Peru’s premier jungle sanctuary is the remote Manu National Park, which sprawls across 18,812 square km (7,263 sq miles) of rainforest almost due east of the city of Cusco.

Together with adjacent parks, Amarakaeri and Alto Purús, the region spreads across two Peruvian departments - Cusco and Madre de Dios - and is one of the largest protected spaces in the tropics – an area nearly as big as Portugal.

Manu’s mood swings from stunted elfin forest and cloud forest around Tres Cruces in the southern part of the park where the elevation soars to 4,175 m (13,700 ft) … to the steamy tropical lowlands along the Manu River where the forest canopy reaches high into the sky and the terrain is studded with oxbow lakes that mark the previous path of the river.

History of Manu National Park:

In 1968, conservationists declared Manu a Nature Reserve. This status was formalised in 1973 by a government decree that created the Manu National Park.

In March 1977, UNESCO declared the park and surrounding protected areas a Biosphere Reserve, and in December 1987 UNESCO added Manu National Park to the World Heritage List, thus recognising its international importance as one of the only reserves in the world that protects an entire non-hunted and non-logged watershed.

Manu National Park has been divided into zones, according to various factors, such as the presence of indigenous tribes, the fragility of the eco-system and the history of human habitation.

This means that the majority of the park is a restricted zone, with access only granted to researchers and the traditional inhabitants.

Nonetheless, there are still large areas along the Alto Madre de Dios and lower Manu rivers that are open to sustainable tourism.

Flora & Fauna in Manu National Park:

The biodiversity of the park is astounding, harbouring:

• Somewhere in the order of a million insect species (most of which are still unnamed).

• 15,000 different plant varieties. A good sign of the pristine nature of Manu National Park is the presence of two species of mahogany (Cedrela odorats & Swietenis macrophylla) that have largely been felled elsewhere.

• Over a thousand bird species (more than 10% of the global total!).

• 200 mammal species, including 13 different types of monkey.

The Park contains numerous rare species, but here are some of the specialities:

• Jaguar (Panthera onca)

• Puma (Puma concolor)

• Andean Mountain Cat (Leopardus jacobita)

• Amazonian Tapir (Tapirus terrestris)

• Emperor Tamarin (Saguinus imperator)

• Woolly Monkey (Langothrix lagotrecha)

• Spider Monkey (Ateles paniscus)

• Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)

• Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)

• Orinoco Goose (Neochen jubata)

Moreover, the natural population densities of large top predators, such as Jaguar, Puma, Giant Otter and Harpy Eagle, are a good indicator of the near-pristine overall state of Manu National Park.

Indigenous Culture in Manu National Park:

More than 30 indigenous groups from at least half a dozen cultures inhabit Manu National Park, including ancient cultivators like the Machiguenga and Piro, and the nomadic Mashco Piro and Yaminahua who continue to spurn contact with the modern world.

So elusive are the Mashco Piro that no one really knows how many there are!

Tribal warfare flared inside the park as recently as the 1980s; and government helicopters have sometimes been greeted by a fusillade of native arrows.

The vast majority of the estimated 2,000 indigenous people who dwell inside the boundaries of Manu exist on primitive hunting, gathering and fishing.

How To Visit Manu National Park:

There are a number of tour companies that operate trips to Manu, beginning and ending in Cusco, and lasting from three days to a week or more. Ask us for recommendations.

The standard itinerary is to drive from Cusco to the Sacred Valley and then climb up to Huancarani Pass at 3,990 m (13,090 ft) above sea level.

The road then descends to the beautiful, Colonial village of Paucartambo, before ascending again to Acjanaco Pass at 3,900 m (12,795 ft), with great views over Manu and the Southern Andes mountains.

From here, it is a steady descent, following the course of the Alto Madre de Dios River, through puna (high altitude grassland), elfin forests, cloud forest … and finally lowland rainforest by the time you reach the town of Boca Manu at 380 m (1,246 ft) above sea level.

Various lodges dot this route. There are a cluster of them at around 1,600 m (5,200 ft), including Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge and nature reserve, home of the eponymous jungle bird, known for its bright black-and-red plumage and lively mating dance.

These magnificent birds can be viewed from strategically-placed blinds along the Kosñipata River.

Continuing downhill, one comes across several indigenous villages, the site of an old Spanish mission and a small riverside inn called the Pantiacolla Lodge, which arranges hikes into parts of the park that cannot be reached by boat.

Pantiacolla Peak, a good three-hour walk from the lodge, offers one of the few viewpoints over this part of the rainforest.

Close to Pantiacolla, the road ends and one has to take river transport to get to Boca Manu, where three rivers converge: the Madre de Dios, the Alto Madre de Dios and the Manu.

Keen naturalists will want to go up the Manu River, to find pristine rainforest, with a good chance of seeing larger mammals and rarer bird species.

Permanent structures are not allowed in this part of the Park, but there are well-provisioned tented camps for overnight stays.

Downstream from Boca Manu are several other private reserves including the Tambo Blanquillo Lodge and the long-established Manu Wildlife Center (MWC).

Both lodges boast canopy towers, nature trails and oxbow lakes with floating platforms. MWC also boasts a tapir lick where guests can sleep overnight on mattresses inside a blind.

Along this same stretch of river is the famous Kolpa Blanquillo clay lick, an ochre bank where scarlet macaws and other birdlife gather daily to lick minerals from the cliff face.

The exit point of Manu is Boca Colorado, an unlovely mining town, from where one can take a vehicle to the InterOceanic Highway, and back to Cusco … or down to the jungle city of Puerto Maldonado, from where you can fly to Lima or continue into the Tambopata Reserve.