Manu park vs Puerto Maldonado
 

Hello
My wife and I will be going to Peru next year and we want to go the Amazon, the info that i got about Amazon are telling me that the main spot is Iquitos but it is too far to me, I already got a tour for Machu Picchu and the closest place is Manu or Puerto Maldonado but I am not sure which place visit. please help me, any advise about which one is better or difference.

Thanks so much for helping me

Been to both prefer Manu Biosphere Resever for better wildlife
nature and less dodginess like in PM.Also you will save high
flight costs. www.inkanatura.com Manu Wildlife Centre. www.pmexplorers.com and www.manuadventures.com other options
that are good.Careful many on line scammers always pay with CC never wire money and insuremytrip.com lots of strikes unrest from time to time like now when the PM of Peru just ceded power back to the military. Happy Hunting!

To answer your question "which one is better", I think it depends on what is important to you. I stayed at Posada Amazonas in Sept. My decision was based on price and ease of access to the lodge knowing that I would see less wild life than if I went further up river. Manu was one of the options I looked at. I don't remember the specifics, but I believe it was more expensive and took longer to get there.

I've been to both Iquitos and the Manu cloud forest. I'd say that there is more wildlife in Manu and more river and village life to be seen from a lodge near Iquitos.

As you are already in Cusco, Manu will be more accessible by a short flight to Puerto Maldonado and from there to a lodge. Alternatively, you can go by vehicle over the Andes and then by boat to somewhere like Manu Wildlife Center. If you are arriving in PM by plane, you might be interested in the Amazon Rainforest Conservation Center - a place that intrigues me and that I would like to visit one day.

Iquitos can be reached in a day from Cusco with a flight change in Lima. I'd recommend one of the Explorama Lodges for varied wildlife and village experiences.


Happy planning,


Pol