Prior to the trip, i had been really looking forward to the jungle, my girlfriend, however, was terrified! On arrival at Boca Manu (airport), there was a downpour. The runway was a mudbath and it was a little hairy to say the least.
We then took the supposed 90min canoe trip to the lodge, although it took over 2hrs as the guide (Ronnie) and driver were great at spotting wildlife and stopping so we could get a good view.
The lodge was lovely, fully netted, even with toilet, basin and hot shower. There was no electricity, except a couple of hrs per day to charge batteries. The lack of light or normal comforts added to the atmosphere. Dinner in the evening was exceptional, a very high quality 3 course meal in the dining room with only candles was wonderful. Lunch was of the same quality.
On our 1st evening a cold front came in (apparently this happens about once a month), it meant that the typical humid jungle conditions were replaced by 20deg celsius heat, which probably affected the number of animals/birds we saw.
Our guide was brilliant, it was just us (2) and him, which made it even better, and he was very friendly and very knowledgable.
The whole tapir experience was one which will say with us for a long time, incredible. At 3pm we walked 2hrs to the lick, then ate a packed dinner in fading light. It was dark in the jungle at 530pm. Waiting for the tapir was incredible, hearing animals moving through the jungle in pitch darkness has to be experienced. The tapir finally arrived at 11pm, I can't type in words the emotions of this experience! Then we walked back through the jungle, 90mins in pitch dark, amazing.
The next night there was a tapir in the wildlife centre! It was a semi-wild one (Vanessa!) which visits from time to time (was stranded as a baby), not quite the same experience, but good to see in a zoo type of way!
We saw 3 types of monkey, black & white caiman, 89 species (all identified by Ronnie!) of bird & tapir.
Even my terrified girlfriend loved it, very few creepy crawlies, just one big spider (wolf spider) in our room (i'm scared of them!), which was soon removed by a guide.
Overall, this was something i recommend to everyone with a love of nature, even if you have fears of snakes (didn't see one!), spiders (didn't see many) and insects (not too bad!)

Our family of 5 had a fabulous stay at Manu over New Year. The cabins are great, with good bathrooms, great to get hot water after a few days without in the more remote camps!
Nice communal lounge area with comfortable chairs, hammocks, bar with a good range of drinks.
Excellent 3 course meals, and snacks and water available anytime in the dining room.
Beautiful grounds - exotic plants, lush vegetation, maccaws flying overhead, monkeys in the trees!
A beautiful setting, and of course the day trips into the surrounding areas such as the claylick and tapir hides, were excellent. The facilities are of a very high standard - and I was impressed with the cleanliness of the linen, mattresses etc in the hides - given the tropical temperatures and humidity they are dealing with. Full credit!

The Manu Wildlife Centre is an excellent lodge located in one of the most ecologically diverse rain forest regions in the whole of the Amazon basin. Although it is located on the edge of the Manu "biosphere reserve", rather than in it, this is largely an irrelevant detail because the range of wildlife that can be viewed from the lodge’s immediate locale is phenomenal. It’s probably true to say that jaguar sightings are more likely inside the eco-tourism zone of the Manu National Park, but we didn’t want to base our choice of accommodation purely on the marginally higher, but nonetheless tiny, probability of seeing a rare big cat (we’ll do that next time!). Instead, in just three days we saw all of the main wildlife attractions that the lodge boasts, including the stunning macaw clay-lick, night-time visits by tapirs, several caimans, and the endangered giant otter families of the nearby ox-bow lakes, not to mention numerous species of monkey, bird and insect life. Neither of us are ‘twitchers’ but if you are then it’s hard to beat as a birdwatching location. From the gardens of the lodge we marvelled at toucans high up in the trees.

The lodge itself has some very good facilities, especially considering its remoteness and the need to ship out non-biodegradable waste back to Cusco. We arrived by motorised canoe and the manager, Julian, welcomed us at the jetty, before explaining the dos and don’ts and furnishing us with a refreshing cold drink. The dining room and lounge/bar areas were very appealing, and, in the evening, delightfully atmospheric in the subdued light from the candles and oil lamps. The food was excellent, especially the delicious soups. The unobtrusive electricity generator ran for a limited time each day to allow the camera-toting guests to recharge their batteries. The lodge’s gardens were very attractive and abundant in wildlife in their own right. Some emperor tamarins paid a visit one morning, causing great excitement amongst the guides. We explored some of the extensive trails and viewed the canopy from a purpose-built tower.

Our wooden cabin was very nicely designed, with plenty of natural light during the day and several candles provided for night-time. Each bed had an effective mosquito net and despite the near-100% humidity the bed linens and the curtains were clean and dry. The manager had alerted us to preventing visits from cockroaches by stowing away our sweet foodstuffs (including toothpaste) in a plastic storage jar provided for this purpose in the cabin. This we did, but a few cockroaches were inquisitive enough to make an appearance in the room each night. I’m not sure that there’s much the lodge can do about this, as it’s located in the deep jungle after all! In fact judging by the near-constant, deafening, buzzing/chirping/humming noise from the infinity of insects outside it was a minor miracle that so few bugs made it into the room.

This was, by far, the most expensive of all the places we stayed at in Peru, but the three nights spent at the Manu Wildlife Centre were definitely worth it. In fact it would be a sad day if staying at or near Manu was ever made cheap because it would signal the impending ruination of such a beautiful and relatively untouched wilderness.

Incredible! The Wildlife Center is a remote area just outside Manu National Park. We took a 4d/3n trip, which seemed just right. Longer options are available. A short scenic flight from Cusco to a grass runway at Boca Manu then 1 ½ to 2 hours by boat past a couple very small villages, no significant population nearby. Screened bungalows with private baths and hot water. Romantic candlelight (no electricity except to charge batteries a few hours a day). Good basic Peruvian food. Snacks and drinks always available. Even a bar with great pisco sours. There were mosquito nets over the beds though we hit a cold snap and had few insects.

We were divided into small groups of 3-6 with a guide who traveled with us from Cusco. We got together with other groups for some activities and meals. Activities included the following: observing the famous parrot and macaw lick from a stationary blind, hikes along the many trails observing monkeys (we saw 4 types), strange insects and many birds. Late night visit to a tapir lick (my least favorite activity, no tapirs in a full moon). Float an oxbow lake on a raft watching birds, caimans and river otters.

This seems to be a more expensive jungle option. But, when you consider all food (except alcohol), day tours and transportation are included I don’t think it is much more. I cant speak about the other choices but this was fantastic. It ranks up there with Machu Picchu for highlights of the trip.