Check your gate number... then ask

I arrived in plenty of time to Cusco airport. I thought I may have an issue with the weight of my luggage as usual, but amazingly enough it was right on the 23 kg allowed...phew.

Went to Gate 3 as indicated on my boarding pass and waited until the allotted boarding time 3.50. There was a lot of commotion over at Gate 5, I checked my boarding pass, it definitely said Gate 3. I waited... nothing. So at 4.10 I decided as the line had disappeared that I should probably check with the attendant there. Sure enough, that was my plane, they had written the gate number down wrong, and there was no electronic board or announcement or anything letting you know what flight was boarding.

So beware, always check.  Only a short flight,  1 hour and 15 minutes,  but awesome views of the snow capped Andes,  most enjoyable.

The jungle is very hot... obvious, but needs to be said :)

5 days later and I am back in Cusco after the jungle, what a diverse country Peru is.

The bus journey to the river port was a lot better than I thought. We stopped often to view Inca sites, had breakfast in a lovely little town, visited a museum and learned more about the Amazon area of Peru. It really didn't seem like a long journey. We ended the first day high in the Cloud Forest at a modest lodge. The views were wonderful.

The trip down the river on a large covered canoe was interesting. The driver was very experienced at navigating the rapids, and our guide pointed out numerous birds and wild life along the way.

We spent 2 nights at lodge in the middle of the Manu park (pictured above), surrounded by the sights and sounds of the jungle. The Howler Monkeys were an amazing wake up call. We made a number of hikes into the jungle to observe the wildlife and fauna, including a couple of night hikes. Our guide was excellent at explaining how all the jungle species worked together and pointing out many fascinating things. We were very fortunate to have a young jaguar run out onto the trail in front of us, a site I will never forget.

The trip back up the river took longer due to the fast current downstream, but we were able to break the journey at a wonderful thermal spring.

Another very enjoyable experience in Peru, however, if you don't cope well with heat and high humidity you may not enjoy it.

Back to the Cloud Forest

Early in the morning, we have another walk through the forest; as always it is teeming with life and by now many birds, monkeys, insects, trees and plants are familiar to us.

We walk until our car picks us up to take us to Cusco, where we arrive in the late afternoon.

Hot Springs

After a last morning walk in Pantiacolla, the boat takes us to the hot springs of Shintuya for a relaxing mineral bath, before continuing further up to Atalaya.

From here we turn back up the Andes by car. We visit a local orchid “sanctuary” along the way. We spend the last night in Posada San Pedro.

Parrot clay lick

Early in the morning the boat takes you to a nearby clay lick for parrots and the rare blue-headed macaw. 

There are many theories as to why parrots eat clay. However, in the past few years, research has shown that they eat clay for the sodium in it. Whatever the reason may be, a group of colourful parrots descending through the air to the clay lick is an unforgettable sight to be seen. From a blind you may see parrots and parakeets to ingest the clay on a bank.

From there we visit one of the higher trails of the Pantiacolla Mountains with it’s ‘Oil’ stream with small hot springs, oil wells and natural swimming pools.

Amazon Cloud Forest

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 2 hours down the turbulent Alto Madre de Dios River.

From here we get great views of the Andes. We stop for a visit of one of the very few lakes on the Alto Madre de Dios River, where you can go around on small traditional rafts. For the next two nights we stay at the Pantiacolla lodge, right at the foot of the Pantiacolla Mountain Range.

The forest of Pantiacolla Lodge is a very special rainforest: this is where the Andes and the lowland tropical rainforest meet and provides the visitor with a chance to see a good selection of birds and plants from both zones as well as endemics to the area. Your first hike will be on the lowland trails, at 400m above sea level.

Also at night, we explore the forest by torchlight looking for insects, snakes and the uniquely nocturnal night-monkey or 'douricouli'. We spend the night in Pantiacolla Lodge.

Heading to the Amazon Jungle

Leaving Cusco at 5am we begin our 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 4000 m before descending to the cloud forest. In these mysterious surroundings we take a walk to the lek of the incredible Cock-of-the-Rock (bird below), 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).