Who We Are

The travel agency Atalaya with its office in the city of Cusco was founded in 2000. The agency’s objective was focused basically on offering trips to Manu`s rainforest, being the agency Atalaya the intermediary (as a reselling agency), not the direct operator. The reason why Atalaya focused on Manu and Puerto Maldonado was a personal passion for nature and the Amazon rainforest in particular on behalf of the owners of the company.

Due to the demand from tourists who acquired their rainforest trips, work with more conventional destinies like Machupicchu was initiated, including all points of tourist interest in Peru from North to South. All services typical for a travel agency were covered as well.

After the first two years of experience with the first groups to the rainforest and for reasons of increasing consciousness, a radical change took place. Atalaya stopped being a reselling agency and started to operate its own groups, to define destinies, new routes and a manners of working as to give the company its own charisma. Atalaya made contact with organizations and local communal companies, communities and local operators, like the NGOs ASPRIDEQ MANU, MULTICOMMUNAL COMPANY CASA MATSIGUENKA, LOCAL OPERATORS OF MANU, INRENA, MANU NATIONAL PARK etc., establishing strategic work agreements that aim at installing an ethic functioning guideline for a tour operator inside a natural protected area and creating its own ecotourism project.

One year later the company Atalaya Manu with its main office inside the Manu Biosphere Reserve was founded.

Atalaya Cusco continues to offer packages to Manu, but parallel it acts as a travel agency that offers trip all over Peru always concerned about how to operate tourism in a responsible and ecological way. Parallel there exist Atalaya Manu that is exclusively dedicated to operating tours to the Manu Biosphere Reserve.

Recently Atalaya Manu has bought an area in the Cloud Forest zone and its project to be a conservation area is underway.

Here arises the necessity to carry out the first studies of forests to be protected, as we face different realities:

Positive realities that encourage us to continue the protection work, like for example the presence of beautiful waterfalls to bathe and enjoy pristine nature, primary montane forests that due to their difficult access have remained intact, wildlife like the Spectacled Bear that is in danger of extinction, the habitat of the Cock-of-the-Rock that has already disappeared from other places, not to mention the countless marvels that are still left to innumerate, define and describe in the Amazon rainforest.

On the other hand we meet other realities that we have to face and that put the environmental balance and ecosystems, rivers, forests and its inhabitants at risk, for example: the indiscriminate extraction of timber, poaching, soil erosion, water contamination and as a direct consequence of the above, on the social side, the impoverishment of the local people who see their future endangered as they have extinguished their resources...

From these realities arises and grows the necessity to project ourselves towards ways of action directed towards the protection and conservation of Manu`s rainforests.

This intention is a direct call to all persons who show interest and wish to get involved, share, collaborate and help us on this way back to nature. Whatever the support may be that each one can offer to the project in his or her own dimension, it will help let it come true.

As an attachment we send you one of our proposals as an example of how we have started the work on restoring forests, on reintroduction and monitoring of wildlife, environmental education, medicinal plants, work with native communities, among others.

The contributions that you would like to make can be directed through the civil association that represents the project.

We ask any interested person to write to us and let us know in which way he or she would like to collaborate:

• Economic or financial support.
• Promotion of the project.
• Professional support, asessment.
• Materials and equipment.
• Stays in the Reserves as visitors, ecotourists or volunteers
• Others…

We appreciate any suggestion or constructive comments regarding this initiative.

Once more we invite any interested person and offer the option to live this experience in a participative way and personally visit the protected spaces and ecological Reserves that the project in the Manu Biosphere Reserve in Peru involves.

Any support as small as it may be is considered very valuable and substantial, as we have seen that through small bits of support, immediate actions can be taken as well. Persons who give economic support via the bank account are asked to identify themselves, so that they can receive more detailed information and in some way take advantage from the advances and the benefits that the project offers.

ATALAYA MANU is an experienced company that has submerged itself in the yet unexplored jungle world and has created adventure programs by means of Ecotourism in order to invite tourists to connect with the natural environment of the jungle. The common goal is for preservation and conservation of the environment and caring for the native communities while experiencing the Manu Biosphere Reserve and the Tambopata Bahuaja Sonene National Parks.

Atalaya Manu is always looking for new and original routes through the unknown heart of Manu and Puerto Maldonado as well as other jungle areas such as Iquitos, Pucallpa and Quillabamba. We intend that all our trips avoid the traditional routes in most jungle journeys. We, however, offer as well the main well known attractions such as the Cloud Forest, The Manu Park, the Tambopata and Bahuaja Sonene.

Our hostels and camping areas are carefully chosen in order to guarantee a total connection with nature and absolute exclusiveness for each group, avoiding the main areas of congestion as well as providing as much comfort as possible.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

In any of the tours given by Atalaya we offer other activities that may be included in any program or you may design your own to your desire. Manu Peru

• Mountain Bicycle
• Rafting
• Rapel
• Horseback riding
• Experiences in Native Communities
• Natural Medicine Programs
• Special trips (minimum 10 days)
• For this type of program we prefer that you get in touch with us directly.

OUR SERVICES INCLUDE

• Naturalist Guides or Bilingual Biologist
• Private Land transport in a 4 by 4
• River transport in a private boat
• Air transport Cusco-Boca Manu - Cusco
• Camping equipment (Tents and Matras)
• First Aid Kit
• Specialized books during the trip.
• Rubber boots.

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT

• Binoculars
• Lanterns and its supplies
• Sleeping bags
• Loose and resistant pants
• T- shirts and long sleeve shirts (preferably cotton)
• Swimming suit and towel
• Long cotton socks
• Sweater or light jacket
• Pair of trecking shoes and sandals
• Hat or cap and sun block cream
• Repelent
• Plastic bags
• Copy of personal documents (Passport, yellow feaver and tetanus vaccine certificate)

Our Service does not include

Sleeping bags, Additional food and drinks, Personal equipment and medicines, Hotels in Cusco. Entrance ticket to the Manu Reserved Zone, the Tambopata and Bahuaja Sonene, Rain Coats. Manu Peru, Jungle Peru, Manu Operator.