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Manu Cloud Forest - Road Trip

Gary and Malka recently went to visit two of the lodges in the Manu Cloud Forest area of Peru and experience this unique environment, its flora and fauna and the interesting road trip required to get there.

The Manu National Park is the largest conservation area in Peru and enjoys a wide range of ecosystems from the high “Puna” at around 4200 meters above sea level down to the Amazon basin at only 150 meters. Having such a range of altitudes means a wide range of flora and fauna, indeed this area has some of the highest densities of bird and insect life on the planet. The trip to get to the area of cloud forest lodges involves around 6 hours of actual driving, to cover only 190 km, and can obviously be a full day journey if you are making stops along the way.

manu cloud forest manu national park

At the time of writing the main road from Cusco to Paucartambo is being paved but this means that the road works prevented Gary from driving that way and an alternate route was used via Pisaq. When this road is completed the journey time will come down, but not by much! Paucartambo is worth a visit en route as it is a very nice colonial village, quiet for most of the year, but which explodes during its Virgen del Carmen festival.

Paucartambo Festival video - and another!

The most beautiful part of the drive is from the pass near the viewpoint of Tres Cruces down to the lodges, around 3 hours with some stops. This road is unpaved and narrow, winding through the cloud forest with sometimes huge drops off the side of the road. Driving requires care on this section as you cant really see very far ahead and fuel tankers and fruit trucks come up from the jungle taking up the whole road. The drive is an adventure in itself and the views spectacular along the way, birdwatchers can stop and spot at various points at descending altitudes and there are several picturesque waterfalls along the way which make good photos. There are a couple of tunnels to be navigated which appear to have been dug with pick axes!

manu cloud forest cock of the rock

In the area an hour or so before the village of Pillkopata are several cloud forest lodges, built for tourists to visit the area and as a stepping stone for trips further into the Manu jungle. The two visited on this trip were the Manu Paradise and the Cock of the Rock. Both have a privileged position on the banks of the Cosnipata River. The Cock of the Rock Lodge is the more famous of the two visited and caters for a higher end client and has a higher level of facilities plus its own grounds to wander in, surrounded by birds and often monkeys.

manu monkey cock of the rock lodge

The main attraction of the area is the chance to see the Peruvian national bird, the Cock of the Rock or “Gallito de las Rocas” up close and personal. Normally a very shy bird, there are 2 leks, or display areas, where these birds display morning and evening to the females. The male of the species is a spectacular animal with its bright red crest and when displaying it makes a strange noise almost like laughing while it dances for the female. Gary and Malka went to the Paradise lek in the early morning and saw around a dozen males displaying, a fantastic experience. There were quite a number of people at this lek however but the birds didn’t seem to mind. They then visited the Cock of the Rock lek in the afternoon, and had the whole place to themselves and saw 4 birds very close up.

Cock of the Rock Lodge video - Manu Paradise video

A trip down to the cloud forest is a great experience and if you have interest in combining this with your trip to Cusco please get in touch for more information.