The Machiguenga Center (MCTS) is perched on a high bluff overlooking the Urubamba River and the first range of the Andes Mountains, as they rise from the lowland forest in the Peruvian province of Cusco. A one-hour motor-canoe ride takes you to the incredible Pongo de Mainique river canyon. Three of the best Macaw Clay Licks in the world are located near the Machiguenga Center.
 

The Pongo de Mainique is a 50-yard-wide, two-mile-long canyon, through which flows the mighty Urubamba River on its 451-mile path, north from Cusco and the Sacred Valley to a convergence with the Apurimac River. The Pongo, a natural splendor unrivaled in scenic beauty, boasts a unique biodiversity, immensely photogenic tropical forests, and a fair share of mystic history. Heavy mists sweep into the Pongo canyon from the Amazonian lowlands supporting a cloud-forest flora and fauna at a lower than normal elevation. Herein awaits a variety of wildlife species for the infrequent visitor: Spectacled Bears, Military Macaws, Woolly Monkeys, Black Spider Monkeys, Brown Capuchin Monkeys, and Golden-headed Quetzals. Over 30 waterfalls cascade down the black rock walls of the Pongo Canyon.

 
The Machiguenga Indians of Timpia are 100% owners of the Lodge. Guidance and support provided by The Center for the Development of Indigenous Amazon Peoples (CEDIA) and the Peru Verde Association.

Accommodation:

• The MCTS Lodge features native hardwood construction with private rooms and spacious dining/meeting room. The entire complex is screened with added mosquito nets for each bed.

• 10 fully-screened double occupancy private rooms , all with jungle views.

• Modern flush-toilet tiled bath facilities with hot water shower.

• Spacious dining and community areas with fully stocked bar and reading area.

• Miles of nature trails surrounding the Center.

• Expert naturalist and indigenous guides and safe, comfortable accommodations await your visit to the Machiguenga Center.

Activities:

• The Clay Licks of Timpia :
  
  Kimaroari: 20 minutes by river from the Center all three species of large macaws can be viewed: Blue and Golds, Scarlets, and Greenwings (Red-and-Greens).
  Sabeti: A 250-foot-tall clay and rock bank a one-hour hike from the Center. In the early morning Blue-headed Pionus and White-eyed Conures congregate, followed by Amazons and Severe macaws. Scarlets, Greenwings, and Blue and Gold Macaws eventually take over the lick.
  "Megalick": Located 45-minutes by motorcanoe from the Center is the most exciting new clay lick for Blue and Gold and Scarlet Macaws.
  

• The Pongo de Mainique 
  
  All water from the greater Cusco/Machu Picchu region flows through the Pongo. As the 300-400 foot wide (91-120m wide) Urubamba River enters the canyon, it narrows to 130-150 feet (40-47 meters), creating large standing waves and class I and II rapids. Special, high-prowed motor canoes are required to navigate the Pongo safely during high water, but during the dry season (May-October), the river normally is low and peaceful. In the transition months (April and November), the Pongo can become more exciting but normally remains navigable. Even during the rainy season, the Pongo is usually, but not always, navigable, and the waterfalls are much fuller and more impressive. Photographers especially love the clouds and mist of the rainy months, which make the Pongo look appropriately brooding and mysterious. The Pongo de Mainique, which Peter Matthiessen wrote about in his book "The Cloud Forest", is the most dramatic pongo in Peru's Amazon forest and one of the most scenic and mysterious locations in all of South America.
  

• A visit to the Machiguenga Center includes a day playing in and around the Pongo, where you can play in 30 waterfalls that cascade down the black rock walls. Each rainy season (December-March), a few raging floods scour the rock clean to a level 50 feet (15 meters) above low water. At the upper edge of the floodline, a riot of exotic ferns, orchids, and moss-covered trees take over, festooning the canyon walls to an elevation 1000 feet (300 meters) above the river. Fasciated Tiger-Herons fish patiently from rock perches at the edge of the swift water. Acrobatic, secretive Black Spider Monkeys hang precipitously at the lower edge of the trees and ferns to eat clay out of a hole tucked into the Pongo walls. Globally-endangered Military Macaws swoop through the canyon in search of fruiting trees and roost in cavities in the rock. Rare Woolly Monkeys dangle from branches over the river.

Research near the Pongo suggests that the forests within fives miles of this canyon may harbor more species of plants and animals than any other similar-sized area on Earth. This abundance of life stems from the enormous elevational changes near the Pongo, with cloud forests and lowland forests lying within just a few hundred meters of one another. Warm Amazonian winds continually bathe the lower slopes of the Pongo with moisture. As a result, the forested slopes just above the river are overflowing with orchids, mosses, and bromeliads typical of mid-elevation Andean cloud forests that normally occur 3,000 feet higher. Endangered Spectacled Bears roam the mid-and higher-elevations of the Pongo.

Reservations:

Reservations can be made through Tropical Nature Travel

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