Manu National Park – Wildly Amazing Peru
Manu National Park, an Emperor Tamarinin photographed by Daniel Blanco.
Nina Fogelman has a long history with Peru. In 1983 she moved to Cusco to fulfill a one year contract as Director of Alternative Healing Arts Institute. She fell completely in love with the people and their culture. For more than 30 years, she has been immersed in all aspects of this diverse and amazing destination. Last year, Nina’s company Ancient Summit won an Authentic Luxury Travel award for being one of the top 5 custom travel companies in the world.
I rely on Nina to keep me up-to-speed on what happening in her adopted homeland. And what’s happening is Manu National Park. Home to the world’s most bio diverse reserve, this park is located in southeastern Peru. Here visitors find one of the world’s greatest rainforests. No other park on the planet protects so many bird species, plants, and animals. It’s no wonder that birdwatchers and naturalists speak of it in hushed tones.
Manu National Park, Capybarra nursing. Photo credit Daniel Blanco.
In November 2014, Diane Barnes traveled to Peru with friends and her son Logan. Because they wanted an authentic and custom-tailored trip, she turned to Nina Fogelman. “Manu is paradise for authentic luxury travelers,” Nina told me. “Unlike the ‘industrial strength companies’ that are jumping on the Peru bandwagon these days, we planned a bit of a different route for Diane and her party. It took longer, but because of that, they were afforded the luxury of seeing and photographing things that they might otherwise have missed. They were able to go slow enough to watch the entire spectacle of wildlife. They may not have had electricity for a few nights, but they wished they could have stayed even longer.”
Andean Saddleback Tamarin, Manu National Park. Credit, Daniel Blanco.
What did Diane say about Manu National Park and Peru?
“Nina planned a fully customized trip for our group of 8 to Peru that included more permutations, exceptions, personalities and priorities (and in country time varying from 8 to 21 days) than you would think one person could handle. But Nina did, skillfully, with aplomb and good humor, so much so that all our individual and group expectations were exceeded.
Her personal touch extended beyond the usual to arranging a school visit, dining suggestions with menu surprises, home visits, a personal chef shopping immersion and cooking lesson… from the capital city of Lima, through the colonial cities of Cusco and Arequipa, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and the bio-reserve portion of Manu National Park (for the most intrepid of us), we had a nonstop action, culture, adventure and foodie immersion.
Our main guides were of the highest quality – people who, given other circumstances of birth, could easily have been their nation’s Ambassadors and international diplomats. For personalized travel, tending toward or fully immersed in luxury, Nina is the go to guide for Peru.”
Diane M. Barnes, M.D., San Francisco, November 2014
Manu Lodge, Manu National Park. Photo credit, Diane M. Barnes, M.D.
Travel “more affordable and wildly amazing Peru”
Nina says “Everybody comes for Machu Picchu, which is of course, a must see. But now we have people returning to see the “other sides of Peru” that contain wonders some feel even more excited about. These areas do not have the infrastructure that Southeastern Peru has, but they will someday and it’s worth going now before that happens. These other sides of Peru are much more affordable and wildly amazing.”
Thanks for the heads up, Nina.
Cheers,
BTW, Diane Barnes isn’t alone in her admiration for Nina. Read what Linda Sandvig said.
Jaguar, Manu National Park. Photo credit, Diane M. Barnes, M.D.
Category: Peru, Wildlife Watching
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Thank you for bringing us wonderful insights to colorful & exotic far away places like Manu National Park. Beautiful pictures of incredible creatures unknown to most of us – and in an unusually rich bio-reserve I have never heard of. I was particularly taken by the warm phrasing of thanks from Dr. Barnes after her rainforest experience.
Thank you Ricardo. We believe that there is an aspect to travel experiences that have taken a back seat for those of us who want special, unique and authentic travel. I am one who is still hanging in and trying to offer what Elizabeth so beleives in – Authentic Luxury.