car rental in peru (1 Viewer)

[Grahame]

Undertakiing birding trip to Peru in September and looking for cheap car rentals to do the Manu Road etc. Would appreciate advice please.

 

[Edward woodwood]

there are a few places in Cusco that rent cheaply - can easily do Manu Road from there.

it's also very possible without a car too. Public transport from Cusco. Once you're there, birding is on foot anyway. More flexible with a car though.

Tim

 

[Grahame]

Thanks,
Will check them out. You might be able to help me with a further question - if that's not stretching it ...... my friend and I have 6 weeks to bird Peru, what would be the tops spots to bird to fit into that time please.
Any information would be much appreciated.

Cheers


Grahame

 

[Edward woodwood]

Thanks,
Will check them out. You might be able to help me with a further question - if that's not stretching it ...... my friend and I have 6 weeks to bird Peru, what would be the tops spots to bird to fit into that time please.
Any information would be much appreciated.

Cheers


Grahame

Six weeks is a fair amount of time to spend in most countries and cover a lot of them. However, Peru is just so good for birds that you can spend six weeks in several different parts quite easily. If you are going to Manu Road then i take it you'll just be doing the Cusco 'circuit'

There are several nice spots around Cusco. Sacsayhuaman just above the town. Huacarpay Lakes nearby for Bearded Mountaineer, Many-coloured Tyrant etc. Pisac ruins for Inca Wren. Ollantaytambo is a bus ride away but not far and is a spectacular archaological area (as are the previous sites).

Macchu Picchu is a must.... two or three days. Amazing place with good birding along the trainline, road and 8 km path up to the ruins.

Abra Malaga pass is also excelent but you do need a car here. Again a few days.

Manu Road is awesome. You can start at the top and work down or whatever you feel like really. We started at c. 1,500 m near San Pedro/Union where the two lodges are and camped rough. The Cock-of the Rock lek is by the road around here. Good spots are around the lodges, between the two tunnels higher up and around Pilhuata (can sleep in a wooden hut here) for Red-and-white Antpitta. The whole road is great though and nowhere really stands out for me. The top at Abra Ajanaco is a bit cold at night but has some great tanagers etc, and also Sword-billed Hummer if you're lucky

You could add in a few days in the jungle to by flying into Puerto Maldonado and taking a lodge boat (book in Cusco). Tambopata Jungle Lodge are good on Calle Suecia. I was lucky to have a mate working there so we didn't have to do this and had an exteneded cheap stay! There are so many species around there it's silly to list them.....

plenty to do then Grahame......

Tim

 

[Rhion]

there are a few places in Cusco that rent cheaply - can easily do Manu Road from there.

But check the car before you drive it away. Dodgy brakes, for example, would not be a good idea in the Andes.

 

[Edward woodwood]

especially on Manu Road

which is nervewracking at the best of times

I got scared if i walked too close to the edge in places

Tim

 

[njlarsen]

Are there any updates to the situation described here? Is Peru still a good place to rent a car and travel around some? And a second question: if you imagine say three weeks total, how wide would you try to reach?

And a third question to tell you that I really don't know anything about Peru yet: what about altitude sickness? we live within 100 feet of the sea.

thanks
Niels

 

[Vectis Birder]

I don't know how high Cusco* and the Manu Road are but I can only pass on advice I was given before I went to Ecuador. Drink plenty of water, don't drink (too much) alcohol, and take paracetamol or Ibroprofen, etc, for headaches.
You'll probably get a headache and a bit short of breath for a while, but these soon pass. However, if it gets worse then go to a lower altitude immediately as altitude sickness can be very serious, even fatal.

I flew from less than 100 feet above sea level to over 9000 feet, and apart from a slight headache and initial shortness of breath I was fine. However, it affects everybody differently.

*Edit: been looking and it's at over 11,000 feet so you might want to ask your doctor for advice and possible medications.

 

[Edward woodwood]

Hi NJ

Cusco is about 3,300 m if i remember, top of Manu Road at Abra Ajanaco around 4,000 m. Should be fine if you get a bus up to Cusco and have the first day or so around Cusco - which is just amazing in itself. I felt a bit weird for a day or so but it's alright really. The town is very steep and it feels like a long walk uphill in the evening back to your room if you do drop into town for a beer. One or two beers is plenty though due to the altitude. You can go birding at several excellent sites near the town, Sacsayhuaman in walking distance or Huacarpay Lakes (great spot with Bearded Mountaineer) in about 30 mins on a bus

 

[Winterdune]

We did Abra Malaga (absolutely fantastic Polylepis birds in tragically remnant habitat) just by hiring a Taxi guy from the central square in Cusco. We got a bloke to drive us down the Manu road, taking four days, stopping off and camping at the main sites, from Barry Walker's company www.manuexpeditions.com, who were very reasonable (though Manu Wildlife Centre was costly).

Sean

 

[njlarsen]

Another example of me not knowing very much about Peru: Are you flying into Cusco on an international flight, or is the ticket to fly into Lima, ad go from there? Could you do something with going to half way up the mountain at Manu rd initiallly and continue further up later in the vacation?

Thanks
Niels

 

[Rasmus Boegh]

Could you do something with going to half way up the mountain at Manu rd initiallly and continue further up later in the vacation?

On the Manu Road you have to return the same way that you came. It ends in the lowland town of Shintuya, but many birders stop before that, e.g. in Pilcopata or Atalaya. The only way to do it one-way is if you fly into or out of Boca Manu (the town where tours to most of the lodges that are within the Manu National Park depart from; note that Manu Road and the lodges along it actually are placed outside the national park). Boca Manu doesn't have any road connections, but you can sail to Shintuya and from there continue up the Manu Road (or the other way around; i.e. down the Manu Road, boat to Boca Manu and from there flight back to Cusco). Anyway, unless you're actually planning on connecting Manu Road with a tour to one of the lodges within the Manu National Park or the Blanquillo parrot clay lick, this really isn't worth it. Alternatively, I think there are a few small private airplane landing strips near Atalaya, so you may be able to fly back from there. As some sections of the Manu Road can be rather poor (esp. in rainy season) I wouldn't recommend splitting in it two, e.g. first doing the upper part, then return to Cusco for something else, and then go back to do the lower part of the Manu Road (where you'd have to pass the section you did in the first section of the trip).

 

[SueBryan]

Hi
Make sure you have a sturdy car as the Manu Road is a little rough in places but fantastic for birding. Don't underestimate altitude. Drink plenty of liquid.
I went in 2006 and if you have time have a look at my trip report on my web site.
Sue