Rain Forest Itinerary
Trip Duration: 1 Week
The first week of this retreat runs from Saturday to Sunday. We will arrive back in Cusco around midday. There’s a choice to head for the airport or start the integration week in the Sacred Valley.
TOTAL OF 7 NIGHTS/8 DAYS
PLEASE NOTE: This itinerary is an outline, we reserve the right to re-order or swap in and out alternatives to maximise our possibilities and satisfaction if internal or external factors impact our trip. The jungle is an unpredictable place.
Day 1 - saturday arrival
Airport pick-ups will be organised from Cusco to Pisac in the Sacred Valley.
Depending on your flight time, you will hopefully get chance to unwind, stretch out and recover from your flight. The idea is to have a good nights sleep before our bus ride to the jungle starts. Pisac is at a lower altitude than Cusco so hopefully you will decompress a little it’s also on route for our trip. The hotel has a pool and spa facilities, the town (a motor taxi ride away) has interesting shops selling artisan, crystals, silver jewellery and a good range of interesting food, there will be no problem maintaining your diet restrictions here.
Day 2 - sunday
Pisac - Paucartambo - Acjanaco - Cloud Forest - Atalaya
We will have an early breakfast and travel over the Acjanaco pass (3,600m) and down into the Cloud forest to Pilcopata. We will make stops on route to stretch our legs and see an archaeological site and a local town. We will have our veggie lunch at a lagoon and take a tour of the fox trail (800m) where we will visit the viewpoint of the Kosñipata valley and the orchidarium with more than 80 species. We will then descend through the cloud forest where we will be on the look out for monkeys, the ‘Cock of the Rock’ (Peru’s national bird), the Quetzal and much more. We will take short walks through the waterfalls on the Ketzal trail. We will then decent into the jungle, enjoy a view point over the Madre de Dios river, then make our way to our lodge for dinner.
DAY 3 - MONDAY
Eco Reserve - Ayahuasca Ceremony
After Breakfast visit Machuwasi lake and ride across on a raft to the watch tower. This beautiful lagoon is home to a wide variety of birds and wildlife. We will wander along the beautiful trails, connect with the stunning nature and start our process of opening to the plant medicine.
We will return to the eco reserve for a very light lunch, meditate and await the arrival of our Ayahuascero. Upon his arrival there will be coca leaf readings and an energy cleansing ritual. Our Maestro will give us an introduction to the ceremony process and open the ceremony with prayers as the sun sets. Our journey with Mama Ayahuasca will last between 4 and 6 hours, after we will share a fruit platter and you will then return to your room to rest.
DAY 4 - tuESDAY
Ceremony Processing & Sharing - No Contact Tribe - Boca Manu
After breakfast the Shaman will be available to share our experiences and help interpret our visions, then he will lead a closing ceremony to thank Pachamama and we will all enjoy a flower petal bath. This will be a day of deep reflection, journaling (and drawing if you are inclined). We will share our experiences and be present with our insights and healing.
After lunch will will pack up, leaving our warm clothes to be stored whist we go deeper into the jungle. We will spend the rest of the day on the river.
We will pass by the Nomole surveillance post of the Culture Ministry where they monitor the activities of a tribes known as “no-contact”. We then continue to Boca Manu where we will have dinner and walk around the town. This is a good place to pick up any supplies we are missing. We will be in bed early ready for an early start tomorrow.
DAY 5 - wednesday
Manu - Casa Matsiguenka - Manu National Park Reserve
Today will will enter Manu National Reserve amongst the most dense areas for wildlife in the Amazonia. We will be greeted by the park ranger staff who will brief us. We will ride up river by boat before we take a trail to the Brashco lagoon. There we will take a catamaran and observe the vast array of birds, monkeys, alligators and huge otters. Later, by group intension we will be on the look out for the magnificent jaguars from a tower that overlooks a vast area of the amazon jungle including Salvador lake. We will stay with a native community who will share their knowledge of the surrounding area and we get an insight into their way of life. Their produce and handicrafts will be available to buy.
DAY 6 - thursday
Back to Boca Manu, Macaw Clay Lick
Another early start by boat to the Salvador lake that we saw yesterday at a distance, we will board a catamaran to explore. We will be getting up close and personal with an incredible abundance of wildlife that is protected around this lake. After we will take breakfast back at casa de Matsiguenka and then continue to the macaw clay lick were the beautiful parrots nibble at the minerals to help them digest their tropical fruit diet. We will register our departure from the reserve at the check point and continue to the mouth of the Manu river and start the journey through the upper Madre de Dios river upstream to our next lodge.
DAY 7 - friday
Boca Manu - Tres Cruses Sun Set
This morning we will complete our boat ride and head for Tres Cruces view point by bus which is located at the top of the Manu National Park (almost 3800 meters above sea level). There will be some short trails on route to break up the journey. Late afternoon we will watch the sunset and contemplate the populations settled along the Amazon and the imposing Apu Kañahuay (a mountain) where we will camp.
DAY 8 - saturday
Tres Cruses sunrise - Cusco
At 5.30am we will be in position to witness and admire the sunrise from one of the two viewpoints in the world where you can experience this natural spectacle that occurs in a very particular way. It will be possible to contemplate the tonalities of the sky and its great array of colours as a reflection of you. You entered this journey through the clouds and you end it through the light, at one with the light, clean and whole.
We will return to Cusco where you can begin your journey home or continue your trip through the sacred valley.