The other high-end Manu operator is InkaNatura Travel (Lima tel. 01/440-2022, www.inkanatura.com, five days/four nights US$1,475 pp), which is one of Peru’s leading ecotourism operators, with programs in Chachapoyas, Puerto Maldonado, and the jungle around Quillabamba as well.

InkaNatura is the profit-making arm of the Peru Verde conservation organization that owns Manu Wildlife Center (www.manuwildlifecenter.com). It offers a four-day trip to a tented camp at Cocha Salvador, with a round-trip flight between Cusco and Boca Manu and an optional two-day extension to the Manu Wildlife Center.

Early mornings will be spent in boats, bird-watching; afternoons are filled with jungle walks, where with binoculars in hand you are likely to see a variety of monkeys, butterflies, and even more birds; and evenings are spent looking for tapirs or other nocturnally active animals. With such full days, it is a good thing that InkaNatura provides for all your other needs: refreshing snacks, filling meals, comfortable bedding, and excellent guides.

InkaNatura is also involved with an innovative community-based lodge on the other side of the Manu Biosphere Reserve in the lower Urubamba basin.

InkaNatura is represented in the United States by Tropical Nature Travel (U.S. tel. 877/827-8350, www.tropicalnaturetravel.com).