Manú is arguably the richest place on the planet for living things, and it earns that status through a single, dizzying slope. The national park runs from the high grasslands of the Andes at over 4,000 metres down through cloud forest and into the lowland Amazon rainforest, at about 300 metres, in a few dozen kilometres, and each step of the way holds different life. More than a thousand species of birds have been recorded, along with jaguars, giant otters, tapirs, spider monkeys and uncounted insects. UNESCO listed it in 1987 and the core zone is closed to visitors, with a few Indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation.
The Cock-of-the-rock is the park's celebrity. Males of this bird, bright orange with a crest like a helmet, gather in the cloud forest at dawn to display, calling and bobbing in a loud, croaking chorus, and watching them from a hide on the Kosñipata road is a highlight for birders.
The road is the reason a rider might be here. From Cusco, the route heads over the high pass of Acjanaco, at well over 3,500 metres, then falls in a long series of bends through cloud forest to Pilcopata and Atalaya, where the road ends and the river takes over. It is a famously dramatic descent. The road is mostly unpaved, narrow, and clings to cliffs with huge drops, and landslides are common in the rainy season from November to March. Fog and rain are frequent, the surface is slick, and trucks and buses take the corners wide. It is not a road for beginners, and some stretches are closed or one-way at certain hours. Check conditions before setting out.
The dry months from May to September are the only sensible time, and even then, a downpour can come out of nowhere. The temperature goes from near freezing at the pass to steamy at the bottom, so layers are essential.
For fuel, fill up in Cusco and carry a spare can, because supplies in the lowland villages are uncertain. Entry to the park proper requires a licensed operator and a permit, and travellers go by boat from Atalaya, but the road itself is open to riders. Birdsong at dawn, a mist that lifts off the canopy, and the rumble of a river below: it is a place that makes you whisper.