vibhav

I will be in Peru with my wife and 6 year old son in Dec for two weeks ... We are planning to go to Huaraz and Sacred Valley/Machu Picchu...We want to spend some time in the Amazon basin as well ... I have been reading a lot of the posts, but have not been able to answer some of these questions

Also, one thing to keep in mind is that I am an avid photographer... So always looking for pristine locales and opportunities to capture unique places in gorgeous natural lighting ...

- What are the considerations for comparing the three areas? With only 3-4 days to spare, we can only cover one of these regions, right?
- With my 6 year old, want to see as much wildlife as possible.. monkeys, birds, caimans and dolphins sounds like a lot of fun ... and I am sure there is much much more ... is any one of these areas better for wildlife?
- We are also looking for a secluded experience with some luxury and beautiful serene surroundings ... Any place that is specifically known for that?
- I am specially interested in the night time caiman watching ... I have seen it so far in the yarapa lodge itinerary out of Iquitos .. Do other places offer that as well?
- Price is looking like a concern!! Yarapa lodge is quoting $920 for 3 nights per person ... That along with half price for my son comes out to $800 or so per night ... That is bit too much!! Are all the places as expensive?

Thanks and hoping for the Fodorites to help make sense of all these different questions ... That is how the planning process starts out usually and you guys help us stay sane and plan effectively!!

mlgb

Is that just the price of lodging or does it included airfare?

Three nights is probably too short a time to travel to a lodge near Iquitos in my opinion, you lose most of the first and last day to travel so will really only have one full day for activities. If you can add another day you might look into Tahuayo Lodge they are quite reasonable especially if you call Dr. Beaver direct. Also check the Explorama lodges.

You can go looking for caiman at night pretty much anywhere...at Tahuayo aka Amazonia Expeditions they have a second Lodge on a black water stream which I found nicer for photography. Pepe the caiman pretty much hangs out on the river edge. Even saw him during the daytime..after my swim.

In retrospect some of my favorite photos were from El Chino (a Riberno village that is the home base of many of the Tahuayo guides), so you might include that half day excursion.

Treepol

Hi,

you don't have a long time to travel to and from these isolated locations with some time to enjoy the surroundings. I've been into the Manu cloudforest to Cock of the Rock Lodge and from there to the river. I really enjoyed the road trip but it is asking a lof of a 6 year old. However, Tropical Nature offer a 3 night flying itinerary if you are keen, http://www.tropicalnaturetravel.com/...20nights-2.pdf

I've also been to Explorama's Ceiba Tops http://www.explorama.com/ which might suit you better. It is the most luxurious of their accommodation options and still quite reasonably priced. A trip to the Monkey Island which is a private sanctuary is good for wildlife but not wilderness. Your 6 y.o. would probably enjoy the variety of river boats on this stretch of the Amazon and they offer a range of activities that include fishing, village visits, visiting a local school and playing soccer with the children. We were hired a boat for a private birdwatching activity, so you may be able to arrange an activity with high appeal for a 6 y.o.

Abelardo Flores was our guide and I know he has young children - if you were to contact Explorama they may be able to schedule activites to your meet your family needs and also offer a guide who has recent experience with young children.

Manu and Iquitos photos are here https://picasaweb.google.com/Treepol...caPeruInclManu

qwovadis

Manu Biosphere Reserve best place for photos wildlife & price

since you are already at Cusco...

inkanatura.com

manuadventures.com

inkajungletrail.com

good providers based on budget

others will be lots more due to flight costs

cities are both quite dodgy skip them...

vibhav

Mlgb, the Yarapa price is without the airfare ... is that not too pricey? I can add one more day of needed ... Still working out my itinerary ... Since we are going to Cusco, trying to see if we can have a good experience from Puerta Maldonado in a decent price or do we HAVE to go to Iquitos for the best wildlife and scenery ... If we can avoid Iquitos, it saves us some time as we do not have to fly back to Lima and then to Iquitos ...

vibhav

Thanks Treepol, I will look into the Tropical Nature Offer .. like I was telling mlgb, I am still fleixble on my days ... can add a day or two ... just trying to find out which region to go to, Iquitos or Puerta Maldonado ... Since we are visiting Cusco, Maldonado probably makes more sense, but if the best experience is in Iquitos, we will plan for that then ...

I like the Explorama program ... Will investigate more ..

Thanks for the tip to ask the outfitter to assign a guide who has more experience with children ...

vibhav

Qwovadis ... Thanks for the good info ...

So you think the Manu reserve is best for wildlife and for photos?

I like the inkamatura program, only thing is that they are including airfare and charging $1350 for 4d/3n ... if I factor in $200 for airfare from Cusco to Maldonado, that is still $1150 per person ... So amounts to close to $400 per person per night ... Wow, I just had not bargained for it to be that expensive ... Will have to re-adjust my mind!

I will look into the other providers you listed as well ...

Thanks a lot!

vibhav

Qwovadis, I looked at the last link you sent for the inkajungletrail ... they have two options - drive to manu or fly to maladonado ... The drive to manu option changes place to stay every night and also needs a 7 KM trek, one way to one of the campsites.. So that option is not feasible with a child .. so we are only left with the option fo flying to maldonado, which I like their program .. will ask them for pricing ...

Any other suggestions for tours that go to Manu by land?

mlgb

I do think that price for Yarapa is crazy!!!

Do not drive to Manu with the child. Flying to Maldonado can work if you get a good airfare.

You are going to be in Lima at the start or end of your trip.

So flying Lima Iquitos Lima Cusco Lima.

Or Lima Cusco Maldonado Cusco Lima To me it is all the same..four flights.

Don't, by the way, get your hopes up in terms of seeing large mammals like a jaguar or a tapir (nightime animals). What you should see in either location is monkeys, sloths, frogs, butterflies, birds, caiman, tarantula, piranha, possibly some other small mammals (eg I saw a porcupine and a paca). I think that sometimes Manu is oversold on the wildlife side of things.

vibhav

Mlgb, Treeppol and Qwovadis, have spent the last couple of days reading up more about all the lodge options in Iquitos, Manu and Tambopata region ... Leaning towards the Tahuayo lodge in Iquitos or the Refugio Amazonica in Tambopata ... Waiting to hear back morre from both those places ...

Mlgb, any more insight into Tahuayo? What to expect? What not to expect? Recos for guides? I emailed for pricing, should I can Dr. Beaver instead?

mlgb

Yes I have been to Tahuayo Lodge myself, they do a good job, and I would call Dr. Beaver directly, he is a nice guy and if you can be flexible on your arrival and departure he may be able to give you a reduction if they combine your river transport with other guests. You might mention that you were recommended by a prior visitor,too. Also you can discuss your special interest in photography, some of the guides are good photographers, especially their naturalist Alfredo, so you may be able to arrange at least one day with him even if he can't be your fulltime guide.

mlgb

Also be sure to ask for some nights at the upstream lodge, even though it has only shared bathrooms the location on a blackwater river was wonderful.

For excursions you want to go to Frog Valley/terra firma and to meet Dorilla, and also to the oxbow lake with the hoatzin.
If you go up the zipline tree you can get some great viewing of the mixed flocks of tanagers, etc on the top of the first tree (I saw a paradise tanager up there when I went, what a beautiful bird).

Amy

My favorite of the Explorama lodges is Explornapo, which is out a bit more and gives you a more rustic experience than Ceiba Tops.

I've been to Explorama three times now; the Canopy Walk is always thrilling, but just being out on the river or walking in the woods is amazing, too; their guides are excellent. Here's my most recent trip report (with a photo link) http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...rip-report.cfm and my first one--photo links are at the bottom of this one: http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...rip-report.cfm

They'll work with you to book your local flights, too, as LAN into Iquitos (or, indeed, anywhere else) can be outrageously overpriced.