Peru: Cusco to Manú National Park with Naturalist Journeys

October 2-17, 2026, w/Peg Abbott and Tucson Bird Alliance Jennie MacFarland
Optional Machu Picchu extension through October 20

Stretching across thousands of square miles on the eastern flank of the Peruvian Andes, Manu National Park and the biosphere reserve that surrounds it encompasses a continuous tract of pristine wilderness that preserves the entire spectrum of Andean slope ecosystems—from high Andean puna grasslands to lowland Amazonian rainforest. Stretching across so many altitudes and habitats, this reserve lays claim to the most diverse fauna and flora of any park in the world: 1000+ bird species, 160 mammal species, and 4,385 plant species have been recorded in its boundaries with more still being discovered. By following the very birdy Manu-Kosnipata Road and staying at lodges at different altitudes, this tour offers a rich transect of all the habitats present in the Manu Biosphere Reserve.

Our tour begins in Lima, where nutrient-rich upwellings from the cold Humboldt Current offer nourishment for teeming seabird colonies that include boobies, cormorants, and penguins. After a short flight to Cusco, we travel across natural high mountain grasslands and fields farmed for centuries in search of endemics like Bearded Mountaineer and Creamy-crested Spinetail. Once we reach the rest of the Acjanaco Pass, above the treeline, the landscape tumbles downward into progressively taller and wetter forest. Our first stop is Wayqechua Biological Station, where we explore misty elfin forests buzzing with high elevation tanagers and hummingbirds. Then we continue to Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, where lush cloud forests harbor exuberant leks of the Andean Cock-of-the-rock, mixed flocks of technicolor tanagers like Paradise, Saffron-crowned, and Beryl-spangled, and brilliant songsters such as Andean Solitaire and Chestnut-breasted Wren. A bit further down still at Villa Carmen Biological Station, we explore spiney Guadua bamboo and foothill rainforest for the shimmery Bluish-fronted Jacamar, adorable Black-backed Tody-Flycatcher, and skulking Manu Antbird.

Finally, we reach the awe-inspiring Amazonia Rainforest: a habitat layered with diversity, complexity, and sheer beauty. Here, we spend four full days soaking up the spectacle of parrot clay licks attended by hundreds of parrots, visiting quiet oxbow lakes inhabited by prehistoric Hoatzin and elegant Agami Heron, watching for brightly-colored toucans and cotingas from canopy platforms, and seeking out large mammals like Giant Otter and South American Tapir. All in all, this tour covers one of the greatest birding roads in the world.

An optional tour extension to the major historical site of Machu Picchu can be added to your tour

Tour Summary

• 16-Day / 15-Night Manú National Park Tour
• $7,390 DBL; $8,290 SGL
• 4-Day / 3-Night Machu Picchu Tour Extension
• $2995 DBL / $3585 SGL
• Arrival/Departure Airport is Lima, Peru (LIM)

See the full itinerary and details here, and the registration info here. See Naturalist Journeys for terms and conditions.

Your participation supports conservation, and a portion will be donated to Tucson Bird Alliance! For registration contact our partner company for this tour, Naturalist Journeys from the registration link on this page, or contact Naturalist Journeys at travel@naturalistjourneys.com or call (866) 900-1146.