Manu Makaw Lick

  Peru

• Cusco: 
Cusco
• All Other Areas in Peru: 
Puerto Maldonado

Dates: all year

Description: This is truly one of the world's great wildlife spectacles as hundreds of Parrots and their larger relatives, the Macaws, congregate at this traditional locality to eat the mineral rich clay that is essential to their digestion.

Highlights:
Day 1 - Arrive Lima
Upon your arrival in Lima, our staff will transfer you to the hotel. Overnight.

Day 2 - Fly Cusco
In the morning our staff will transfer you to the airport for your departing flight to the Capital of the Incas. Upon your Arrival in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas, we greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel following brief orientation and a cup of traditional coca tea to assist in the acclimation to the 11300 ft. in the Inca Capital of Cusco. In the afternoon, city tour of Cusco. This tour include: The Cathedral, Qoricancha, temple of the Sun, the most important of Inca ceremonial sites. Later you will continue to the most important site of Sacsayhuaman, Tambomachay, Qenqo and Puca Pucara. We return to the hotel (B)

Day 3 - Cloudforest (B,L,D)
Today we leave early from Cusco and head into the Manu cloudforest. The road climbs to almost 13,000' as we pass over two Andean mountain chains before descending into the cloudforest - a paradise for birders! After nearly seven scenic hours on the road, we arrive at the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge in the Selva Sur private cloudforest reserve, where we'll spend the night within earshot of a tumbling mountain river.

Day 4 - Enter the Amazon Basin (B,L,D)
Early morning is the most active time for wildlife, so while in the jungle and cloudforest we begin our days as the sun rises. Today on our Amazon tour we wake and visit the lek - or mating ground - of the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. We'll spend the morning hours watching these birds with their fantastic plumage and colorful courtship display. With luck, we'll also see the Common Wooly Monkey before we depart by bus for Atalaya and the Alto Madre de Dios River. A box lunch tides us over until our two-hour canoe ride brings us to the Amazon lodge in time for supper. The forests surrounding the lodge are threaded with hiking trails, and with enough time this evening you can begin your exploration of the area.

Day 5 - Transfer Manu (3B,3L,3D)
There's time for a short hike this morning before we set off for our main destination, the remote Manu Wildlife Center. Billed as the single best wildlife destination in the entire Amazon, the MWC is a six-hour drive away, including a stop at a Piro Indian Village along the way. Over thirty miles of trail wind around the lodge at Manu, set within the largest protected area in all of Peru. Spend the afternoon wandering the trails and searching for the abundant wildlife that inhabits the surrounding forest, including twelve species of monkeys. After dinner we'll take a short excursion to explore the nocturnal life in the rainforest.

Day 6 - Macaw and Tapir Clay Licks (B,L,D)
Rising before the sun, we take a twenty-five minute boat journey downstream to the largest parrot and macaw clay lick in the 4.4 million acre Manu Biosphere Reserve. A floating catamaran blind lets us get closer to the morning action - hundreds of parrots arriving at the lick, followed by large red and green macaws, eating the clay for its high salt content. The birds begin to disperse around nine in the morning, and we head back to the lodge to spend the rest of the day exploring the trails, canopy platform, and the Amazon's largest known tapir lick. The elevated screened-in platform overlooking the tapir lick is equipped with inflatable mattresses and pillows, along with fresh pillowcases. Adventurous souls are welcome to spend the night there as tapirs come and go in the dark!

Day 7 - Cocha Blanco and Cocha Camungo (B,L,D)
We depart early again this morning, this time to the Blanco and Camunga oxbow lakes, where a variety of water birds, prehistoric-looking hoatzin, and giant otter families make their home. After lunch at the lodge, the afternoon is free to relax and enjoy a siesta, or spend more time touring the Amazon with our guide. Once dusk approaches we'll have an opportunity to search by boat for caiman and other nocturnal life along the riverbank.

Day 8 - Return Cusco
After an early morning transfer to the Boca Manu airstrip, we board our flight back to colonial Cusco. At night, travelers from all over the world fill Cusco's restaurants, pubs and dance clubs, providing the most vibrant and unique nightlife on the continent. Enjoy your last evening before bidding farewell to your Peruvian hosts!

Day 9 - Fly Lima and Return
This day our staff will transfer you to the airport for your departing flight out to Lima. Transfer to the hotel.

Cost in US$: USD 1820

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Peru Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups of 16

Application Process Involves:

• In-Person Interview Required
• In-Person Interview when Feasible
• Letters of Reference
• Other
• Phone Interview
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Job and Internship Network
• Re-Entry Debriefing at Home

Sun God Expeditions's Mission Statement: Sun God Peru has carved an enviable record of reputation well known among the Travel Agents and their clients, for quality packaged and custom-designed tour to exotic and ancient destinations around Peru. The majority of our Escorted packages presented here feature charitable and socially responsible practices to contribute to the local people and economy. Call our team of destination specialists and explore the Land of the Incas. Our experienced representatives can make a world of difference by sharing first-hand experience and up-todate accurate information on the tour program of your choice. We have been doing this for over 15 years.

Year Founded: 1995