Manu Biosphere Reserve
PERU | Monday, 23 June 2008 | Views [246]
Hugest tree ever!
In Cuzco, we met up with our Manu Nature Tours guide, Willy, who briefed us on our upcoming week in the jungle. We were in for quite a journey…a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
We started out early yet again for a full day van ride to the Manu Cloud Forest. It was neat to see the landscape change from mountains to jungle, and we were able to stop off in a few tiny towns along the way for some good photo ops. We even came across pre-Incan tombs. In no time, the cloudless blue sky disappeared and we were enveloped in moisture and clouds. Willy had our driver stop at points along the winding road through the cloud forest so that we could begin our observation of the flora and fauna. While we were able to see quite a few birds, such as the cinnamon fly catcher (Willy's favorite), we sadly missed out on seeing the rare spectacled bear. By dusk, we arrived at the swanky Manu Cloud Forest Lodge, which is by far the nicest lodging in the cloud forest area. The lodge is located along a whitewater river, and we were definitely well taken care of by the staff--popcorn and pisco sours by fireside each night.
The four of us opted to spend our first full day out on the river for some rafting. Unfortunately, the rafting required a down-river 1.5 hour drive, and then when we finally were in the river, the rapids were only Class 1 or Class 2 at best (we had been promised Class 3 or 4). Our guides were very nice though, and we stopped off for some rock diving in the river. After a lunch at the mirador, we had to drive 2 hours+ to get back to the cloud forest lodge in time to see the afternoon mating ritual of the Cock of the Rock, the national bird of Peru. These guys put on a good show, and from our observation deck, we were able to get quite close to the males without scaring them away.
The next day, we departed the cloud forest for the 8 hour journey to the heart of the Manu Biosphere. During the first two hours in the van, we stopped off at a coca plantation and happened to come across a crowd of locals with a dead jaguar. Sadly, he was the only jaguar we would see our entire trip, and it was a bit morbid to see one so close in that condition. We then rambled onto the port at Atalaya, where we boarded a boat for the 6 hour journey via the Madre de Dios and Manu Rivers. It was here that we left the buffer zone (the area in which people are allowed to live and use the land for resources) and crossed into the reserve zone, which is strictly controlled by the national park. We left our boat behind and hiked 20 min through the jungle to the Manu Nature Lodge, which is the only lodging structure allowed in the reserve zone. It felt like camp—mosquito nets, 3 hours of electricity, and latrines off-site, but it allowed us to more fully appreciate being in the middle of the jungle.
Over the next few days, we hiked the jungle, sailed oxbow lakes in a basic catamaran, and even went up into the tree canopy. We quickly learned that you need a soft tread and strong pair of binoculars if you want to catch just a glimpse of the local fauna. In total, we did get to see quite a few animals and birds, including several species of monkeys, the alligator-like caiman, capybaras (giant guinea pigs, gross), a whole family of giant river otters, and countless species of birds including, albeit too briefly, toucans, parrots and macaws. The jungle is no zoo, and as I mentioned, we missed out on seeing a live jaguar. We did however collect about 100 mosquito and spider bites; the insects were VICIOUS and left no one untouched.
We had a rough trip out at the end of the week, which included 6 hours again via boat, then four hours by car on the Transamazonica highway, which is currently under construction in Peru, to Puerto Maldonado, where we caught a flight back to Cuzco the next day.
I think each of us would have a different telling of our time in the jungle, but it certainly is a surreal place. I have to thank Dr. C for providing the means for us to visit Manu, and we were lucky to see it before it’s all gone.
**As this journal and site are accessible through Google and other search engines, Ben and I wanted to report our extreme dissatisfaction with Manu Nature Tours. There are only eight sanctioned tour companies for all of the Manu Biosphere Reserve and we selected MNT as they consistently had the best reviews and provide the best accommodations in Manu. Extreme caution should be exercised if anyone does decide to go with MNT, as their management and administration repeatedly lied to and cheated us. Their marketing materials are out of date. They changed our transportation plans at the very last minute and then blatantly misstated the cost of ground transportation to exit Manu and the cost of lodging in Puerto Maldonado. They have been informed of all of our issues and not addressed them properly. All we can do is inform future travelers to Manu of our problems with MNT.**
Tags: the great outdoors
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