South America - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 250

Jingando (roughly translated as “X-factor”)
provides 25 percent of the funds needed to help
a local NGO run a community centre in Julio
Otoni, one of the poorest shanty towns in Rio.
For a couple of afternoons, you'll help with a
painting project, at a crèche, or on an out-of-
school activities programme teaching the kids
some of the moves you've learned. The holiday is
all about sharing - you'll learn how to embrace
the grace that comes so easily to Brazilians,
while giving something back to their community.

330 See tHe
cock-of-tHe-
rock, Peru

Few must-see birding
experiences can be as
easy as this. Just twenty
minutes' walk from
your cabin in the heart
of the Peruvian jungle,
you're treated to a daily
appearance (at dawn and
dusk) of Peru's national
bird - the male cock-of-
the-rock - as it performs
an elaborate mating
dance to attract females, dipping its prominent
fan-shaped crested head while extending its
wings.
Such a dependable sighting is due in no small
part to the conservation status of this elegant
bird's home, the Pampa Hermosa Reserve in
the heart of the Peruvian cloud forest, where
a ban on tree-felling has meant its numbers
are flourishing. The ten cabins at the lodge are
built with local materials in the traditional
style of the Asháninca jungle tribe; each has a
double bed (plus bunkbed and two twin beds in
a small loft) and bathroom, with hot water and
electricity provided by hydro and solar power.
The reserve is also home to a variety of
unusual animals from armadillos to porcupines,
as well as a 600-year-old cedar tree, reputed to
be one of the largest in Latin America. If you
like wildlife-watching made easy, come to this
successful example of where conservation is
breeding convenience.

Need to know For prices of dancing holidays
and details of volunteering projects see W www.
jingandoholidays.com; T [phone].

A male Andean Cock-of-
the-rock

329 Hire a kawSay waSi guide,
Bolivia

Bolivia's Carrasco National Park is home to over
five thousand plant species and eight hundred
different birds, yet it's all too easy to miss most
of these if you don't know where to look. To help
you make the most of your time in the park,
hire a guide from Kawsay Wasi, a partnership of
naturalists from the park's local communities:
Bateón, San Mateo Alto, El Palmar, Ivirizu, Km.
118, Muyurina and Bolívar.
All fifteen of Kawsay Wasi's guides have been
trained as part of a Conservation International-
sponsored programme. They have each had a
whopping 720 hours of training, which includes
site visits to other successful ecotourism projects
in Bolivia, such as Chalalán (see p.267).
The guides offer two types of trips: day-
trips to the park's wildlife sanctuary (15min
from the town of Villa Tunari) and overnight
camping tours, including a three-day hike
from an altitude of 4300m down to the Amazon
Rainforest. Over seven hundred species of orchid
have been identified on this latter trip. They'll
help you identify a fair few.

Need to know The best time for viewing the
cock-of-the-rock is September to November. Buses
go from Lima to San Ramón (7hr) from where
you'll be collected and taken to the lodge, by
arrangement (2hr). For details of bus companies
and directions by car from San Ramón, prices and
reservations see W www.pampahermosalodge.com;
T [phone].

Need to know For contact details of guides and
info on tours see W www.kawsaywasi.com; T +591
717 89 408.