Our Tour Leaders

Edwin Dueñas

EDWIN DUEÑAS leads many of our horse treks. A native of Cusco, he is fluent in Quechua, Spanish and speaks Italian and English as well. As close to a living Inca as one can get, his family history goes back before the conquest. One of Peru's most experienced backcountry guides; he is an avid student of Andean history and culture. Edwin holds a doctorate and law degree from Peru's San Antonio Abad University. When not in the field, he practices civil law in Cusco. Edwin is an extraordinary skilled and knowledgeable trip leader who gives his all to each program.

Silverio Duri

Silverio was born in the Rainforests of Peru and comes from the Ese-Eja indigenous community on the Tambopata River where he is an important community leader. He has worked for many years as a rainforest natural history guide in the Tambopata-Candamo National Park. He has the eyes and ears of a true native of the rainforests and is incredibly adept at spotting quietly sitting birds and animals and his knowledge of the rainforest is unsurpassed. He is renowned for his field craft and knowledge of all aspects of rainforest ecology and is a great all rounder and is very conversationalist and good at getting all onto the wildlife.

David Fuerte

David 40 years old was born in Lima but has lived almost all his life in Cusco. After studying at the Andean University in Cusco he worked in a Manu rainforest lodge and later started working as a field assistant on Giant Otter and Macaw projects as field assistant for Dr. Charles Munn Phd. From 1992 David started working as Rainforest guide in Manu and for the last 15 years and has been leading natural history tours exclusively to Manu. He is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable guides in Manu with an in depth knowledge of rainforest ecosystems.

Phil Yates

Phil has had a life-long interest in birds and wildlife in general, an early memory of which being the day he brought a homemade tape recording of the dawn chorus to his junior school ‘show and tell’ as a 7 year old. Originally from Lancashire in the UK, Phil now lives in Munich, Germany. For many years he combined working as a forensic scientist with world birding, having visited 37 countries and amassing a current life list of some 3,500 species to date. Phil’s interest in wildlife photography developed during these years of travelling and now he divides his time between working as a wildlife photographer and running the social media output for Manu Expeditions. Phil’s bird photographs have been published in magazines and books and also used in on-line resources. The most recent public exhibition of his images was in Seattle, USA. You can see more of his work on his website at www.pjayphotos.com. Phil is workshop leader on the ‘Manu Photo Safari’ tour, helping clients to improve their wildlife photography field technique so that they can take home some memorable images from their time in Peru!’

Danny Vargas

Danny was born in the peruvian highlands at over 3550 meters above sea leve, where the Andes meets the Rainforest between Cusco and Puerto Maldonado. He spent his life between all these hábitats that this area comprises with both indigenous groups and forest rangers. He is an accredited, very versatile guide, well versed and trained in natural history, archaeology, history, anthropology and Peruvian culture . He has worked several years as a wildlife and nature guide in Manu National Park and has excellent language skills. Danny has travelled extensively to over 15 countries sampling other cultures and wildlife and in Manu has worked on the Blue-headed Macaw conservation project. He enjoys showing the wonders of the rain forests to visitors from other countries.

Gustavo Bautista

Gustavo Bautista was born and raised in Lima but has been living in Cusco since 2010. He is a birder with a passion for nature, with a background as a tour leader, specialized in ecotourism and birding. Gustavo’s interest in birds began at the age of thirteen when he traveled for the first time to the Peruvian Amazon where was amazed by the extraordinary beauty of nature in the Tambopata National Park, Peru. Since then his interest in nature and birding grew and he decided to follow studies in ecotourism. He started birding at the age of nineteen at the Pantanos de Villa Wildlife Refuge in Lima, where he undertook his first research concerning nocturnal bird vocalizations. After finishing his studies he moved to Tampopata, where he started leading bird tours for Rainforest Expeditions. He also began performing volunteer field work for several studies such as Macaw Researching, Bird Census’ in Lima and Cusco and a project about nocturnal bird behavior according to the moon phase, at the Explorer’s Inn Lodge in Tambopata. Gustavo has worked in Colombia for the NGO Proaves, and leads bird tours in Colombia and Peru.