Organized Tours

In Manu

All Alone in the Forest . . . with a Few Good Friends -- As remote and huge as the Manu Reserve Zone is, don't expect to find yourself enveloped and alone in the quiet of the jungle during high season. The few lodges and tour operators with a presence in the zone are very busy during the months of June, July, and August, and travelers' contact with each other might greatly outdistance their contact with species native to the rainforest. This is the case despite the official limits of 30 travelers per agency per week. (If all 10 agencies have full loads, that's still 300 people traveling many of the same waterways and racing to arrive first at primary observation points.)

Manu Tour Operators

Only eight tour companies are permitted to run organized expeditions to Manu, and the number of travelers they can take there each week is strictly limited. The best firms listed below are closely involved with conservation efforts and local development programs. The least expensive expeditions bus travelers in and out or return by small plane. Land (and river) travel is very time-consuming, but it makes for an excellent opportunity to experience the diverse terrain and types of forest that comprise Manu. Note that most companies operate with fixed departure dates only in the dry season, from May to November. The prices below do not include air transportation from Cusco.

Most of the tour operators below post detailed itineraries and information about their Manu trips on their websites.

• InkaNatura, Calle Ricardo Palma N J1 Urb Santa Monica, Cusco (tel. 084/255-255; www.inkanatura.com). Perhaps the most serious and sophisticated outfit operating ecotourism trips in the Peruvian Amazon, InkaNatura, associated with the Peruvian conservation group PerúVerde and the American organization Tropical Nature, organizes stays at the famed Manu Wildlife Center. The lodge, opened in 1996, is located near the world's largest tapir clay lick, as well as the Blanquillo macaw clay lick, and it features 48km (30 miles) of nature trails and two canopy-viewing platforms. Accommodations are in 22 spacious, private bungalows with tiled bathrooms. Packages at the Manu Wildlife Center range from 4 days/3 nights for $1,170 (£585) to 5 days/4 nights for $1,270 (£635). InkaNatura also operates several lodges in Tambopata. Outside Peru, trips can be organized through Tropical Nature Travel, P.O. Box 5276 Gainesville, FL 32627-5276 (tel. 877/827-8350 toll-free in the U.S.; www.tropicalnaturetravel.com).

• Other Manu lodges run by InkaNatura include Manu Wildlife Center (of which InkaNatura is a joint owner); and Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, in the Selva Sur Nature Reserve at an elevation of 1,600m (5,250 ft.), excellent for birders.

• Manu Ecological Adventures, Plateros 356, Cusco (tel. 084/261-640; www.manuadventures.com). This 8-year-old agency offers some of the most affordable trips, ranging from 5 days/4 nights (in and out by plane, $724/£362) to 8 days/7 nights (overland, $550/£225), with 2 nights in open-air lodges and the rest in campsites. A 4-day visit to the Cultural Zone is $300/£150 (overland).

• Manu Expeditions, Urbanización Magisterio, segunda Etapa G-5, P.O. Box 606, Cusco (tel. 084/226-671; www.manuexpeditions.com). One of the pioneering ecotourism operators in southern Peruvian Amazon, Manu Expeditions -- run by an ornithologist who is the British Consul in Cusco -- has been organizing rainforest tours for more than 2 decades. Tours include stays at the Manu Wildlife Center, of which the group is part owner, near the famed macaw clay lick, and a safari camp facility deep at Cocha Salvador within the Manu Biosphere Reserve. The Wildlife Center is considered the best lodge in Peru for birding. The longer tours include initial stays at the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge in cloud forest. First departures of each month include stays at Casa Machiguenga Lodge. Four-, 6-, and 9-day tours range from $1,110 to $1,810 (£555-£905) per person.

• Manu Nature Tours, Av. Pardo 1046, Cusco (tel. 084/252-721; www.manuperu.com). A highly professional, prizewinning outfit with 20 years' experience in Manu -- it was one of the first to send expeditions to the reserve -- Manu Nature Tours operates the well-known and comfortable Manu Lodge, situated next to a pristine oxbow lake and the only full-service lodge within Manu National Park itself (5-day, 4-night trips, $929-$1,422/£465-£711), and the excellent Manu Cloud Forest Lodge, the first of its kind in Peru, overlooking a waterfall (3-day, 2-night trips, $498/£249). The agency claims that the oxbow lake is one of the best spots anywhere in the jungle to view giant river otters. Add-on options include mountain biking, rafting, and tree canopy climbs. The office in Cusco is attached to a Patagonia outdoor gear shop and a rainforest cafe, in case you needed any reassurance of their commitment. The agency has expanded its activities to include trekking programs in the southern and central highlands, as well as more traditional tourist trips throughout Peru.

• Pantiacolla, Saphy 554 or Plateros 341, Cusco (tel. 084/238-323; www.pantiacolla.com). An initiative of a Dutch biologist and Boca Manu-born conservationist, this agency operates the small Pantiacolla Lodge, with double rooms in bungalows, on bluffs overlooking the Madre de Dios River at the edge of Manu National Park. The organization also operates a community-based ecotourism project with the Yine Indians of the Manu rainforest, with a lodge that will be entirely turned over to the community in 2011. Pantiacolla is favored by ecotravelers on a budget, offering camping and lodge trips ranging from $990 (£495) for 5 days to $1,064 (£532) for 7 days.

Other reputable Manu tour companies and lodges, which run economical camping-based trips, especially for budget travelers, include:

• Expediciones Vilca, Plateros 359, Cusco (tel. 084/253-773; www.cbc.org.pe/manuvilca). Vilca has been organizing Manu expeditions for a decade, with trips that split time between lodges and campsites. It has earned a sturdy reputation among budget-minded travelers.

• Mayuc, Portal de Confiturías 211, Plaza de Armas, Cusco (tel. 084/242-824; www.mayuc.com). Mayuc is a traditional tour operator with programs across Peru, plus good budget-camping programs to Manu.

• SAS Travel, Portal Panes 167, Plaza de Armas, Cusco (tel. 084/255-205; www.sastravelperu.com). This well-run and popular all-purpose agency offers varied programs to both Manu and Tambopata, and stays at various lodges.

Manu Tour Considerations -- The best deals are usually available by arranging your trip on-site in Cusco rather than your home country. However, doing so carries some risks. Your chosen tour operator might not have space available. Another warning worth heeding is that previous travelers have gone to Manu but had their returns delayed (by weather conditions and mechanical and other mishaps) by several days. It's wise to schedule a Manu expedition in the middle of your trip, with a few buffer days before your scheduled departure.