We visited the Manu Wildlife Centre with InkaNatura in early October 2011 doing the 4 day 3 night adventure but unfortunately were very disappointed with the extensive travel that was required to get there and back. This really was in fact not 4 days and 3 nights but instead 2 full days of travel and only 2 days actually at the wildlife centre. It was not worth the money and travel time and I would not recommend this trip.

Our original travel plans, and what we signed up for, consisted of a 45 minute flight to Boca Manu followed by a 3 hour boat ride to the lodge. This was changed at the last minute due to “plane troubles” to a new itinerary being an hour flight to Puerto Maldonado, 2 1/2 hour minivan ride on good roads, a 15 minute river crossing, a 1 hour bone racking taxi ride on a terrible dirt road and then finally a 5 hour (yes 5) boat ride up river. All in all about 10 hours of travel to get to the resort (basically all day) and to boot we arrived in the pitch dark in the middle of an Amazon thunderstorm. We took it all in stride as an ‘adventure’ but it really was too much.

To add insult to injury we learned when we arrived to the lodge that the airport in Boca Manu had shut down in June and this was the permanent itinerary. We were not told by InkakNatura until right before our trip in August and of course only after final payment. The website was updated accordingly after our trip but of course the price was not adjusted down.

To be fair, the lodge itself was wonderful and the main building was gorgeous, huge and in fabulous shape. All beautiful wood, great furnishings and very cool especially at night with all the candles lit. The rooms/huts were also very quaint and clean with nice bug nets to keep the critters out. The accommodations as a whole were 5 star for the jungle! Very nice. The food too was quite good and especially considering again you are in the middle of nowhere. Again it was wonderful having dinner at night under candlelight.

The grounds themselves were great too with many extensive trails, interesting plants, lots of birds everywhere and fabulous jungle sounds filling the air. The tapir platform was neat although we saw nothing and ended up just sitting there in the dark sweating for hours. Also, the canopy platform was very cool to climb so high to get a birds view of the jungle. The lodge grounds were very meticulously kept, quiet and quaint.

The wildlife viewing was actually very good with us being lucky to see many macaws and parrots at the clay lick, monkeys (3 varieties) as well as tons of other birds. It is important to know that the Amazon is vast and viewing wildlife is hit and miss so be prepared that you may see a ton of stuff or nothing at all. It is not like Costa Rica where you are totally overwhelmed with nature everywhere.

Inkanatura as a company was terrific to deal with outside of the itinerary change. They were great with email and Skype, answered all our questions, made payment very easy and a representative came right to our hotel and answered all of our questions. The guide too was very good and knowledgeable.

It’s really too bad that the travel time is so crazy as the wildlife centre has so much potential but unfortunately, in our opinion, it is just not worth it for such as short stay with such extensive travel at the high price of ~$1,500pp.

I definitely would recommend the place if you were staying an extended period of time (at least 7 days) but for the trip we did I would absolutely say don’t do it. I would recommend going to a closer lodge near Puerto Maldonado where you will get the same experience for much less money and a ton less travel time. We had friends who went there and they saw as much if not more than we did.

Family of four had a great time, wonderful wildlife adventure in semi isolated area. McCaws, otters, Tapirs, great staff.

I do not write this review lightly!
We booked our Manu lodge trip with Inkanatura around 6 months ago and their office could not be more helpful until we had paid in full!
We emailed a few times asking questions and did not get a response!
2 weeks before our trip we were emailed informing us that the airplane was in for maintenance and was out of action for several weeks so we were offered an alternative trip or our money back, because time was limited and we were already in Peru we went with the alternative overland trip which was billed as exciting!!!
We were picked up at 6am on the day of our trip and was then taken on a 13 hour bone shaking journey to cock of the rock lodge, we made numerous stops to watch birds which was initially quite good but then it happened over and over again and we kept seeing the same birds.
We arrived at cock of the rock lodge at 7pm and had a edible dinner before going to bed, we awoke early to watch the cock of the rock which lasted 30mins then back to the lodge for breakfast and another 3 bone shaking hours in the van before getting on the boat for the next 6 hours and all the time just bird watching!!!!!
We arrived at Manu lodge in the late afternoon and had to ask the guide several times to take us on an evening trail walk which was ok but hurried so we could get back for dinner at 7pm!
The next morning we went onto the macaw clay lick and it rained, i asked if the macaws would come and the guide said they would not so for the next 5 hours we sat there and did nothing but bird watch and saw half a dozen birds!
We went back to the lodge for lunch and then onto a afternoon trail starting at 3pm, we were back in the lodge at 5.50pm after over 2 hours of bird watching!!
The following morning we went back to the macaw clay lick and saw the macaws for 2 hours before moving on to the oxbow lake and got into a rickety boat for a ride around the lake bird watching!! I asked the guide where the giant were and I was told to look for the big splashes and we did not see any! We then went up the tower for a look at the tree tops and then back to the lodge for lunch.
We the left the lodge at 3pm to go to the tapir lick which is an hour and a half walk and took 2 hours while bird watching, we arrived at the tapir lick and stayed 2 hours and was then told that the tapirs probably wouldn't come because the moon was too bright, after a hurried walk back to the lodge and seeing a few insects and amphibians we went to bed.
Up at 4.30am for the trip back to cusco.
All in all I can say that the $1500 each price does not add up at all!!!!
There was absolutely no effort made to make up for lost time or to counter act the weather.
The food was ok but again not worth the high price tag!
It was a bird lovers ideal trip but if I wanted a bird watching trip I would have looked for one!
We have had several trip in Peru with different companies with varying price tags from $100 to $400 each and was very much looked after in a personal way by all but we felt like Inkanatura were happy to take all our money and give us little in return.

Where do I start......

My Wife and I took part in the Manu Adventurer tour with InkaNatura. After landing on the grass strip in Boca Manu, we embarked on a 4.5 hour boat ride down the Manu River. The boats are small, but comfortable. There were so many wildlife opportunities that the trip goes by fast. The Manu tented camps were nothing special, but they did provide us with great access to Manu National Park and all the amazing wildlife. We only had 7 people in our group: 2 boat drivers, 1 guide, and 4 guests. It felt like we were the only ones in the national park. We never saw anyone else in our two days there. We didn't have any big bugs get into our "tent". There were mosquitoes, but the mosquito nets did a great job of keeping them out at night. The bathrooms were adequate. Both nights I was the last of 5 to shower and the water was still hot. The food was nothing special, but it got the job done. It is very dark at night. I highly recommend bringing a headlight or flashlight. Mosquitoes are intense on the jungle walks. You’ll want long pants and long sleeves and a lot of bug spray.

After 2 nights in the tented camp we took a 6 hour boat drive to the Manu wildlife center. We did get caught in a “friaje” during the ride which meant the temperatures dropped to 60 degrees and the rain was coming down. Make sure you bring rain gear. They could not bring down the rain tarps because it would not allow the drivers to see. We were rewarded with some great wildlife sightings though. The wildlife center was nice and certainly a step up from the tented camps. There were only 2 other guests during our groups stay. The main lodge is huge and gorgeous. It was immaculately clean (probably because they don’t allow shoes.) The food was a step up from the tented camps. Food included spicy seafood pasta and stuffed avocado. You don’t get to choose what you eat. However, they were able to cater to my wife who is a vegetarian since we informed them ahead of time. The beds are comfortable and the bathroom is large. The private showers are nice. They turned on the generators both days so we could charge batteries.

Now to the best part! The animals sightings were fantastic. During our trip we saw 5 jaguars including one mating pair. Most of the sightings lasted longer than 5 minutes providing ample opportunity to take photos. All the sightings took place on our long boat rides to and from the tented camps. Never put your camera away! On the way back from visiting a lake near the tented camps, the sun had virtually set so I had packed up my gear. Then we came across a giant anteater wading into the water. The anteater came right next to our boat. After wrestling around with my equipment I was able to get a couple photos. On top of those experiences we also saw beautiful macaws and parrots at the clay lick near the wildlife center All told we saw over 60 species of birds, 9 species of monkeys (including the wooly monkey and emperor tamarin), and a variety of mammals. Our guide Marlene, was excellent at spotting animals and had great knowledge of the animals. She was able to answer all of our questions.

In the end, so little time is spent at either lodge that even if you don't enjoy your time at the lodges, it won't be long before you’re off to your next wildlife adventure.
You might not be living in luxury but you’re experiences will last a lifetime.