Pantiacolla’s YOGA in MANU, brings you even closer to Nature. Besides connecting through outside observation, a yoga teacher guides you into discovering the bond we all have with nature from deep within, that is, from our own human nature.
This 5-day Yoga Retreat has Vinyasa, Kundalini and Yin Yoga asana teachings, pranayama, meditations, chakra activation and guided excursions in the rainforest.
None of these activities require prior knowledge or experience in yoga, neither do you need a perfect health to participate.
5-day YOGA & NATURE RETREAT
Day 1: Cusco-Cloud Forest
We leave Cusco with first daylight to journey the Andes by bus. Along the way we have breakfast and a little tour through the small colonial village Paucartambo. Then we continue to Ajanaco, the official entrance point of the Manu Biosphere Reserve at about 3400m.
From here, during our bus ride of this and the next day, we will lower almost 3 km in altitude down the Eastern Andean slope. We stop several times to stretch ourselves in the clean air and to explore the changes in flora and fauna. Arriving at the green and humid environment of the cloud forest, we take our first longer walk. Beautiful birds are everywhere, such as the paradise tanager, umbrella bird, and golden headed quetzal. The cloud forest has 3 monkey species, and other mammals that are harder to find, such as the grey deer and the spectacles bear.
We end the walk at the lek of the Cock of the Rock. The males of this colorful but strange looking bird, have the remarkable habit of giving dance-and-song performances almost every morning and late afternoon.
Arriving at Posada San Pedro, we establish ourselves in our rooms. After dinner, we will have our first Group Circle to get to know each other. We do some Yin Yoga and meditation, to let go of the fatigues of the day. Then we are ready for a restful sleep in this precious cloud forest environment.
Day 2: Cloud Forest - Pantiacolla Lodge
Just before daybreak we start a meditative walk, waking up to the day with flowers and birds, putting us in rhythm with the rainforest. After breakfast we continue by bus to lowland rainforest. We pass scenic villages and get to know a coca plantation.
In Atalaya, at 650m, we get into a long canoe with outboard motor to navigate down the Alto Madre de Dios River. Two-and-a-half hours later we arrive at the rustic and welcoming Pantiacolla Lodge.
The forest around the lodge is very special, as this is the exact area where the Andes and the Amazon meet. It has many bird species and vegetation of both zones and 9 monkey species, among them the howler monkeys, saddle-backed tamarins and the rare monk saki monkey.
After a nice hammock rest, we will do our yoga practice plus a nature meditation. In the evening, we take our first walk, looking for insects, lizards, frogs, and the only nocturnal monkey, the “douroucouli”. The most common nocturnal cats in the area are ocelots, but jaguarundis, pumas and jaguars have been seen as well.
Returning at the lodge we finish our day with a Group Circle to share the experiences of the day.
Day 3: Pantiacolla Lodge
At the same time the howler monkeys start their pre-dawn howling ritual, we walk the trails around the lodge to look for some of its 613 bird species, among them the beautiful masked crimson tanager, trumpeter, blue-throated piping-guan, purple-throated cotinga, great potoo, crested quetzal, motmot and 30 hummingbird species, each of them no less than a flying jewel.
Besides the monkeys, we may see mammals such as peccaries, deer, coatis and tayras. And with a bit of luck, we encounter the famous morpho butterfly, with its large iridescent blue wings.
The rest of the morning is filled with yoga and nature meditation. In the afternoon there is some time for yourself. In the evening we visit the small pond Ranacocha, to look for colorful frogs in its surroundings. We end the day with a meditation and a Group Circle.
DIA 4: Pantiacolla Lodge – Pantiacocha - Cloud Forest
If the wheather allows, we will be on the river by day break to boat 15 minutes upriver to a claylick for parrots and small macaws. Among the many species that visit it, there is the tui and cobalt-winged parakeet, the blue-headed, mealy and yellow crowned parrot and chestnut-fronted, military and blue-headed macaw. After their dazzling spectacle, we visit nearby Pantiacocha, a little lake, formed recently when the Petroleo Stream changed its course. We will look for the pre-historic looking hoatzin, sunbittern and agami heron.
Afterwards we have breakfast and our yoga and nature meditation practice in the lodge. In the early afternoon we again board our canoe to travel to the Hot Springs of Shintuya for a healthy and relaxing bath. The Hot springs are an excellent place for a special meditation.
Afterwards we continue further upriver to Atalaya, where our bus is waiting for us. Along the way we stop at a botanical garden, its orchids are exquisite and ingenious creations of nature.
In the evening we are back at Posada San Pedro in the cloud forest. We do Yin Yoga and a nocturnal meditation and end with our Group Circle,
Day 5: Cloud Forest - Cusco
The cloud forest is beautiful for meditative walks, because of its green foliage reflecting in the color of the air. As much of the forest life is waking up, we may meet with monkeys, birds, flowers and butterflies that are now familiar to us.
Back at the lodge we do our last Yoga practice and nature meditation. We end with our Closing Group Circle. Afterwards we get on the bus to return to Cusco, where we arrive in the late afternoon.
Pantiacolla Tours, has resumed its tourism activities following the Covis-19 health protocols established by the Peruvian Ministry of Health.
King’s Dancer on the Manu Road
