The Amazon is perhaps the ultimate nature travel experience. It is wilderness at its most extreme, both in its extent and richness. I chose to visit the pristine upper reaches of the Amazon in Manu National Park. Barring a 2300 mile river journey from Belem at the river’s mouth, it is only accessible by an eleven thousand foot descent down the Andes or by light aircraft. Nestling on the Eastern slope of Peru’s Southern Andes, Manu comprises almost 4 million acres of tropical rainforest and is home to jaguars, tapirs, thirteen species of monkeys and 500 species of birds.
. After visiting Machu Picchu (see forthcoming separate article) the plan was to descend down the side of the Andes into the Amazon Basin and Manu National Park. In ten hours we descended 10,000 feet. The one available road is for logging and so narrow that it only permits traffic in one direction, as two vehicles cannot safely pass (the directions alternate daily). The side of the road is regularly adorned with Christian crosses to mark where a vehicle and its occupants parted company from the road-invariably with fatal consequences. So keen-sighted condors ride the air currents like a glider, courtesy of their 6 metres wingspan (greatest of any bird).
Landslides are also a constant threat. The Shining Path terrorists were also more active then, in 1993. It was a trip I was relieved to complete! (Fortunately, the return trip was by light aircraft).
The logistical challenges of such a perilous journey make it essential to join a guided tour conducted by a reputable company with sound equipment and alert staff. I chose Wilderness Travel, an American tour operator (and I’m not being paid to say this!) The benefit of this admittedly perilous route is that it takes the visitor through the bare Andean slopes and its rushing streams
down into the Peruvian cloud forest.
My only regret is that, on a rest stop, I walked too quickly into the adjoining forest. Only to see the gorgeous orange Cock of the Rock bird take flight before I could photograph it.
Copyright Mark Berthold 2006
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