Amazon Rainforest Tours from Cusco

Manu or Tambopata?

Both are protected rainforest in southeastern Peru, and we run tours to both. The difference is how you get there and how deep you go.

• Manu National Park is reached overland from Cusco. The drive crosses the Andes and drops through the Manu cloud forest, home of the cock-of-the-rock, before you continue by boat. Short tours stay in the lowland rainforest of the Cultural Zone; tours of 6 days or more travel up the Manu River into the Reserved Zone.
• Tambopata starts in Puerto Maldonado, which you reach by flight from Cusco or Lima. Transfers are shorter, so a 3-day trip gives you more time in the forest. Our Tambopata tour visits the Chuncho macaw clay lick and includes a boat trip, kayaking and a night walk.

If you want the full journey from the Andes to the lowlands, choose Manu. If you have only a few days and prefer to fly, Tambopata is the easier option.

How many days do you need?

• 3 to 4 days: the Manu cloud forest and the lowland rainforest around Atalaya, with hikes, the Machuhuasi oxbow lake and a parrot clay lick. You stay at a lodge on the Alto Madre de Dios River.
• 5 days: adds more time in the lowlands, a visit to a native community or a night watch at a tapir clay lick, depending on the tour.
• 6 to 8 days: the Manu Reserved Zone. You travel up the Manu River past the Limonal ranger station to the Otorongo and Salvador oxbow lakes, sleep at Casa Matsiguenka and visit a macaw clay lick. These are the tours with the best chances of seeing large mammals such as giant otters, tapirs and, with luck, a jaguar.

The Reserved Zone is only open to authorized operators, and getting there takes time: with 3 or 4 days you will not reach it.

How the trip works from Cusco

Manu tours leave Cusco at about 6:00 a.m. in a private minivan. The first day is spent on the road through the Andes and the cloud forest, with stops for birds and views, before reaching the lowlands. From the river port of Atalaya the trip continues by boat. On the way back you return to Cusco by road on the last day.

For Tambopata, you fly to Puerto Maldonado, where we pick you up and take you to the lodge.

When to go

The forest is open all year. The drier months, roughly April to November, are the season the Peruvian park service (SERNANP) recommends for visiting Manu. From December to March it rains more often, rivers rise and the road can be slower. Tell us your dates and we will tell you what to expect.

Who runs your tour

Amazon Trip Peru was founded in 2018 by Percy Huanca, who was born in Manu National Park into a Matsiguenka family and worked as a native guide before starting the company. Our guides and crew come from the native communities along Manu and Tambopata.