Welcome to Manu Birding Lodge built for birders by birders.

Manu Birding Lodge (MBL) was built for you, a birder, Photographer and Wildlife enthusiast, with a comfortable room and bed, a private bathroom, outlets to recharge your electronics, good lighting and space to spread out your books and birding gear.  You´ll find this and more at MBL. It is owned by Amazon Birding, a non-profit, non-government organization involved in Amazon Rainforest Conservation Projects.

Manu Birding Lodge provides tours for birders, wildlife enthusiasts and photographers, the Tapir  Clay Lick, the Macaw Clay Lick, the Hummingbird garden, the Canopy Tower and observing Giant Otters swimming in OxBow lakes from floating platforms. Visit us, the Owners and Founders of Manu Birding Lodge and we will ensure that you truly experience the Peruvian Amazon.

Manu Birding lodge (280m) is located next to Manu National Park with the highest biodiversity of any protected area in the world. Manu Birding Lodge is a private reserve over 500 hectares with pristine Amazon rainforest. The lodge is on the Banks of the Madre de Dios River.

Manu Birding Lodge is easy to reach, at only 2 hours by boat from Boca Manu. Being outside the park has some advantages (less bureaucracy) if you travel independently because you do not need a permit. For bookings, contact Amazon Birding.
From Lima by airplane to Puerto Maldonado then by bus and boat to Manu Birding Lodge (MBL), takes 8 hours.
From cusco by airplane to Puerto Maldonado then by bus and boat, takes 7 hours to arrive to MBL.
From Cusco by Manu road and Madre de Dios River, takes 18 hours to arrive to MBL.
From Cusco by Interoceanic road and Madre de Dios River, takes 12 hours to arrive to MBL.
From Puerto Maldonado by Madre de Dios River, takes 6 hours to arrive to MBL.

Manu Birding Lodge consists of  10 double rooms with a private toilet and shower facilities. Hot and cold water is always available and all toilets facilities are flush.
* Please note that all of our rooms are designed for 2 people; we do not offer triples or family-style accommodations. 
* The MBL is a 20 bed lodge with a private bathrooms with hot and cold showers.
* Note: All our beds are equipped with mosquito nets.
* Accommodation will be by prior confirmed and prepaid reservation; there are no special rates or services for children. All of the AWC trails and facilities are of course available to MBL guests.
* Many of the birds here are rare, endangered, or very difficult to see elsewhere.
* Enjoy relaxing and absorbing the fabulous views from the lodge area, or hiking our trails to experience the natural beauty and the immense variety of the area´s flora and fauna. We have some amazing butterflies, and photography is a delight.
Visitors have the satisfaction of knowing that their stay with us will help preserve the rainforest in a very real way.

You´ll have a wonderful experience at MBL, and you´ll thoroughly enjoy your stay with us.   MBL is the perfect destination for anyone seeking great birds and the tranquility of the rainforest in Peru.
If you might want to use playback if you come without a guide. Services of a local or a professional birding guide may be available, but are not included in our rates. If interested, please inquire when you make your reservation.
We visit one 38-meter canopy tower, Tapir Clay Lick, Macaw Clay Lick, Hummingbird garden and two oxbow lakes frequented by Giant Otters.

* Wildlife and Rainforest

Manu Birding Lodge is located very close to the world-famous macaw and parrot clay lick. A trip to MBL is a trip to one of the world´s great wilderness areas where wildlife is still plentiful and over 562 species of birds have been recorded around the lodge. With 11 species of monkey, 35 species of big mammals, 76 species of reptiles, 100 species of amphibians of MBL and Manu. The Madre de Dios River probably has more than 600 fish species. Please check our flora and fauna checklist.

We are personally involved in Ecotourism
We are dedicated to conservation and  determined to save and preserve a sustainable piece of this fine rainforest and its wildlife before it disappears forever. We believe that we have found the perfect formula. Our land is a choice, sustainable and bird-rich piece of lowland rainforest, and as an important part of our conservation plan we have built the comfortable and convenient Manu Birding Lodge. MBL is owned and run by Amazon Birding.
Our trails and scenery, our flora and fauna, will delight everyone who enjoys experiencing nature first hand. Our birds, mammals, butterflies and moths provide endless opportunities for photographers.

Most of our visitors are birders, wildlife enthusiasts and photographers and MBL should provide them with a wonderful experience. As nearly 562 avian species have been recorded on our reserve and the surrounding areas, a list of the birds that might be seen on even a short stay at our lodge is impressive.

In addition to managing our own forest and land, and running Manu Birding Lodge, we are working with people in nearby communities, seeking economic alternatives to the slash and burn agriculture that threatens the area´s remaining rainforest. Help us save Peru´s Rainforest! In time we hope that Manu Birding Lodge private reserve will become a recognized base for scientific inquiry into ornithology, zoology, botany and other biological fields, within our own forest and in the nearby Manu National Park as well.
We are a handful of people. Our backgrounds and training differ, but among our various talents we are all dedicated conservationists and birders; We have been involved professionally in birding for many years.
Manu Birding Lodge is a small independent company, privately financed and operated. Our key to successful land stewardship is our direct, hands-on management of our company, our lodge and our forest.
This is a deeply personal effort for all of us. We have put our talents, our hearts and our own resources into what we are doing in MBL; our driving force is conservation, not profit. We shall maintain our commitments to forest conservation and to running a fine lodge, returning profits to the land, and find the responsibility to be an exciting challenge.

* Research and Volunteer Opportunities

Through Amazon Birding we are able to invite volunteers to work on our sustainable development projects and to invite birders, wildlife enthusiasts and researchers to experience the wonder of Manu World Natural Heritage and sustainable bird-ecotourism in action. Spreading our message throughout the world and inviting the support to the amazon rainforest so urgently needs. We develop our research, project and initiatives from our Manu Birding Lodge situated along the Madre de Dios River, southeast of Peru in the heart of the amazon rainforest. We are proud to sponsor their research. As a lodge we actively promote and give a helping hand to students and post-graduates who do various kinds of scientific research in the area.

MANU BIRDING LODGE HIGHLIGHTS

Join us on this exciting South American journey for what should be the ultimate Neotropical wilderness experience!

Macaw clay lick

tapir Amazon BirdingThe most spectacular is the famous macaw and parrot clay lick. This is undoubtedly the most visited clay lick in the Peruvian Amazon. Surely one of the world´s most dramatic avian spectacles, it was first documented by Charlie Munn in the January 1994 issue of National Geographic magazine. We will watch from a hide as hundreds of Blue-headed Parrots along with Mealy and Yellow-crowned Parrots, and White-eyed, Dusky-headed, Cobalt-winged and Tui Parakeets, congregate in the trees lining the cliffs, often taking to the wing and circling as they gradually gain enough confidence to descend and eat thumb-sized lumps of clay. More cautious than the rest, up to 100 Red-and-green Macaws patiently watch over the noisy commotion of their smaller cousins. After a time the smaller species suddenly erupt off the cliff face in a riot of colour and the macaws take their place, hanging from the vertical wall, squabbling and opening their wings as they too break off chunks of clay. Thought to neutralize their diet of toxic seeds, the sheer number of birds attracted to the clay in the early morning light and the din of their vocalizations make for an unforgettable experience!

Tapir clay lick

About 45 minutes walk through the forest is a large mammal clay lick where Tapirs (Tapirus terrestris), the largest South American land mammal, regularly come for minerals. At night Red-brocket Deer, Bicolor-spined Porcupine, Paca and other animals share this necessary ingredient to the digestive system. There is a large, raised blind here equipped with mattresses and mosquito nets for those who want to spend the night in comfort observing these nocturnal creatures.  During the day several species of Rose-fronted and Rock Parakeets and Dusky-billed Parrotlet  as well as Spix´s and Blue-throated Pinping Guans, Ruddy and Plumbeous Pigeons, Pale-winged Trumpeter, Razor-billed Curassow and White-lipped and Collared Pecaries, Southern Amazon Red Squirrel, Amazon Dwarf Squirrel, Brown Agouti, Red Howler and Black Spider Monkeys regularly visit the clay lick.

Oxbow lakes

There are 2 oxbow lakes in the area and we have floating platforms so that access to the lakes ensures that all lakeside fauna can be readily observed. There are two families of the endangered Giant Otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) on these lakes and small streams. Good place to see the endangered Black Caiman (Melanosuchus niger).

Canopy tower

A spectacular and amazing canopy tower 42 meter, placed in the arms of a giant Kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra), towering above the forest canopy. From this lofty perch we shall be seeing birds in all directions, in addition canopy species, other possibilities here include, Rose-fronted Parakeet, Great Potoo nesting, White-necked Puffbird, White-browed Purpletuft, White-throated and Yellow-tufted Woodpeckers, Plum-throated and Spangled Cotingas, Crowned Slaty Flycatcher, Black-tailed and Black-crowned Tityras, Black-faced, Blue and Yellow-bellied Dacnises, White-lored Euphonia, etc.

Hummingbird garden

This beautiful garden offers excellent opportunities to see a wide variety of 22 hummingbirds species along with representatives of many other families. Reddish, White-browed, Needle-billed, Long-tailed, White-bearded and Rufous-breasted Hermits, Pale-tailed Barbthroat, White-chinned and Golden-tailed Sapphires, Sapphire-spangled Emerald, Festive and Rofous-crested Coquettes, Black-bellied Thorntail, Black-throated Mango, White-necked Jacobin, Gray-breasted Sabrewing, Gould´s Jewelfront, Blue-tailed Emerald, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Black-eared Fairy, Long-billed Starthroat and Amethyst Woodstar.

Manakin leks

An astonishing lek from Round-tailed Manakin, Band-tailed Manakin, Blue-crowned Manakin and Blue-backed Manakin. where we shall have an excellent opportunity to watch the gaudy males displaying.

Bamboo forest

A large stand of thorny Guadua bamboo, a habitat that hosts an interesting set of specialized birds including a number of southwest Amazonian endemics. Among our prime targets are the splendid Rufous-headed Woodpecker, the odd-looking Peruvian Recurvebill, the zebra-patterned Bamboo Antshrike, the only recently described Manu Antbird and the lovely but uncommon White-cheeked Tody-Flycatcher. Other bamboo specialists we will look for are Rufous-capped Nunlet, Red-billed Scythebill, Dusky-cheeked and Brown-rumped Foliage-gleaners, Ihering´s and Dot-winged Antwrens, Striated, White-lined and Goeldi´s Antbirds, Flammulated Pygmy-Tyrant and Large-headed and Dusky-tailed Flatbills.

Herpetology Trail (Highly recommended)

This trail is one of the best trails we have at Amazon Wildlife Center, to see many species of Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon rainforest, especially in rainy season.
Amazon wildlife Center is the best place to see Mammals of the Neotropics and really interesting Amazon Insects, just amazing creatures lives in the jungle!

Amazon wildlife Center, the best place to see the most beautiful birds of Peru and birds of South America.

Are you interested in birdwatching or visiting the Amazonian rainforest?
Plan to visit Manu Birding Lodge soon – you´ll love our lodge, our forest, our mammals and our birds!

* Amazon Birding is a specialist birding tour operator in Peru.
* When planning to bird Peru, plan to bird MBL!
* We are the Premier Wildlife Lodge in the Peruvian Amazon.What to Bring
In order to avoid disturbing birds & mammals and to maximize your experience, please avoid wearing bright-colored clothes
We advise you to bring:Aside from Binoculars and photo-equipment (the important birdwatchers stuff) we advise:
A spotting scope, if you have one
Flashlight for night birding
Light day pack
Sunscreen and insect repellent
T-shirts and a long-sleeved shirt
Jeans or other cotton pants are comfortable, as well as quick-drying nylon ones
Cotton socks
Sweater, jacket or fleece for night birding
Light jacket, water resistant, or poncho
Hiking boots or sturdy shoes
Sandals for after hours
Hat and sunglasses
Plastic bags for camera, clothes, etc
Personal toiletries (shampoo, towel, etc) 

Amazon Birding look forward to welcoming and guiding you soon!
Last minute bookings will be accepted but you must be aware that there is the possibility that we will not get space at the hotel or tour that you need.

PLEASE CHECK OUR MANU BIRDING LODGE BIRD LIST

PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS.

AMAZON BIRDING: Conservation through bird & ecotourism.