Imagine venturing by boat deep into the Peruvian Amazon jungle, to a place so remote that uncontacted tribes still live… this family adventure can be yours with a family-friendly trip into Manu National Park in Peru.
Our family enjoyed a 6 night / 7 day tour of Manu National Park with our 9 & 12 year old kids. We loved our boat safari through the Amazon – the most famous jungle on the planet. Not only was the jungle scenery amazing, we saw tons of incredible animals such as caimans, parrots, wild otters, capibaras, and all sorts of creepy crawly jungle critters!
To help you decide whether this adventure is right for your family, here is our account of visiting Manu National Park with kids. We booked our tour through Manu Adventures – keep reading to find out how to get a 10% discount on your family tour to Manu National Park!
This post contains compensated links.
Day 1 – Cusco to Manu National Park
Our Manu National Park adventure began with a 5:30 pickup at our Cusco hotel. It’s always fun to drive through the outskirts of Cusco to see the various styles of living.
Our first stop was a town just outside Cusco called Oropesa, which is famous for its bread. We stopped at a bakery to pick up a few days worth. Towards the back of the bakery was a wood fired oven – it smelled so good inside!
From there we entered the Peruvian Andes mountains, climbing ever higher along a scenic route clinging to the side of the mountain. We’d go up one side of the valley, then another, and another until we reached the pass at 4,000 m / 13,100 feet.
Paucartambo Tour
Our next stop was Paucartambo, which rests at the doorstep of Manu National Park. It was bustling with activity to due to a Catholic festival which was about to begin. We walked along the Main Street, which was alive with a market, featuring all sorts of interesting merchandise.
We enjoyed a short walking tour of Paucartambo, which features well-preserved Spanish architecture. The buildings are a striking white with beautiful blue balconies on the second floor.
We visited the Renaissance church which was overflowing with donated flowers for the festival. Finally, we took a short walking tour though the market, which features all kinds of fruits, vegetables. Our daughter did not enjoy seeing the table of Guinea pigs for sale!
Manu National Park Gates
As we neared the gates for Manu National Park at 3,400 m / 11,100 feet, we noticed clouds were forming near the road. As it turns out, once we entered the national park, we also entered the cloud forest.
The forest in the valley below was very lush, with clouds clinging to every peak. Shortly after entering Manu National Park we stopped at a viewpoint where we could see the incredibly windy road descending into deep into the park. Meanwhile, the clouds were actively shifting and forming right in front of our eyes.
Bird Watching
On our way down into the national park, we got out of the van to go for a little walk along the road to look for toucans. On foot it’s easily to appreciate the immense density of this cloud forest. We didn’t see any toucans, but we did admire some yellow and orange slipper orchids, and had a nice introduction to the beauty of the park.
As we were driving along the narrow, winding jungle road with many blind corners and steep drop-offs, I couldn’t help but think about how grateful I was not be driving here. It was so much more enjoyable letting a professional do the work while I sat back and enjoyed the scenery.
Soon we stopped at a roadside picnic area for lunch. The lunch our chef prepared was amazing – roast chicken and sweet potatoes, veggies, passion fruit, a banana and cookies! There were a couple of really cute, friendly dogs greeting visitors to the picnic area.
Later, on one of our many walks, we saw the tiniest little orange bird, a Cinnamon Flycatcher, just sitting on a branch and singing. Further down the road, we were surprised by three tayra, small furry brown omnivores, playing with each other on the road.
Shortly after we hopped out of the van to join a group looking at a woodpecker. We kept walking and were rewarded with seeing a Cock of the Rock – the national bird of Peru! Topping it off, we saw an Oropendola, a big, bright yellow bird with fuzzy hair on top.
Jungle Lodge #1
At the end of our day, we stopped in a nearby lodge to watch a troupe of Brown capuchin monkeys in the trees. Monkeys are always a crowd pleaser, especially with the kids. We loved watching them jump from tree to tree as they kept a close eye on us.
Our rooms at the lodge were basic, but well-designed to keep nature out. We got two double rooms, complete with two twin beds with mosquito nets. We also had electricity to charge our devices and hot showers.
Our group dinner was really good. We began with a chicken and potato soup, followed by a main course of spaghetti with beef and veggies.
Day 2 – Transferring to the River
Early Morning in the Cloud Forest
We all slept like a log in the cool, damp jungle air. Overnight, we needed to sleep in our base layers due to the damp, but that just added to the deep sleep.
We had a very reasonable 6:30 breakfast time. We were treated to a feast of fruit salad, pancakes, eggs and some of the yummy bread we had picked up on the way yesterday.
As we waited for chef to get ready, our guide took us for a morning walk. The jungle is so beautiful and fresh in the morning sun. Across the valley we spotted a flock of Swallow-tailed Kite birds, and a bunch of hanging nests made by Oropendola (the birds we saw yesterday).
Once in the van, we travelled on a very bumpy, dirt road deeper into the forest. Before long we transitioned from the cloud forest to the rainforest.
White Water Rafting
Upon arriving in Pilcopata we transitioned to our next mode of transport – white water rafting! For the next hour we had an incredible time rafting down the kid-friendly Class I and II rapids.
Along the way we saw lots of beautiful waterfalls, and countless birds including a Tiger heron. We had a lot of laughs, we all got soaked and some brave folks even went for a swim.
River Boat
At Atalaya, we transferred from our raft to a river boat which we used to venture deeper into the wild. The jungle scenery from the water is simply amazing, with lush tree covered rolling hills and mountains in all directions.
We saw an impressive amount of bird life, including eagles, cormorants and countless unidentified species. Interspersed among the thousands of green trees are occasional bright red, purple or yellow flowering trees.
An hour later, we enjoyed a packed lunch on the boat, including roast chicken, potatoes, veggies, and apple and cookies.
By mid-afternoon, we had passed through several remote communities where our kids enjoying waving at the locals on shore. The mountains were now completely gone, replaced by flat forest as far as the eye can see. By now, the river has grown to be 4x wider than at the beginning.
As the sun was getting low in the sky, we were rewarded with the sight of 5 red macaws flying across river – they are so beautiful in the wild. This was followed shortly, by two vultures drying their feathers in the sun on the shore. Finally, we saw a Capped Heron on the shore, surprising everyone with his very blue face!
Hummingbird Lodge
We disembarked at the Hummingbird Lodge and began a short walk thorough the jungle to our lodging. Along the way we crossed a big bridge made from a fallen tree, we saw walking trees, a giant fig tree and even a jaguar footprint in the mud from a few days prior.
Each cabin at the Hummingbird Lodge was very simple with two beds. The upper half of each wall was a big screen, allowing fresh air in, but keeping the bugs and critters out. Each unit had a private toilet and a cold shower.
For dinner we enjoyed a meal of chicken noodle soup, followed by hamburger with green mashed potatoes and white rice.
Amazon Jungle Night Walk #1
After dinner we went on our first night walk of our Manu National Park tour. Night safaris in the jungle are my favorite way of seeing wildlife in the jungle – at night everything is out and awake and much easier to find! And walking in the Amazon jungle at night is a super cool experience for the kids (and adults too!).
We started off by seeing a group of sleeping butterflies on a vine – I’ve never seen that before – amazing! The surprises kept on coming fast and furious – over the next hour we saw a molting cricket, countless spiders (including a massive scorpion spider), lots of cute little frogs, a giant caterpillar, a slimy millepede and a stick bug! Not bad for our first night safari!
Lying in bed in our cabin just outside Manu National Park, the jungle is alive with sound. The Amazon truly is a special place.
Day 3 – Entering Manu National Park
We woke up at 5 am to the sounds of animals and birds walking up in the jungle. It was fun getting dressed in our little cabin by candlelight.
Boat Ride Into Manu National Park
By 5:40 we were in our boat, heading towards Manu National Park. The sun was not yet above the horizon and there were traces of pink in the clouds.
The dense fog on the water was spooky – as we moved along the river, it felt like a pirate ship would appear at any time!
At 6:10 am our boat turned to head up the Manu River. We’re all excited as the real animal watching opportunities are about to begin. As if on queue, a black and white Cocoi Heron greeted us on the shoreline. We also saw a hawk and a black skimmer bird in a tree.
Manu National Park Ranger Station
At 6:40 we stopped at the Manu National Park ranger station. After registering, the ranger gave us a brief talk about the park. We were fascinated to hear there are approximately 100 no-contact people living within the park. These people have had very little to no contact with the outside world. Amazing! We really are in deep jungle territory!!
Entering Manu National Park
Shortly after leaving the Manu National Park ranger station, we spotted a small caiman sunning itself on the beach. This was followed by 2 black skimmers walking on the beach.
A noisy flock of small birds caught our attention in the skies, when two brilliant green macaws flew underneath them and landed on a bare branch.
The wildlife sightings continued with another caiman sighting. We then saw an Anhinga, (similar to a cormorant), and a roadside hawk.
It was exciting when a caiman ran across the beach and slid into the water right next to our boat. A few meters later a grey heron was watching the world go by on a riverside branch.
The next notable sighting was a family of turtles sitting on a log above the river. They were surprisingly big!
Mid-morning, we spotted a large heron on the shoreline with a small fish in its mouth.
Next we spotted a group of playful squirrel monkeys playing in the tall grass next to shore. At first, we could just hear them and see the plants moving, but with some patience they revealed themselves as they moved quickly as a pack to a new location.
Then a family of red howler monkeys was playing in the grass just offshore. We’ve seen (and heard) howler monkeys around the world, but never ones like this – their fur was so red!!
Other wildlife sightings on the third day of our Manu National Park tour included:
- Numerous herons on logs and in the air
- A flycatcher with a yellow breast
- Countless small birds flying around our boat
- Several additional turtle sightings
- A large mixed flock of snowy and great egrets
- Countless herons and egrets
- 3 greenish blue kingfishers
- Parakeets eating clay on sand
- 3 Horned screamers (goose family)
We ate lunch on the boat again today. This time it was a bit of a casserole of all the things we’d eaten so far… some roast chicken on top of a mixture of rice, plantains and ham. An unusual combination, but it hit the spot!
Riding down the Manu River on a boat is a hypnotizing experience. You can lose yourself while keeping your eyes trained on the shore and trees, looking for animals. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll become adept at spotting birds, turtles, etc. – it becomes second nature in no time!
Manu National Park Lodging
Our cabins were really nice with two twin beds each. They had curtains all around for privacy, but the ability to open them to let a breeze through the big screens. Our room had a single solar powered light in it with a USB port for charging our devices – both of these little luxuries were very appreciated!
Salvador Lake
After a well-deserved siesta in our cabins, we ventured out for an afternoon walk in the jungle. We took our boat 2 minutes up river to the Cocha Salvador area.
We disembarked on a big sandy beach and we could see some fresh capybara footprints. This excited our daughter who especially wants to see one.
We were silent as we entered the primary rainforest. It’s pretty hard to see any significant wildlife while on foot in the jungle as the creatures are all very sensitive and shy, but we gave it our best.
We admired the many interesting plants and fungus along the trail. Especially impressive are the buttress roots of the gigantic ficus trees, which are one of my all-time favorites (wait until you see one – you’ll know what I mean).
At one point, we stopped to listen to the calls of two Screaming Piha birds – their extremely loud bird calls sound like construction workers catcalling a lady walking past. It was pretty funny!
At the end of the trail we came up on Salvador Lake with a large catamaran docked there. Our boat captain had tagged along with his assistant, each carrying an oar. They treated us to an hour-long silent catamaran trip around the lake.
Our first sighting was very exciting – a small family of endangered giant otters!! One of them was above water eagerly ripping into a fish. As we approached, they went under water, presumably into their den and didn’t reappear. Oh well, it was a huge thrill to see a giant otter at all!
The remainder of the catamaran tour was a big success, with one animal and/or bird sighting after another.
Highlights include:
- A treetop full of noisy parakeets
- Two blue & yellow macaws flying overhead
- Two vultures on top of dead tree
- 2 toucans flying across lake. Their bird song sounds a lot like a dog!
- Three types of monkeys: red howler monkeys, black spider monkeys and brown capuchin monkeys.
- The smallest species of heron in the water
- A beautiful, big orange kingfisher
For dinner tonight we had a hearty meal of chicken, scalloped potatoes, pasta and salad. For dessert we were surprised by a baked apple in a cinnamon syrup.
Amazon Night Walk #2
After dinner we went out for another night walk in the jungle. I don’t care how many night walks you do, each one of them is exhilarating. The sound of the jungle at night is one of my favourite nature sounds in the world.
Tonight we saw the usual suspects in the nocturnal jungle world: lots of spiders and a few cute frogs. Some new discoveries tonight included some leaf cutter ants, gigantic bullet ants and a couple of tarantula nests (no tarantulas were visible though).
Day 4 – Inside Manu National Park
On the fourth day of our Manu National Park tour we awoke at 5 am – this time to go see the giant otters at the time of day they are most active, and while the temperature is nice and cool.
Sunrise at Salvador Lake
By 5:45 we were back on the boat headed towards Salvador Lake. The sun rising over the Manu River and the Amazon jungle caused the wispy clouds to turn a mild pink.
We weren’t actively looking for wildlife on the short hike to the dock, but we could hear the primal call of howler monkeys in the distance. We also saw a small tarantula on the roots of a walking tree.
Back in the catamaran, the world was teeming with animal activity. Almost immediately our daughter spotted a pair of toucans in a nearby tree.
Our guide spotted the family of giant otters but they were at the far end of the lake, so we slowly paddled towards them, enjoying excellent wildlife sightings along the way. Highlights include:
- A tree full of black and yellow Cacique birds
- Several caiman slowly skimming the top of the glasslike lake water
- Several Kingfisher birds of many sizes
- 3 vultures in tree
- Flicks of colorful macaws flying overhead
- A great egret
When we finally reached the giant otters, we were in for a huge treat. The otters were all up and actively hunting for their breakfast. We spent a long time with the otters and watched them repeatedly dive, then come up with a large fish in their mouths, proceeding to devour it in front of our eyes.
When their mealtime was done, they seemed very happy and were playing together in the water. Otters are one of my favorite animals and I’ve wanted to see one in the wild for a long time. I’m so glad our trip to Manu National Park delivered on the wild otters!
Back at our jungle lodge we behaved like the otters and ripped into our delicious breakfast. Today we enjoyed toast with guacamole, platters of mango and kiwi, and some potato pie.
Macaw Clay Wall
After breakfast we hopped back in the boat, this time to go to the clay wall to watch macaws eat. Along the boat ride there, we stopped to watch a family of playful squirrel monkeys eat from a tree with beautiful red flowers.
It was a 10-15 minute walk from the boat to the clay wall. Along the way, we could hear several large, wild animals in the trees. It’s a very real & scary feeling not knowing what kind of creature is lurking, unseen just meters away. As it turns out, they were just Peccaries – wild pigs! Haha!
We arrived at the large bird hide building to find it completely empty. We all took our seats and sat in complete silence, waiting for the macaws to show.
As it common with wildlife, the macaws didn’t show right away, but we were all entertained by some capuchin monkeys in a nearby tree. It was a good chance to sit and listen to the jungle, and admire all its small details – butterflies and birds everywhere you look, etc.
An hour later, we still hadn’t seen any macaws. Many of us had naps and ate our morning snacks. It could have been worse though… the bird hide had a cool breeze and there were no bugs. All in all, still an enjoyable way to pass an hour or so…
Nature rewarded us with a fun surprise on the way back to the boat… tamarins! We saw a bunch of the tiny brown and orange monkeys with white faces playing in a nearby tree!
For lunch we had a traditional Peruvian meal, with pork and mushrooms, beans and ham, mashed potatoes with tuna, white rice and more. It was tasty!
Afternoon Amazon Jungle Walk
For our afternoon outing, we took our boat to a different spot along the river to begin our jungle walk. Interestingly enough, our walk began through the abandoned remains of a former jungle lodge. It was really interesting and spooky all at the same time!
In addition to the usual jungle sightings, we saw some really cool new stuff today including:
- a juvenile horned frog
- Some truly massive ficas trees
- A zombie mushroom which had infected an insect to make it under its control (no kidding!)
- a clay mut pit used by peccaries
- a blue and green parrot feather
- White capuchin monkeys
Sunset on Salvador Lake
After hiking for a while, we were back on the catamaran on Salvador Lake by 5 pm. The sun had started to set and it was surprisingly quiet around the lake, especially compared to sunrise.
With so many kids on board, the boat captain wanted to show the kids some piranha fishing, so he tied the boat to the shore and baited his fishing line. Within 2-3 casts, he had caught one! It was a small one, but it was still big enough that we could see its famously sharp teeth.
After releasing each one back into the water, he caught several more, which was not only super fun for the kids to see, but it attracted the attention of a large caiman, which we got to see up close!
Amazon Night Walk #3
It was dark by the time we returned to land, so we had another quick nighttime jungle walk on our way back to our lodge. In addition to the usual assortment of nighttime creepy crawlies, we saw a big frog hiding in an equally big hole, a centipede, a tiny leaf cricket and a night hawk on the beach!
For dinner, we had a vegetable chowder soup for a starter, followed by a yummy beef and rice main dish. Dessert was delicious – it was a thick purple syrup (which was the favorite dessert of the local Peruvian girl on our tour).
Day 5 – Leaving Manu National Park
We got a mild sleep-in opportunity today with a 6:00 breakfast. Today we had scrambled eggs and fried sweet potatoes with mango, pineapple and dulce de leche on bread!
Sadly, today is the day in our tour of Manu National Park where we turn our boat around and start the long journey back towards Cusco. The great news is that the journey back is still in the heart of the wild, remote Amazon, full of adventurous opportunities.
Departing Via the Manu River
It was a cool, overcast day and it seemed like the animal world was just a little sleepy today. That’s ok – this isn’t Animal Kingdom at Disney World – it’s the real Amazon jungle and occasionally there will be slow moments. That’s not to say we didn’t see any wildlife – quite the opposite. Some of our sighting included:
- many groups of ducks
- Several colorful Amazonian kingfisher birds
- countless caiman sunning themselves on the sandy shores of the river, including several really big black caimans
- several pairs of horned screamer birds – the first in a dead tree and the next on a beach
- White egrets
- River turtles hanging out on fallen logs in the water
- several large herons
- 4 Orinoco geese
- a snake neck Cormorant
- 6 red howler monkeys eating clay along the banks of the river
In the morning, we got out of the boat twice to stretch our legs on some of the many sandy beaches along the Manu River. On the first beach we saw jaguar prints in the mud, while on the second beach we saw two pairs of jaguar prints – a mom and her cub! Real life jaguars are extremely rare to see in person, so to see the prints in the mud was the next best thing!
Manu National Park Observation Tower
As we left Manu National Park, we stopped at the ranger station to sign out of the park. While there, we took the opportunity to walk to the observation tower, where we could get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding jungle. Along the way we stopped to admire a ceiba tree – at 60 m / 200 feet tall, it’s the tallest tree in the park.
For dinner tonight we had a hearty feast of beef, lentils and rice, roasted potatoes and salad.
Amazon Night Walk #4
After dinner, we went out for our final night walk of our Manu National Park tour. The jungle presented its usual lineup tonight – a steady dose of spiders, beetles and crickets. The most impressive find is the night was a banana spider – one of the scariest spiders in the jungle! But we did manage to offset all the creepy critters with a few cute frogs too!
Day 6
On our 6th day of our Manu National Park tour, we were on our boat at 7 am. As with the last time we passed through the village of Manu, the fog over the river was thick. It’s an eerie feeling watching the thick jungle pass by in the fog… (in a fun way!)
Day 6 of our tour was mostly a travel day back up the river through the transition zone. The first hour of the journey was pretty uneventful, until the captain suddenly stopped the boat.
Miraculously, he had spotted a mother capybara and its baby in some tall grass by the riverbank! Our daughter’s biggest wish coming to Manu National Park was to see a capybara, and now on our way out of the park we actually saw two of them! Amazing! How on earth did the captain see them??? These guys are SO talented!
As we ventured further up the river, a few glaciers on towering Andes mountains have become visible in the distance. We stopped for a break on a beach and saw both ocelot and jaguar footprints in the sand. Shortly thereafter, we saw a sea snake swimming across the river!
At one point, we needed to transit up some shallow rapids, but there were concerns the water wasn’t deep enough. Our captain, assistant and two men from a nearby boat all got in the water and started moving rocks, etc. after much preparation, we gave it a go… slowly at first, slowly… then go!! We made it! We all had a ton of laughs – it was very exciting!
Hot Springs
In the early afternoon, we took a break from our long journey up the Alto Madre de Dios River with a stop at a natural hot spring. After sitting most of the morning this was the perfect treat!
It turned out to be one of the most beautiful natural hot springs I’ve ever visited. Set in a natural jungle setting, the soaking area was fed by three springs – two of them bubbling hot water, while the third was cool water fed into the pool by a large bamboo pole.
We all took the opportunity to put the natural healing clay on our faces. I’m not sure if it actually did any good, but it made for some great pictures!
Day 7
On our final morning of our Manu National Park tour, we had a slightly later than normal start. For breakfast we had pancakes with dulce de leche, fried plantains and sweet bread.
We hopped in the boat for the final time for a quick 30 minute ride to Atalaya, where we transferred to our van for the final leg of our journey back to Cusco.
Hummingbird Garden
Just outside Pilcopata we stopped to visit a beautiful hummingbird garden. This beautiful natural space was filled with many flowers and an abundance of hummingbird feeders. This powerful combination must have attracted over 50 hummingbirds of all sizes and colors. It was a wonderful opportunity to see many beautiful hummingbirds, which are quite rare and difficult to see in the jungle.
Tips For Traveling to Manu National Park with Kids
Bring powerful bug spray from home, and more than you think you need. Our tour company recommended insect repellant with 35% DEET. It’s very hard to find any insect repellant in Cusco with DEET higher than 15%, so it’s best if you bring some good stuff from home.
Given how remote this tour is, there are long travel days in the van and in the boat, so bring lots of entertainment. Our kids brought their e-readers, but my go-to for long travel days are to listen to audiobooks, as they are a great way to pass time while still looking at scenery.
Our guide had binoculars for us all to share, but we wish we had brought our own. When we were on safari with kids in Tanzania, our guide used powerful safari binoculars, which would be perfect for wildlife viewing in Manu National Park.
This trip goes deep into remote areas of the Amazon jungle, where accommodations are simple. While we were lucky to be able to charge our devices at a few of the jungle lodges, it’s best you bring a high capacity power bank as a backup. It’d be a shame if you couldn’t take pictures due to a dead phone or camera battery.
In the Amazon jungle, your clothing choices are important. We recommend you wear light weight long sleeve shirts and long pants. Covering your arms and legs are important to protect against the tropical sun and insect bites, but you’ll want them lightweight and breathable so not to be too hot.
Final Thoughts on Visiting Manu National Park with Kids
As we made our drive out of Manu National Park on the long uphill winding road, it was a nice opportunity to get our last looks at the Amazon jungle and the cloud forest. It’s a truly beautiful setting and I found myself reminiscing about the family adventures we shared over the past week.
It was a long way to get there, but we relished our family time in one of the most remote corners of the world. We had many fun adventures, both on foot and in the water, and saw an incredible amount and diversity of wildlife in the Amazon. If your family loves adventure in the wilderness, I’d highly recommend a family-friendly tour to Manu National Park.
Recommended Tour
If your family loves animals and adventure, you will love this family-friendly tour of Manu National Park. As you can see, Manu Adventures did an exceptional job. They offer 3, 4, 5 and 7 day tours of Manu National Park.
Tell them you heard about them from “Family Can Travel” and get a 10% discount on their 3 – 5 day tours!
Follow Along on our Family Trip to Peru & Bolivia
We visited Peru & Bolivia during the summer after our daughter learned about Peru in Grade 6. We began our family adventure by acclimatizing for three days in Cusco with kids. We then jumped over to Bolivia, beginning with a few days in La Paz with kids, before enjoying a family-friendly tour of the Uyuni Salt Flats.
After Bolivia, we returned to Peru to hike the Inca Trail with kids, and we finished our trip deep in the Amazon Jungle with this visit to Manu National Park with kids.
Our Travel Journal for Kids
Based on our family travels, our kids helped us design this Travel Journal for Active Kids! This engaging travel journal encourages kids to document their adventures, spark creativity, and stay entertained on the go – grab yours now on Amazon!
Dan Brewer is an intrepid family travel blogger with a passion for exploring the world's most captivating destinations. With 62 countries under his belt and a sense of wanderlust that knows no bounds, he has made it his life's mission to share his travel experiences and insights with fellow families who love to travel.
When Dan isn't traveling with his wife and kids, he's either out enjoying the Canadian Rockies he calls home or working on one of his three travel sites (Family Can Travel, Travel Banff Canada and Ultimate Sports Road Trip).