treasures
Galapagos - Machu Picchu
Lake Titicaca (or Amazon)
(18 days/17
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Colca Canyon - Amazon
Machu Picchu - Lake Titicaca
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Machu Picchu - Galapagos
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Galapagos - Machu Picchu
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Manu National Park
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Enchanted Isles of the Galapagos
Galapagos
(11
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Galapagos & the Kingdom of Quito
Galapagos - Andes
(16 days/15 nights)
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Historic Haciendas of the Andes
Cotopaxi - Antisana
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(7 days/6 nights)
© 2011 Inka's Empire Corporation.
All rights reserved.
Manu Cloud Forest
Amazon Rainforest, Peru
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Manu Cloud Forest, Manu National Park.
Photo: Peru Verde.
Witness the elaborate mating dance of the blazing-scarlet Cocks-of-the-Rock...
-- Ellen Douglas, LuxuryLink.com, July 2004
Land Price (3 days/2 nights)
Private US$ 890 per person
Expeditions depart every day but Sunday. We also offer 6-day/5-night, 7-day/6-night and 8-day/7-night tours that continue to the rainforest's Andean foothills and the jungle lowlands of Manu.
The land price includes escorted transfers, private excursions with a naturalist guide (a birder guide is available at additional cost), entrance fees, specified accommodations, all meals, all transportation, and travel insurance for guests through the age of 59 years (over that age, there is a supplementary fee). All prices are per person based on two people sharing a guest room. For a detailed description of our services, see Opulent Itineraries. Season: April through November. Please note that a yellow fever vaccination is recommended but not currently required.
Map
Detail Map
3 Nights
Manu Cloud Forest, on the eastern side of the Andes, Manu National Park.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge
Location: Peru Verde Cloud Forest Reserve, Manu Cloud Forest, Peru. Reserve size: 11,000 acres. Wildlife it protects: Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock, Common Woolly and Brown Capuchin Monkeys, Spectacled Bears, cloud-forest birds and orchids.
The Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge is located in the pristine Manu Cloud Forest on the verdant eastern slopes of the Andes. Opened in 1997, it is named after the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Peru's large, bright-red national bird that puts on a colorful, noisy mating display adjacent to the lodge every morning. Spectacled Bears, Woolly Monkeys, Brown Capuchin Monkeys, quetzals and a host of other colorful birds inhabit the surrounding forest, and a bubbling mountain stream tumbles past the lodge.
Situated at an elevation of 5,000 feet (1,600 meters) in the cool, mosquito-free Kosñipata Valley, close to the wild Cusco-Shintuya road, the lodge protects and supports a 11,000-acre private cloud forest reserve. It consists of 10 double-occupancy bungalows with private bath facilities, and a separate complex with a large dining room. A local highland family staffs the lodge, and they also work as rangers, patrolling the private reserve.
Accommodation is in 10 private bungalows that include spacious interiors, private bathrooms, screened windows with mosquito nets and a private balcony. Meals are served on the fully screened dining platform. The lodge cook prepares hearty dishes using fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and meat. Vegetarian and other special diets can be provided upon request.
The incredible 110-mile drive from Cuzco to the lodge passes through the finest transect of Andean habitats in South America. The drive typically lasts 8 hours, including stops in Andean towns and opportunities to walk and experience on foot the upper cloud forest habitat. Often we will take even more time to savor the unforgettable scenery, excellent birding and abundant cloud forest flora.
Manu Wildlife Tented Camp, Manu National Park.
Photo: Peru Verde.
For the hardy explorer... Manu Wildlife Tented Camp
For birders and wilderness enthusiasts intent on experiencing the wildest habitat of the Manu jungle lowlands, we recommend boating far up the Manu River to stay at the new Manu Wildlife Tented Camp, near Lake Salvador. The largest and most beautiful of the 13 oxbow lakes of the Manu River, this lake is Manu's prime wildlife viewing location. The itinerary offers excellent opporuntities to observe flocks of beach-nesting birds and to search for a Jaguar lurking on the riverbank. Our Tented Camp may replace or be added to a stay at the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. See more about the Manu Wildlife Tented Camp.
One of hundreds of bird species, Manu Cloud Forest, Manu National Park.
Photo: Peru Verde.
Highlights
Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge
Day 1: Cuzco - Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. Set off for the Manu cloud forest, passing over two Andean chains of almost 13,100 feet in elevation and descending the eastern slope of the Andes. After passing pre-Inca ruins and one of Peru's most colorful pueblos, we plunge downward through swirling mist and clouds to emerge in a forest of dwarf, evergreen trees. Overnight in the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge.
Day 2: Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. Visit the display ground of the blazing-red Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. The rest of the day can be spent exploring the forest trails, observing high-elevation cloud-forest birds, Woolly Monkeys, Brown Capuchin Monkeys or even a Spectacled Bear. Overnight in the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge.
Day 3: Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge - Cuzco. A second opportunity to witness the Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock. After breakfast, return to Cuzco.
Details
One of hundreds of bird species, Manu Cloud Forest, Manu National Park.
Photo: Peru Verde.
Day 1: Cuzco - Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge
After your breakfast in the hotel, we will pick you up in a private minivan and set off for the Manu cloud forest. We pass over two Andean chains of almost 13,100 feet in elevation, through a steppe-like landscape, or puna. Along the way, we note stone chullpas, or burial chambers, of the pre-Inca Lupaca people and hope to catch sight of some of the bird species of the high Andes, including the Giant Hummingbird and Mountain Caracara.
We have a delicious boxed lunch at Ajanaco, which if clear affords views over the cloud forest and the vast, sprawling expanse of the lowland rain forest. From here, the road suddenly descends the eastern slope of the Andes. We plunge downward, past remnant patches of elfin forest, through swirling mist and clouds, to emerge in a forest of dwarf, evergreen trees, festooned with mosses, lichens, bromeliads and other epiphytes. Nestled in this forest within a two-minute walk of the road and within earshot of a rushing mountain stream, lies the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, If there is time available, we will have a chance to briefly begin our exploration of the surrounding forest before dinner. Overnight in the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge.
Brown Capuchin Monkeys, Manu Cloud Forest, Manu National Park.
Photo: Peru Verde.
Day 2: Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge
Rising before dawn, we visit the display ground of the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, which has become famous among scientists, tourists and the international press, as there is no other spot in the world where so many of these spectacular, blazing-red birds can be seen so easily. From our observation blind, we will watch as between 6 to 20 or more male birds display at a traditional mating ground, 15 feet in front of the blind. We will watch as these outrageous birds strut, curve their wings and dip their crested heads in the hope of attracting a mate. The very best months for viewing Cocks-of-the-Rock are in September, October and November, although the males display every month of the year.
After returning for breakfast, the rest of the day can be spent exploring the forest overhanging the single-lane road near the lodge or some of the miles of trails that wind through the valley, observing high-elevation cloud-forest birds, such as the Golden-headed Trogon as well as numerous, brightly-colored tanagers and hummingbirds. If you are very lucky, you might see a troop of muscular-limbed Woolly Monkeys or Brown Capuchin Monkeys, which regularly forage through the reserve, or perhaps even a Spectacled Bear. Bears are present, but they are shy and hard to see.
Spectacled Bear, Manu Cloud Forest, Manu National Park.
Photo: Peru Verde.
This mysterious cloud forest harbors species of flora and fauna new to science. Indeed, in 1995, two Peruvian biology students, sponsored by Peru Verde, carried out basic survey work on orchids, reptiles and amphibians. They recorded two species of orchids previously unknown to science as well as one species of reptiles and three species of amphibians previously not known to exist in Peru.
After an exhilarating exploration of the road and trails, bathe in the cool, clear waters of the San Pedro Stream as it flows from the virgin forests of the surrounding mountains toward the rushing Kosñipata River. After dinner, you will have the opportunity to observe our "Insect Show", in which your naturalist guide will show you many kinds of moths and some nocturnal insects that will appear at this time. Overnight in the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge.
Bromeliad, Manu Cloud Forest, Manu National Park.
Photo: Peru Verde.
Day 3: Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge - Cuzco
We will rise again before dawn for another chance to see the displaying Cocks-of-the-Rock. After breakfast, we return to Cuzco.
Extraordinary explorations.
© 2011 Inka's Empire Corporation, Luxury Peru Travel & Peru Tours. All rights reserved.
