The Tropifauna Serpentarium

The Manu National Park Via Cusco: 240 km along the Cusco-Paucartambo Highway to Atalaya (9 hr. by light truck or minivan), downstream to Boca Manu (6 hr. in motor boat), continuing via the Manu River until arrival at the park. Via Puerto Maldonado: 140 km from the center of Puerto Maldonado along the Inter-Oceanic Highway to the town of Santa Rosa (1 hr. 30 min by car), crossing the Inambari River by boat to Puerto Carlos (5 min); then advancing 30 km along the highway to the town of Boca Colorado (1 hr.) and then navigating along the Madre de Dios River until arrival at the Limonal check point on the Manu River (7 hr. by motor boat). Visits are undertaken with registered travel agencies. Ticket entry. It is also possible to reach the town of Boca Manu from the city of Puerto Maldonado or Cusco by charter flights (45 min), through some travel agencies, prior charter reservation. This park of 1,692,137 hectares is located into the departments of Cusco and Madre de Dios. It is the habitat of a great variety of animals: more than 800 species of birds (the harpy eagle, the jabirú, the Andean cock-of-the-rock, for example), 200 species of mammals (the yellow-tailed woolly monkey, the white-bellied spider monkey, the jaguar, the oncilla, the spectacled bear and the north Andean deer, among others) and more than 100 species of bats. Trees grow to more than 45 meters in height in its soils. Some of the most emblematic trees in the area include the cetico, the topa, the cedro, the tornillo, the kapoka and the strangler fig. Indigenous Amazonian communities live in its dense forests (the Matsiguenka, the Amahuaca, the Yaminahua and the Pyro, among others), as well as 30 Quechua-speaking communities. For these reasons, the park was declared a Natural Heritage Site by Unesco. Remember that to fully experience the Manu, it is possible to stay in hostels for the use of tourists and the cultural area which surrounds it.

Amarakaeri Communal Reserve Via Cusco: 260 km from the city of Cusco to the city of Pilcopata. Via Puerto Maldonado: 140 km from the center of Puerto Maldonado by the Interoceanic Highway to the Santa Rosa populated center (1 h 30 min by car), then cross the Inambari River with a boat to Puerto Carlos (5 min). Advance 30 km by affirmed road to Boca Colorado populated center (1 h) and navigate the Madre de Dios River. It is recommended to hire an agency. Visits are only possible through prior arrangement with one of the 6 native communities that are located in the buffer zone of the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, which are the only ones that are providing tourist services. The Amazon region of Madre de Dios hosts unique indigenous peoples in their cultural diversity, beliefs, social organization, economic and political systems. In the reserve and in its zone of influence live th ethnic groups of the Harakmbut, Yine, and Matsiguenka; managers, direct beneficiaries and guardians of the conservation of this important protected natural area.