Peru: The Magnificent Manu Road and Lowland Rainforest
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Sep 9-29, 2025
Fabrice Schmitt
with Pre-tour Lima Extension from Sep 7
Tour Price to be Determined
2025
Tour Price to be Determined
Tour Price to be Determined
2025
Tour Price to be Determined
The rainforests of southeastern Peru have long been known to be among the most biodiverse areas in the world. Starting in the mountainous regions of Cusco and Puno, several rivers drain off the Andes into the Madre de Dios—Mother of God—before joining waters flowing northeast out of Bolivia and eventually making their way down to the Amazon River.
On their way to the Amazon, these rivers pass through Manu National Park, without question one of the most exciting birding destinations in the world, and the Los Amigos Conservation Concession, a huge area of protected forest that abuts an even larger area of wild, if at present unprotected, land.
During this incredible three-week tour, starting in Cuzco at 11,000 feet and ending in Puerto Maldonado at 900 feet, we’ll visit protected habitats ranging from orchid-laden cloud forest at the upper elevations to the rich middle elevations where Andean Cocks-of-the-rock perform their mating displays right along the road, down to the uppermost reaches of the navigable Amazon River system with its tropical exuberance. For the first half of the tour, we’ll travel by bus and stay at three lodges at progressively lower elevations which descend the Kosñipata Valley from Acjanaco Pass down to Pillcopata. Once in the lowlands, we will travel by motorized canoe and visit two more lodges, both on the Madre de Dios itself. In the Amazonian lowlands we’ll cover an amazing variety of habitats, from open riverbanks to closed oxbow lakes and from seasonally flooded forest to tall upland forest well above the rivers. We’ll also sample the area’s high concentration of bamboo-dominated forest, which has a whole host of its specialists. Topping off the list will be visits to a dirt bank used by hundreds of parrots and macaws each morning as well as a canopy platform to see the world from a unique angle. Besides birds, we’ll have a chance to look for several exciting mammals, such as Giant Otter, while also taking time to observe the myriad reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, and other invertebrates, enriching the entire natural history experience.
Pre-tour extension around Lima
The surroundings of Lima offer some wonderful and easy birding, and this two-day pre-tour will not only give you to see many wonderful and specialized species but also some buffer time between your international flight and the start of the main tour.
Day 1: The trip begins at 6 p.m. in the lobby of our Lima International Airport area hotel. Night in Lima.
Day 2: We’ll drive south of Lima to visit some coastal wetlands and agricultural fields full of stunning birds. The diversity of waterbirds and sheer abundance is amazing, and species we should encounter include White-cheeked Pintail, Great Grebe, Little Blue Heron, Puna Ibis, Slate-colored (Andean) Coot, Plumbeous Rail, the stunning Many-colored Rush-Tyrant, and the cryptic Wren-like Rushbird. With luck, we may even find the secretive Least Bittern.
After lunch, we’ll take a short boat trip to look for various Humboldt seabirds such as Red-legged Cormorant, Peruvian Pelican, Peruvian Booby, the vulnerable Humboldt Penguin, and the endemic Surf Cinclodes. On our way back to Lima we will stop at some agricultural fields where we’ll have a great chance of finding exciting species like Amazilia Hummingbird, Rufescent Flycatcher, Peruvian Elaenia (a forthcoming split of White-crested Elaenia), Long-tailed Mockingbird, Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet, and the local dark morph of Vermilion Flycatcher. Night in Lima.
Day 3: We’ll leave early for the Lomas de Lachay National Reserve. Located in the extremely arid Atacama/Sechura Desert, one of the driest places in the world, the reserve features a unique mist-fed ecosystem. During the humid season (June to November) the dense clouds make moist contact with the peculiar geography of this area, and the resultant humidity gives life to more than 150 species of plants and 80 species of birds.
We’ll be there during the middle of the wet season, which will be extremely interesting from a botanical perspective, and is the best season for bird activity! We’ll have good opportunities to find some of the exceptional birds of this remarkable area, including Burrowing Owl, Coastal Miners, Andean Tinamou, Peruvian Thick-knee, and Least Seedsnipe. We may even find some rare ones such as Thick-billed Miner or Raimondi’s Yellow-Finch. After a lunch in the reserve, we’ll head back to Lima for some rest and to prepare for the start of the main tour. Night in Lima.
Main tour
Day 1: The trip begins at 6 p.m. in the lobby of our Lima International Airport area hotel. Night in Lima.
Day 2: We’ll fly early this morning to Cusco and board our bus for a day of birding. We’ll stop at a lake or two where we’ll likely see Andean Gull, Puna Ibis, White-tufted Grebe, and several kinds of ducks. Some of the birds inhabiting the rushes by the lakeshores could include Many-colored Rush-Tyrant, Wren-like Rushbird, and Plumbeous Rail, while nearby drier hillsides host the local Rusty-fronted Canastero and Bearded Mountaineer. Night in Cusco.
Day 3: We’ll depart by bus for the trip to the eastern slope of the Andes. We’ll make several stops as we climb over a couple of interior ridges and traverse some drier intermontane valleys before arriving at the last Andean pass, Acjanaco. Some birds we’ll likely see along the way include Mountain Caracara, Andean Flicker, Slender-billed Miner, and Mourning, Peruvian, and Ash-breasted Sierra Finches. Diversity increases as the habitats become moister and denser, with the endemic Creamy-crested Spinetail and very local Chestnut-breasted Mountain Finch possible. Near the pass, we’ll look for flocks in the patches of the humid treeline forest in hopes of encountering Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager, Golden-collared Tanager, White-browed Conebill, and Black-throated and Moustached Flowerpiercers. We’ll look particularly for Line-fronted and Scribble-tailed Canasteros, local species found only at high elevation or above treeline. As we descend the eastern slope of the Andes to our accommodations at 9400 feet, the forest becomes more continuous. The vast array of birds here includes White-collared Jay and Mountain Cacique, and we’ll hope to see mixed flocks of tanagers, flycatchers, and furnariids. In the evening we’ll go to a favorite spot where we’ve had good luck finding Swallow-tailed Nightjar. Night at Wayqecha Birding Lodge.
Day 4: At breakfast, we’ll be greeted by a dawn chorus of Great Thrushes, Glossy-black Thrushes, and Black-faced Brushfinches. We’ll have a full day in these uppermost elevations of the Kosñipata cloud forests, birding from the road that borders Manu National Park as well as on trails that enter the Amazon Conservation Association’s private reserve and research station. We’ll principally be birding along the road, almost certainly hearing Red-and-white Antpitta and Trilling Tapaculo, and with more than a bit of luck, we’ll even see one or both. The lodge now has feeders, and possible hummingbirds here are the creatively named Shining Sunbeam and Amethyst-throated Sunangel, and other high-elevation specialties could include Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan, Marcapata Spinetail, and Barred Fruiteater. We may return to Acjanaco Pass a few kilometers back up the road for any high-elevation birds we might have missed the day before, such as Puna Thistletail, Undulated Antpitta, Great Sapphirewing, or Grass Wren, the last an Andean resident recently split from North American Sedge Wren. Night at Wayqecha Birding Lodge.
Day 5: We’ll spend the bulk of this day making stops along the road, starting in the high-elevation cloud forests below our lodge at 9400 feet down to our next lodge at 4600 feet. Lower down, as we walk along this little-traveled road, we’ll keep an eye out for Masked Trogon, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant, Inca Flycatcher, Blue-banded Toucanet, and a wide variety of other hummingbirds, flycatchers, and tanagers. The list of possible birds is all but overwhelming, and perhaps equally exciting are the myriad butterflies that come to seeps, puddles, and flowers. Lush, cloud-forest vegetation with flowers such as wild nasturtiums, fuchsias, Pitcairnia, and Bomarea (all attractive to hummingbirds) as well as fabulous vistas of undisturbed forest will make our day’s journey down the Manu Road memorable. Night in San Pedro.
Day 6-7: We’ll spend two full days exploring the middle-elevation forests, concentrating on the habitats found from 6500 feet down to 4500 feet, home to many narrow-range specialties and an exceptionally comfortable climate. Birding these forests can be like visiting a bird buffet, with fancy quetzals and cotingas and mixed flocks of dazzling tanagers. Among the many possibilities are Crested and Golden-headed Quetzals, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Chestnut-backed Antshrike, Stripe-chested Antwren, Slaty Gnateater, Yungas Manakin, Andean and White-eared Solitaires, Deep-blue Flowerpiercer, and Golden, Paradise, Blue-necked, Golden-eared, and Orange-eared Tanagers. We sometimes get lucky with a troop of Geoffroy’s Woolly Monkeys in the roadside trees, and if it’s sunny, butterflies such as eighty-eights, jewels, and clearwings will continue to delight. We’ll visit a nearby Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek to watch up to ten or more males engaged in their strange mating dance at surprisingly close range. Hummingbirds at the lodge’s feeders and porterweed hedges should include Violet-fronted Brilliant, Many-spotted Hummingbird, and Booted Racket-tail, while Geoffroy’s Daggerbill, Wire-crested Thorntail, and White-bellied Woodstar are also possible at the flowers. We’ll also do some night birding here; we could find Rufescent Screech-Owl and Band-bellied Owl, but the real treat will be the Lyre-tailed Nightjar show: watching a male Lyre-tailed swoop across the sky at dusk is truly awesome. Night in San Pedro.
Day 8: After a pre-dawn breakfast we’ll spend the morning birding the lower foothill forests where more mixed flocks are our target. We’ll pay special attention to the stretch between 4500 and 2500 feet, which has relatively untouched forest, a rarity in the Andes as the climate is ideal for raising cash crops such as tea, coffee, and coca. In the past, we’ve seen many species restricted to this upper tropical zone, including Peruvian Piedtail, Versicolored Barbet, Ornate Stipplethroat, Cinnamon-faced Tyrannulet, Ornate Flycatcher, Black-backed Tody-Flycatcher, and Chestnut-breasted Wren. On one stretch of the road we’ll search for the Inti Tanager, first documented on WINGS tours in 2000 and 2003 and described finally in 2021. We’ll arrive at our next lodge with plenty of time to settle in before some late afternoon birding close to our rooms. Night at Villa Carmen.
Days 9–10: We’ll spend two full days at Villa Carmen. This birding lodge and biological research station owned by the Amazonian Conservation Association is in the transitional zone where the last low foothills of the Andes begin to flatten out into the Amazon Basin proper; while many of the species are Amazonian in affinity, some that are limited to the outer foothills are found only here. The possibilities are almost endless and include Uniform Crake, Hoatzin, Blue-headed and Chestnut-fronted Macaws, Yellow-billed Nunbird, Scarlet-hooded Barbet, Golden-bellied Warbler, Bamboo Antshrike, Black-throated Antbird, Rusty-belted Tapaculo, Ringed Antpipit, Johannes’s Tody-Tyrant, Hauxwell’s Thrush, and Band-tailed, Round-tailed, and Fiery-capped Manakins—in a word, tons of birds. We’ll make a short drive one day to visit a hummingbird feeding station where we may find Rufous-crested Coquette, Koepcke’s Hermit, and many other species. We’ll have the chance to go night birding here as well, and we should hear and possibly see Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl, Black-banded Owl, and Common Potoo. Nights at Villa Carmen.
Day 11: After replacing our bus by a motorized canoe, much of today will be devoted to travel as we’ll motor down the Madre de Dios River to our next lodge, Tambo Blanquillo. The boat ride itself is delightful, and we’ll stop for any number of birds that can be seen along the rivers, such as Sand-colored Nighthawk, roosting Great Potoo, Orinoco Goose, Capped Heron, and various other herons and parrots. Night at Tambo Blanquillo Lodge.
Days 12-13: During our two full days at Tambo Blanquillo, we’ll have several activities such as a boat ride on an oxbow lake, a visit to a parrot clay lick, and a visit to the canopy platform. An early morning visit to the clay lick should yield numbers of Yellow-crowned, Orange-cheeked, and Blue-headed Parrots, Chestnut-fronted Macaw, and most mornings groups of Red-and-green Macaws come down, though every day is different and unpredictable. Late morning will see us on the canopy platform where one has a totally novel view of the tropical rainforest. Here we’ll have a better chance to see species such as Gilded Barbet, Amazonian Pygmy-Owl, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, White-necked Puffbird, and Paradise, Turquoise, and Green-and-gold Tanagers. Finally in the afternoon, we’ll take a two-hour boat ride on the lake, where we’ll look for Hoatzin, Sungrebe, Horned Screamer, American Pygmy and Green-and-rufous Kingfishers, and Pale-eyed Blackbird. With luck, we may see the rare Agami Heron and possibly spot a rail or two while looking for the local family of Giant Otters. Night at Tambo Blanquillo.
Day 14: After some early birding at Tambo Blanquillo Lodge, we will have a five-hour journey to our home for the next few days, Los Amigos Research Station. We’ll try to fit in some birding in the late afternoon as we familiarize ourselves with the grounds, perhaps seeing the Undulated Tinamous that, quite incredibly, forage in the open lawn. Night at Los Amigos
Days 15–19: Los Amigos Research Station and Birding Lodge, owned by the nonprofit Amazon Conservation Association (which also owns Wayqecha and Villa Carmen Biological Stations, visited on the previous tour), is situated where the Los Amigos and Madre de Dios Rivers converge. The biological station is part of a watershed that includes millions of acres of protected wilderness in southeastern Peru. The landscape is a mosaic of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, including palm swamps, bamboo thickets, oxbow lakes, and various types of flooded and unflooded forests. Large stands of Guadua bamboo coupled with the extensive várzea (a wet forest inundated during the peak of the rainy season), terra firme (a forest occurring on higher ground that never gets flooded), and mature transitional floodplain forest ensure a huge variety of birdlife at Los Amigos. A casual day of birding on foot could easily yield 200 species. Two recent big days here tallied 345 and 347 species on foot, making this possibly the single birdiest location on the planet.
Some of the more interesting and unusual species possible in the bamboo are Rufous-headed Woodpecker, Manu Antbird, Peruvian Recurvebill, and Long-crested Pygmy-Tyrant. Throughout the forest various species of foliage-gleaners and antbirds join in mixed flocks. Some of the scarcer species here include Bartlett’s Tinamou, Razor-billed Curassow, Pale-winged Trumpeter, Pavonine Quetzal, Purus Jacamar, Cream-colored Woodpecker, Banded Antbird, Royal Flycatcher, and Musician Wren, to name but a few, and we’ll certainly look for the especially rare and local Rufous-fronted Antthrush and Black-faced Cotinga.
Butterflies abound here, and since the dragonflies of this region have been studied more thoroughly than almost anywhere else in the Amazon, we might be able to put names to some of the more colorful ones we see. Thirteen species of primates are known from the reserve, and we’ll surely see a good selection of some of them, and possibly even rarer mammals such as Jaguar, Giant Anteater, and Short-eared Dog.
Night birding may produce potoos, Mottled and Black-banded Owls, and Ocellated Poorwill, as well as a good chance for fascinating nocturnal invertebrates, tree frogs, and Amazonian Tree Boa, the only snake with a bright eyeshine. Nights at Los Amigos.
Day 20: After some early morning birding around our lodge, we’ll travel back to Puerto Maldonado via a combination of boats and wheeled vehicles, taking up much of the day, including stops for any birds and mammals. Night in Puerto Maldonado.
Day 21: We’ll have a few hours in the morning for some roadside birding near Puerto Maldonado, where we’ll certainly see a few new species. Rusty-margined Flycatcher occurs at the edge of its range here, and several species have spread into Peru from Bolivia in this area including Grassland Sparrow. On one recent tour we discovered the second country record of White-bellied Seedeater, and on another, a Tiny Hawk was a wonderful surprise. You never know what you’ll see. We’ll have an afternoon flight back to Lima, and after a farewell dinner at the airport area hotel, the tour will conclude at the Lima International Airport.
Note:The information presented here is an abbreviated version of our formal General Information for Tours to Peru: Magnificent Manu Road & Lowland Rainforest. Its purpose is solely to give readers a sense of what might be involved if they take this tour. Although we do our best to make sure that what follows here is completely accurate, it should not be used as a replacement for the formal document which will be sent to all tour registrants, and whose contents supersede any information contained here.
ENTERING PERU: For United States citizens, a passport valid on the day of entry and with at least one blank page for an entry stamp, and a return airline ticket are required. Visas are not necessary, and recently tourist permits and customs forms have been dispensed with; only your passport will be stamped upon arrival. If this changes, and you are given an immigration form, keep the tourist permit stub with your passport at all times — it may be required for departure from the country.
A valid Yellow Fever vaccination is required if you are arriving from a country where the disease is a risk. See http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2014/chapter-3-infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/yellow-fever#1948 for more information.
COUNTRY INFORMATION: You can review the U.S. Department of State Country Specific Travel Information here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel.html and the CIA World Factbook here: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/. Review foreign travel advice from the UK government here: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice and travel advice and advisories from the Government of Canada here: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories.
PACE OF THE TOUR: Sunrise in southern Peru this time of year is around 6:00 a.m. and sunset is at about 5:40 p.m. We plan to be in the field at dawn, with breakfast at about 5:30 each day to be out during the best birding hours. Except on travel days, we schedule time off after lunch for an hour or so before a late afternoon outing. We always have at least an hour off before dinner each day and typically end most days, having eaten and completed the day’s bird lists, by 8 p.m. On some days, we will schedule optional owling/nightjar outings either in the evening or before dawn.
Days 1 – 10: We will be going over a pass at 13,700 feet (4170 m) on the third day of the tour where we will likely get out and look around a bit, with short, easy walks. We will then spend time at a lower pass at around 11,500 feet (3500 m) and then end up at our lodge for the night at about 9600 feet (2925 m), and much of the next morning. After that, we’ll continue downhill to much more comfortable elevations. Most, if not all, of our birding in the first few days of the tour will be done while walking on roads. At Villa Carmen, almost all of our walking will be on trails. The longer walks are about two miles in length on even ground, but even on the shorter ones we go slowly and spend a lot of time standing and looking. Trails are mostly level, but there are some short but steep inclines where the trails cross ravines, and footing can be very unstable with rock and roots in places. Some trails at Villa Carmen could be muddy or even have short stretches of standing water; rubber boots are recommended here. Anyone with balance issues should carry a hiking stick.
Days 11 – 21: During the second half of the tour all of our walking will be on trails, and we’ll do a fair amount of it – 4 to 5 miles total in a day. Arriving at lodges by boat means ascending the riverside banks or bluffs, via well-built staircases, upon which the lodges are built. In the case of Los Amigos, the bluff is very high and the staircase a daunting 220 steps, but we do this just once when we arrive. The remaining trails are mostly flat with a few sloping stretches that vary from gradual to steep, which we take slowly. Footing can be very unstable with rock and roots in places. We sometimes make it less than a mile in a morning of birding, but the longer walks could be up to three and a half miles in length round-trip (1.75 miles each way). In any event, we go slowly and spend a lot of time standing and looking. Anyone with balance issues should carry a hiking stick.
When on the road we’ll be fairly close to the bus, but one should be prepared for long periods of standing and walking slowly. A small travel stool is handy for those who find this tiring. The forest trails may be muddy in spots and short roadside vegetation could be wet from dew or rains, so waterproof footgear is highly recommended – waterproof hiking boots or even rubber boots are best. If you don’t mind having wet feet, a cheap pair of sneakers would also work as long as you have something dry and clean to change into back at the room (or even on the bus).
HEALTH: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all travelers be up to date on routine vaccinations. These include measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, polio vaccine, and your yearly flu shot.
They further recommend that most travelers have protection against Hepatitis A and Typhoid.
Malaria: The CDC considers Peru to be of low risk for travelers contracting malaria. While malaria is not common in the Manu area, it does exist, and the CDC has determined that a traveler who is on an appropriate antimalarial drug has a greatly reduced chance of contracting the disease.
Yellow Fever: Yellow Fever vaccination is recommended by the CDC.
Please contact your doctor well in advance of your tour’s departure, as some medications must be initiated weeks before the period of possible exposure.
The most current information about travelers’ health recommendations can be found on the CDC’s Travel Health website here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list
Elevation: This tour involves two days at elevations over 11,000 feet – one pass is at 13,700 feet (4170 m). If you have a heart problem, please consult your doctor concerning these higher elevations. If you would like to avoid the typical milder effects of elevation sickness (headache, nausea), the recommended prophylaxis is acetazolamide, a very effective drug (available in the US by prescription under the brand name Diamox or over the counter in Peru).
Insects: Many potential health problems can be prevented by adequate protection against insects. Even when mosquitoes may be sparse, biting gnats and chiggers can still be a nuisance. To be protected, bring plenty of spray repellent and wear long sleeves and pants when in the field. We recommend using insect repellents with a concentration of DEET of at least 20%.
Smoking: Smoking is prohibited in vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists, etc. If you are sharing a room with a nonsmoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, do so well away and downwind from the group. If any location where the group is gathered has a stricter policy than the WINGS policy, that stricter policy will prevail.
Miscellaneous: We do not often encounter snakes and take the time to observe them whenever possible; most are not venomous, and venomous ones are not aggressive. At times we will be remote, and while the lodges have emergency medical supplies, professional medical assistance will be several hours away from some of them.
One can never completely escape the risk of parasites or fungal infections. Please consult with your physician. We avoid tap water but filtered and bottled water are readily available.
CLIMATE: Coastal Lima is seasonally foggy, damp, and chilly, necessitating a sweater. Cusco, an Andean town, is cold at night and early in the day (potentially down to near freezing). During the afternoon, it can be very bright and sun protection should be used. At Wayqecha, mornings could be in the low 40’s °F, but in the lowlands expect temperatures in the 70s to high 80s °F with high humidity. Rain is probable in the eastern Andes and lowlands. To deal with all climatic contingencies we recommend light gloves and a rain jacket that could double as a windbreaker and a sweater for the highlands and lightweight warm weather clothes for the lowlands. A compact umbrella is essential for birding in light rain.
In the lowlands - Puerto Maldonado and our lodges on the second half of the tour, expect temperatures in the high 80s°F each day with high humidity – though a heat wave can see temperatures into the upper 90s°F, and a long day of rain keeps temps in the mid-70s. Rain is probable at least occasionally on a few days though highly unpredictable. To deal with such unpredictable contingencies we recommend lightweight warm weather clothes for the lowlands (long pants and long sleeve shirts in the field), in addition to the items listed above.
ACCOMMODATIONS: Our hotels and lodges are always among the best available, comfortable, and modern, and all have rooms with private baths. In Lima, we’ll stay in a standard modern airport hotel. Elsewhere on the tour, our accommodations are more basic eco-lodge quality, but still very nice, wooden construction with hot water and private baths. Single accommodation cannot be guaranteed at Villa Carmen; please consult the WINGS office for more details.
At Pillahuata, we stay at Wayqecha Lodge, a biological research station perched on the edge of a wild ravine overlooking the endless cloud forest of the Kosñipata Valley. Facilities include 10 twin rooms (each with two twin beds). Each room has recently been remodeled to contain a private bathroom. Electricity for charging batteries is provided by generator from 6:00-9:00 p.m. (there are outlets in the rooms), and internet is available 24 hours at and near the dining hall. The elevation here is about 9,600 feet (2925 m); temperatures may drop to 40º F (4º C) at night, and in the humidity, it can feel colder than that.
At San Pedro, we’ll stay at either Cock of the Rock Lodge or Manu Paradise Lodge. Both are situated in the pristine cloud forest of the mountains of Manu just a few minutes’ drive from a spectacular Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek furnished with a viewing platform to observe these colorful birds during their dawn displays. Facilities at Cock of the Rock Lodge include twelve spacious bungalows with private toilets and two single beds in most cabins. There is no electricity in the rooms yet; lighting is by solar-charged lantern, electricity for charging batteries and internet are available in the dining area only when the generator is running from 6:00-9:00 p.m. There is a large dining area and lounge overlooking a feeding station for birds. Manu Paradise is more hotel-like with rooms in two adjacent two-story buildings that also house the dining room. Hummingbird feeders are also in the garden here. Hot water is provided by gas heaters in all places.
Villa Carmen Research Station, just outside of the town of Pilcopata, has six beautiful, newly constructed cabins with private bathrooms, hot water, and full-time electricity in the rooms. Wi-Fi is available in the dining area.
At our two lowland lodges, the accommodations are more basic eco-lodge quality, but still very nice, wooden construction with hot water and private baths. At Los Amigos there is solar-powered electricity in the rooms, while at Tambo Blanquillo there is at present no electricity in the rooms. Batteries can be recharged at the central buildings during certain hours when electricity is provided by diesel generators.
As is typical in the tropics, occasionally, small lizards, amphibians, mammals, or unusual insects may visit a hotel room, especially in the lower elevations.
INTERNET AND MOBILE PHONE ACCESS: Mobile phone access is rather limited on this tour and is only available in and around Lima, Cusco, & Puerto Maldonado, though some might find service at Villa Carmen. Wifi internet is available at all of our hotels but is limited to the generator hours of 6:00 am - 9:00 pm in San Pedro, and 7:00 am - 9:00 pm at Los Amigos. As of this writing, there is no internet at Tambo Blanquillo, but that may change by the time our tour runs.
FOOD: Food on our southeastern Peru tours is quite good. We’ll start all days with warm breakfasts, almost always including scrambled eggs or an omelet. Lunches are either back at our lodge or, during transfer days, a boxed lunch prepared by the lodge, usually including something like a chicken-pasta dish, fruit, juice, and cookies. All dinners are at our lodges and, like the sit-down lunches, usually start with a delicious soup and then follow with a main dish with trout, chicken, or beef, rice, potatoes, cooked vegetables, and sometimes a salad. Dinners are followed by a simple dessert. We have no reservations about eating fresh vegetables or drinking beverages with ice at our lodges, which cater largely to foreigners like ourselves. A couple of our lodges have only a very limited selection of alcoholic drinks available, though all have beer and wine, and can also prepare pisco sours, the Peruvian national cocktail.
Drinks: Bottled water and/or a soft drink or a beer is provided at lunch and dinner, as is coffee or tea. All other drinks or ‘personal’ drinking water for use in your room etc. is the responsibility of the individual; our lodges typically have filtered water available for refilling your own bottles. We also keep bottled water on the bus for ‘emergency’ use during the day.
Food Allergies / Requirements: We cannot guarantee that all food allergies can be accommodated at every destination. Participants with significant food allergies or special dietary requirements should bring appropriate foods with them for those times when their needs cannot be met. Announced meal times are always approximate depending on how the day unfolds. Participants who need to eat according to a fixed schedule should bring supplemental food. Please contact the WINGS office if you have any questions.
TRANSPORTATION: The flights to Cusco and back from Puerto Maldonado will be in a modern, full-sized jet (such as an Airbus 320), and our transportation from there will be in a small bus provided by our ground agent. Most road travel will be on an unpaved, often bumpy road, but we are fortunate just to have roads into this fabulous area. Some roads may be quite bumpy and/or winding; anyone susceptible to motion sickness should bring an appropriate remedy. Participants should be able to sit in any seat in our vehicles. From Puerto Maldonado to Tambo Blanquillo we’ll travel for 3 hours by long, motorized, dug-out style boat with comfortable seats and a covered roof, and from there another 5 hours back to Los Amigos.
Maximum group size seven with one leader.
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