 From the city of Cusco our trek ascended 8 hours to the high mountain area at 14,000 feet. Along our route we passed the towns Saylla, Oropesa, and Huancarani. Proceeding up the western slope of the mountains the ancient burial towers of Ninamarca dominate the barren landscape. In silent reminder the tombs, called "Chullpas", mark the pre-Inca civilization of the Lupaca people that inhabited the Andes.
Ninamarca ruins
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 At 120 km into our trip we passed through the mountain town of Paucartambo, a place known for the mid-July celebration of the Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen. Ornate statues fill the plaza fountain in wait for the yearly street dancing and processions.
 
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 We descended the eastern slopes of the mountains, spectacular views of the Andes, into the cloud forest of lush vegetation, ferns, and orchids. Wildlife such as the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock (Rupicola peruviana), brilliantly colored tanangers, and hummingbirds inhabit the world's largest private Cloud Forest Reserve, the Selva Sur Reserve.
Monkeys and hummingbirds welcome vistors to this unique Cloud Forest reserve. The rare spectacle bear roams the mountain slopes nearby. The Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge is located in cool, mosquito-free cloud forest at 5000 feet (1600 m) of elevation along the amazingly wild single lane road from Cusco to the Manu lowlands.
Selva Sur, a Cusco-based non-profit group that owns the lodge, also owns and protects 12,500 acres of the uniquely-intact Primary Cloud Forest of this spectacular valley.
 The reserve protects the world's biggest display ground of the blazing red Andean cock-of-the-rock, two species of quetzales, the endangered Spectacled Bear, the acrobatic Woolly Monkey, Mountain-Toucans, Amazonian Umbrella Birds, myrid species of tanagers and hummingbirds, orchids (including two species new for science first discovered by Selva Sur researchers), tree ferns, cascading waterfalls, Torrent Ducks, and Andean Dippers.
With an Andean river nearby criss-crossed with nature and birding trails, our stop for the night is spent at the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge.
Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge
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