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ABOUT MANU WILDLIFE CENTER

Manu Peru

Manu Wildlife Center (MWC) is located in the remote and wild Manu Wilderness of Southeastern Peru. Amidst spectacular forest and incredible scenery, the density and diversity of animal and plant species reach a peak in the extreme western Amazon, near the foot of the Andes. A 35-minute flight from Cuzco to the mouth of the Manu River and a 90 minute motorcanoe ride down the Madre de Dios River brings you to the single best wildlife destination in the entire Amazon: Manu Wildlife Center. The Lodge is incredibly remote and wild. Wildlife enthusiasts, birders, and nature photographers find Manu worth the extra effort and travelling time. The Manu Wildlife Center offers more wildlife sightings and a higher level of comfort, at a lower price than any other lodge in the Manu region. Manu Wildlife Center: is the ONLY lodge in the Manu Lowlands with ANY of the following:

• 22 bungalows with private baths and hot showers & flush toilets.
• All facilities are screened for your comfort.
• 48 kilometers of trails, half in scientific grids.
• Towers at fruiting trees visited by mammals and canopy birds.
• Minutes from the famous Macaw Clay Lick. (January 1994 cover story National Geographic Magazine)
• World's best Tapir viewing.

Explore the 30 miles (48 km) of scientifically-designed forest trails surrounding the Center to search for the 10 species of resident monkeys, namely the acrobatic Black Spider Monkey, inquisitive Brown and White-fronted Capuchins, Bolivian Squirrel Monkey, Saddleback Tamarin, Dusky Titi, Night Monkey, Red Howler, Monk Saki, and the spectacular, mustachioed Emperor Tamarin. Birders delight at the large game birds such as Razor-billed Curassows and Pale-winged Trumpeters, which often pass within 200 yards (180 m) of the lodge.

Hans & Rosi Korn

Weather permitting, on the first night at the Manu Wildlife Center we usually visit the world's largest known Tapir Clay Lick. From the comfort and safety of a house blind elevated 13 feet (4 m) above the lick, observe and photograph these wiggly-nosed, 550-pound (250-kilo) beasts: the largest land animals in South America. In nearly all parts of the Amazon, Tapirs are harder to see than Jaguars. In 1997, more than 95% of visitors to this lick saw Tapirs before 10:00 pm on their first or second try.

On the first morning at Manu Wildlife Center, we usually boat for 25 minutes down river to see the only accessible Macaw and Parrot Clay Lick in the Manu area. From a silent, floating catamaran blind pioneered by our macaw researchers, we marvel at the emerald green and electric blue parrots and the gaudy Red-and-Green Macaws that arrive by the hundreds to gobble down the clay. This mobile blind allows us to approach within 20-30 yards (18-27 m) of the 25-foot-tall (8-m-tall) clay bank for excellent photo opportunities. No other Macaw Lick in the world currently permits such close-up, comfortable viewing of this spectacle of nature. For details about macaw clay licks, see the macaw cover story in the January 1994 National Geographic. Though these licks are active nearly year round, the best period for photography is from July through November, when there tend to be lots of birds and little rain.

The forest near the Center features two or more canopy platforms or towers at any given time. Our scientists strategically locate these platforms and towers near fruiting or flowering trees visited by monkeys and a panoply of colorful canopy birds. Other lodges around the world offer access to the forest canopy, but none of them can compete with Manu Wildlife Center for such spectacular, close-up canopy viewing of such a large variety of monkeys and photogenic birds, including iridescent tanagers, toucans, and hummingbirds.

Manu Wildlife Center is number one in the world for viewing of canopy wildlife because, unlike most competing lodges, our forest remains unhunted and full of wildlife, and our scientists and canopy logistics experts have more practice building platforms and canopy towers for international TV crews than all other teams in South America combined.

Video of Manu