Manu Jungle Tour

I am heading into the Jungle tomorrow, April 11 (happy birthday, Dad!) – the Manu Reserved Zone - with Pantiacolla tours and am quite excited and nervous. The tour is 9 days and we will travel first by 4 wheel drive for 1 full day and a few hours the next and will then travel by boat on the Alto Madre de Dios River and the Manu River, overnighting in "lodges" – which seem to be pretty basic camps.
What and where is the Manu Reserved Zone?
From http://www.pantiacolla.com/:

About Manu, Amazon rainforest Peru ... a perspective

Manu National Park, in the Amazon rainforest of Peru, was established in 1977 and in recognition of its uniqueness it was included in UNESCO´s "World Heritage Site" list ten years later. Manu is internationally acclaimed as one of the most bio diverse areas on Earth. Access to Manu is by road or air from Cusco, Peru.

Approximately half the area of Switzerland, the Manu Biosphere is a complete ecosystem with protected watershed embracing Andean montane cloud forest, tropical lowland forest and the Alto Madre de Dios and Manu river drainage systems. The biosphere itself is subdivided into national park and two adjacent zones, one for tourism and the other for cultural subsistence. It is home to over 1000 species of birds, 15,000 species of plants, over 200 species of mammals, and untold numbers of insects, and within its heart remain yet uncontacted peoples.

Manu retains healthy populations of jaguar, tapir, anteater, black caiman, giant otter, and among the 13 species of monkey we find the unique pigmy marmoset, the smallest monkey in the world, and the nocturnal night monkey. Because of Manu's low human population and their continued use of traditional hunting techniques, the animals in the park show little fear of man and are more readily approachable than in many other rainforest locations. Manu, therefore, offers unparalleled animal watching opportunities.

Wildlife aside, however, the journey into the park itself is amazingly spectacular and not to be missed. Access to Manu is normally by road from Cusco, Peru. The two day trip from Cusco to the entrance of the Manu Reserved Zone carries you over the Peruvian Andes mountains to an elevation of 4000 m, past pre-inca ruins and down through the cloud forest on the eastern side of the Andes, and finally into lush, lowland rainforest. Roads remain largely unpaved and wind their way precariously past cascading waterfalls, deep gorges, and precipices. Manu is truly a complete experience.

Here is a good page to read about some of the animals I hope to see: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/mammals.htm
And the birds: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/birds.htm
And the reptiles: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/reptiles.htm
Whichever of these animals I see, I hope that I am close enough for pictures, and far enough away for safety!
There is a lot more information about the Manu area on line, including on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%C3%BA_National_Park
 and more is easily found with a Google search if you are interested.
Here is my itinerary:
DAY 1: Cusco-Cloud Forest
Leaving Cusco early in the morning, we begin an 8-hour journey over the Andes by bus, stopping for a coffee at the beautiful colonial village of Paucartambo. Continuing, we climb to the highpoint of the Manu Biosphere at about 3,530 m before descending to the cloud forest. In these mysterious surroundings we take a hike to the lek of the incredible cock-of-the-rock, to see the 'performance' of the males right under our eyes. We spend our first night in the rustic lodge Posada San Pedro (appr. 1,600 m).
DAY 2: Cloud Forest-Atalaya-Manu River
At daybreak we continue by bus to tropical lowland rainforest. Here at the small village Atalaya at 650 m, we change into a motorized canoe to navigate some 5 hours down the turbulent Alto Madre de Dios River to Boca Manu. As night falls we stay in a basic lodge, or camp next to that lodge, depending on availability.
DAY 3 & 4: Lake Salvador and Lake Otorongo
On the morning of the third day we turn up the Manu River for a 6 hour ride into the heart of Manu's Reserved Zone. From this vantage point we will have great views of riverside birds, sunbathing caiman, and the enormous aquatic guinea pig, the capybara. We reach our camping huts deep inside Manu in the afternoon. This will be our base for the next two days. During this time, we will hike through virgin forest and explore one of the most beautiful lakes of the Manu basin, Lake Salvador, by catamaran. There is a chance to see a huge variety of colourful birds, numerous species of monkey and with luck, a family of giant otters. There is another hike in this habitat-rich forest, that will end in Lake Otorongo and a 20 metre-high observation platform overlooking the lake. At night we can explore the forest by torchlight or go moonlight caiman-spotting on the lake.
DAY 5: Lake Salvador - Macaw Lick
After a final walk through the forest surrounding Lake Salvador (flight schedule of 5-day travelers permitting), we return back down the Manu River. Joining the Madre de Dios River we arrive at Blanquillo, near the claylick for macaws, where we spend the night in the jungle lodge Tambo Blanquillo.
DAY 6: Macaw Lick
At first light we head to the macaw lick to watch the dazzling spectacle of hundreds of parakeets, parrots and macaws eating clay. In the afternoon we visit another beautiful oxbow lake, Cocha Blanco. Going back up the river we stay in a basic lodge, or camp next to that basic lodge, depending on availability.
DAY 7: Boca Manu - Pantiacolla Lodge
We carry on up the Alto Madre de Dios River for about 5 hours. Here we get great views of the Andes. For the next two nights we stay at the Pantiacolla lodge, right at the foot of the Pantiacolla Mountains.
DAY 8: Pantiacolla Mountains
This day we hike through a very special rainforest: this is where the Andes and the lowland tropical rainforest meet, providing the visitor with a chance to see a good selection of birds, insects and flora from both zones as well as many endemics.
DAY 9: Atalaya-Cloud forest- Cusco
Back on the boat early in the morning, we head upstream to Atalaya where our bus is waiting to take us back over the Andes to Cusco.


And here are some questions I asked and the answers provided:

Is this the first trip of the year?
This isn´t the first trip of the year, but it is our first trip into the Reserved Zone this year. We offer tours from January till December. Our tours in the low season (Cultural Zone) are from January till the mid of April and our tours in the high season are from mid April till December (Cultural and Reserved Zone).

How has the wet season effected the locations we will visit, ie, will there be adjustments do to continued high water on the river, or flooded areas? Will we be the first group of the year at some of these lodges?
The wet season has effected a part of the Manu road, but this has been repaired last week. Our lodges are all undamaged. There has been and still is high water, however, not unusual for the time of the year. Some of our lodges have been in use during the rainy season as well, the others have been prepared for this first group into the Reserved Zone. So, overall, there is no need to make special changes or adjustments to our tours.

Who is the guide for this tour? And what is their experience with this tour --- have they lead this tour in the past?
The tour of April 11 will be guided by Darwin Moscoso, he is 43 years old. He himself was born in Manu, so he knows a lot about flora and fauna in Manu. He is the brother of the owner of Pantiacolla, one of 6 brothers all born in Manu, and the only one who has succeeded in learning good English, to pass the information to our visitors. He is also an expert in expeditions to find the last lost city of the Inkas, El Paititi. He has been leading this tour for the last 20 years.

How many persons are currently booked on the tour?
We currently have two inscriptions for this tour, a father and a daughter from Holland, respectively 53 and 22 years old.

What type of bus is used for the driving portions?
We own a 4-wheel drive mini van for a maximum of 4 passengers and a bus for a maximum of 18 passengers. Both vehicles have been adapted for the unpaved Manu road. For the April 11th departure we will be using the mini van, unless there will be more than 4 inscriptions.

At this time of year, have your tours had success in seeing other animals in addition to the birds?
Manu is an excellent place for monkey observations, at any time of the year. You will also see capybaras, caymans and turtles and other rarer animals, however it is hard to tell which ones. It´s also a very good time of the year to see jaguars. You never know what you will see!

 
So that's that.  All you wanted to know and more! I will be back in touch once I return to Arequipa around the 20th of April.