Traditional medicine plays a central role in the lives of the Matsigenka people. Treatment options include the use of hundreds of medicinal plants, used to cure many types of physical, psychological, and spiritual afflictions. Matsigenka people are considered to be the expert and to have great knowledge of the medicinal secrets of plants.
In this program we have carefully crafted an authentic experience with the purpose of promoting health and well-being through physical, psychological, or spiritual activities. And even enjoy “temascal” sessions outdoors enjoying the tranquility of the Amazonian environment!
Please note: regarding the itinerary, this tour is very similar to the Two communities of Mau: a visit to Shipetiari and Shintuya. However, here we focus more on spirituality and connecting with nature throughout the five days of your experience. The other tour does not include this extra and might be more suitable for you if you are simply looking for a mix of nature and culture.
This tour uses public transport to get to you to Manu. We do this to reduce costs, but the experience can be quite adventurous. If you wish to do take a private transport to Manu, you can select the option (for your number of people in the group) during the booking process. The additional costs are as follows:
Group of 2 to 4 people: + 105$ per person
Group of 5 to 6 people: + 75$ per person
You can also check out our other experiences in Manu: The Exploration to the heart of the Manu National Park is a 6-day tour and perfect for you if you have time and are a jungle fanatic. If, on the contrary, you have less time available, we suggest the Manu Community and Wildlife Experience.
For more general information about the region and how to travel there, we put in your hands our Travel Guide to Manu in Southern Peru.
Note: all programs in the jungle may have slight variations, depending on the reports of our experienced guides and weather conditions, in order to maximize activities success, like the observation of wildlife.
We will pick you up from your hotel in Cusco at 10:15 am and go to the bus station, where we will take the public bus to Manu. We are headed towards the exuberant region of the cloud forest, where the Andes end and give way to the Amazon. We will ascend to the Acjanaco pass, which is the entrance to the Manu National Park.
If you chose the option with private transfer pick up is already ay 06:45 am. We will take some stops to discover some secrets of the cloud forest, the kingdom of giant ferns. At some point of the route we will make a stop and together we’ll take some time to breathe. With so much unwellness embedded in today’s travel, this pause to breathe on day 1, will give you a glimpse of what’s to come. To smell the morning Amazon’s fragances, it’s just an indescriptible experience. You will sense the freshness filling you body inmediatly, and how air enters your lungs.
We will continue our journey until we reach Villa Salvación, the Capital of the province of Manu. Here, we will spend the night.
Meals included: Box lunch, dinner.
Transportation: Private transport (arrival time between 5-6 pm).
Included activities: Breathing dynamic.
Note: The day before leaving, we opt to have a small briefing with you in your hotel at around 6 pm. We will contact you to see if this time suits you or if we have to fix another moment. Of course, you will get to ask all your open questions during this briefing.
Early in the morning, we will visit the “cocha” Machuwasi. The Amazonian cochas (oxbow lakes) are assembly points for different animal species, especially birds. Once here, we will take some time to connect with nature, to recharge the body and nourish the mind by breathing to the rhythm of the bird’s awaking. Then, we will start navigating the lake on a raft.
As we leave the oxbow lake, we continue our journey to the Shipetiari Community (3 hours by car). The Matsigenka community of Shipetiari lives adjacent to the Manu National Park. After meeting its members, we will settle in our comfortable rooms (at private bungalows).
Later on, we will have the chance to explore the rainforest and be surrounded by the most extravagant sounds that make this place so mysterious. Before it gets dark, we will also walk to an observation platform, where it’s time for another breathing exercise. Let’s open our senses and connect with the natural surroundings!
Getting back to the lodge we will always have great chances to find more fauna.
Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Included Activities: Machuwasi lake, breathing dynamic, jungle night walk.
Transportation: Private transfer by car and boat
Accommodation: Pankotsi Lodge – Shipetiari
We will wake up to the sounds of the forest and do some breathing and meditation to expand our senses and out them in harmony with the magic of the forest. After breakfast we will have some time to learn a little about the daily life in Shipetiari. We will engage in some activities with the people, such as harvesting ‘yuca’ (manioc or cassava), bananas or other seasonal products and preparing beverages (masato).
In the Afternoon, we will participate in a campfire and try traditional food options prepared with healthy and local ingredients that cater to different diets, such as ‘Pacamoto’ (pieces of fish cooked in bamboo), bananas, and other local products.
We will spend some time exchanging experiences with the Matsigenka, and to recover our strength and energy, we will have a session of ‘temascal’ with aromatic herbs accompanied by music. The peace you will sense inside the ‘temascal’ allows people to introspect, and reflect. And this energetic movement in your body will allow your thoughts to be purified and your mind to regenerate after exertion.
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Included Activities: Masato preparation, craft – workshop, traditional food (pacamoto), breathing dynamic, temascal session.
Accommodation: Pankotsi Lodge – Shipetiari
At the scheduled time you will say goodbye to our friends and embark on the port, where you will be transferred to the Shintuya Community, one of the largest in the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve.
We will invite you to connect with your physical side through fun, adventurous activities in picturesque natural settings. After lunch, get ready to explore the trails – always accompanied by one member of the community. You will visit a waterfall amidst the jungle, so don’t forget your swimsuit. The thermal water pools are operational at your disposal.
And finally, you can take a night walk. This last activity is completely optional, but we recommend making an effort and trying it. Remember that exercising in this environment is key not only for your physical health but also for your peace of mind.
Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Included Activities: Visit a waterfall Thermal water pools Transportation Private transfer by car
Accommodation: Aguas Calientes Lodge – CN Shintuya (1 Night)
This trip is an opportunity to maintain and improve your holistic health, and once it’s over, you’ll feel rejuvenated and more connected to our planet, its people, and yourself.
On the last day, you will leave Shintuya and return to Villa Salvación after breakfast. There you will take the public bus to your hotel in Cusco.
Meals included: Breakfast
Transportation: Public Bus from Villa Salvacion Manu to Cusco
You will be supporting community-based tourism in a remote area, while raising environmental awareness and promoting cultural empathy, in one of the most diverse places on the planet, enjoying a wellness experience and interacting with native communities that seek alternative and additional ways of subsistence in tourism.
Moreover…
The accommodation is very basic in Manu, so please don’t expect luxury. But they are comfortable enough for our clients for a few days and they are hosted by native communities. You will get a real jungle experience here, which in fact is highly interesting.
This is a great question, a tricky one by the way. Let’s say that when visiting Matsigenka people you will hear Matsigenka (probably the most widespread language in the region), when visiting Harakbut people you will hear Harakbut and you might even notice the difference. And of course, if you stay in the highlands of Manu like Paucartambo and Qero villages, Quechua is the mother tongue. An extra bit of information is that there are so many languages in the Amazon region in general that it is a limitation when, the not frequent but likely to happen events, of getting in contact with voluntary isolated tribes that speak nothing like we know.
In the way to Manu you must be prepared for cold temperatures experienced in the mountain pass. Later on hot and humid conditions are more or less the rule, but again, rainy days can lower the temperatures quite a lot, or extraordinary events called “friaje” or Antartic winds could ruin your plans of sweating the hell out of you.
Find more info about climates in Peru in our blog “Best Time to Travel to Peru“.
Visit a travel doctor who can give you professional advice on what vaccinations may be necessary. If you go into the Amazon jungle, a yellow fever injection is obligatory and malaria recommended as well as a shot for the common flu might be requested by the local authorities.
If you book through our platform you will get a private excursion only for you and the other people you book with. But if you prefer to share costs and experiences with like-minded people, we will be glad to try to put you in a group with other travelers. For this, please get in contact with our Travel Designers directly.
It is limited but yes, in Villa Salvacion (first night) there is internet service, also in the community of Shipetiari there is internet connection, this service is provided by the hour and in an area designated for this purpose, after coordination with the local guide.
Vegetarian options are definitely possible. However, we cannot promise you vegan options on this tour, as you are going deep down into the jungle. It would be great if you were a bit flexible for these few days. Please, let us know in the booking process if you have any food restrictions.
For questions about booking a tour, prices, preparation for your trip, health and safety or other themes, please check our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you can’t find your question & answer, email us and we’ll add it!
I was born in Cusco, and from a very young age, I was taken to the jungle of Manu, where I learned to connect with and respect nature. On some occasions accompanying my father on his trips to the native communities, I learned how the villagers live in harmony with the forest, they do not realize it, but they have a deep connection with the jungle, which we outsiders would like to have.
When you understand how important it is to take care of and conserve nature, you want to share this feeling and what better way to do it than by doing tourism. What motivates me is to share what you have lived and know about the rainforest.
Since 2012, I am with RESPONSible Travel Peru because they live and feel that tourism is a way by which we can make development while conserving and sharing with visitors. I like to be part of this tribe called RESPONS.
![Machuwasi [oxbow] lake with rafts docked on a rainy day in Manu | RESPONSible Travel Peru](https://responsibletravelperu.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Machuwasi-oxbowlake-Manu-1.jpg "Machuwasi [oxbow]lake Manu (1)")
