As my wife and I began our journey at dawn from Cusco we headed high up into the Andes with breathtaking (and breathless!) views. Peru was just waking up for the day and it was winter – the vegetated slopes were dry, dormant and cold; we passed early risers dressed in traditional clothes. Our destination was Crees’ Manu Learning Centre, a rich forest ecosystem on the other side of the Andes full of passionate research scientists and students. To get there we travelled over the Andes, down through cloud forest and along a river.
As we headed down on the western side of the Andes the dry, brown vegetation suddenly turned green. Everywhere was thick with trees, vines and ferns, often shrouded in clouds. We drove down through the cloud forest, stopping for short walks to see exotic-coloured butterflies, hummingbirds and parrots. Before dinner we waited in a hide at dusk to see Peru’s spectacular national bird.
And before long we saw one, then three and finally eight Andean Cock of the Rocks. These crow-size birds are bright, blindingly luminous orange with yellow feet, powder grey wings and strange, drawn out hissing calls. I never thought I would see one of these for real in my life.
The next day we arrived at the Manu Learning Centre where a sleepy male Three-toed Sloth greeted us in a tree close to the entrance. Students were just back from their morning research collecting data on all manner of things from birds to butterflies. It was exciting to meet the research scientists and hear about the latest work the MLC has been doing.
Surprisingly, the secondary forest here has more species of bird, insect and frog than the nearby primary forest. Our night walk revealed just a few of those frogs, bats and a few Dwarf Caimans living here – I even got to hold a young caiman, admiring its armoured, scaly skin, webbed toes and bright eyes.
Our final highlight was visiting a tucked away, discrete oxbow lake – we sailed quietly through the shallow clear water in a wooden boat. Hoatzins were everywhere and tame – their strange, hissing sounds were less beautiful but they were stunning nonetheless. Herons were fishing nearby and colourful gallinules slinked away into the lush vegetation. As we headed back a Capybara, the world’s largest rodent, rested by the bank – it yawned at one point revealing its long front teeth.
Our way back to Cusco we visited some Andean lakes. Alongside the ducks and coots, Liz, my wife, excitedly spotted an Andean Fox or the Culpeo. This wolf-like canid paused long enough for us to admire.
The trip was part of our honeymoon to see Peru’s special places. The staff at the centre even laid on a special meal for us on our last night. We appreciated the contrast between the Andes and Amazon, watched local people going about their daily lives as we passed by and understood how Crees is working with local people and their communities to ensure their lives and work impact positively and sustainably on Manu and the surrounding environment.
Text & photos courtesy of Ed Drewitt