Machu Picchu is extraordinary.
What's right behind it is something else entirely.
2km from the citadel. No crowds. One family.
Cloud forest, waterfalls, and the real Peru.
Aguas Calientes is where tourists go.
Mandor is what you actually came to Peru for.
Behind Machu Picchu, not in front of it.
No souvenir shops. No overpriced restaurants. No buses.
A cloud forest on the banks of the Vilcanota River —
and a waterfall you can actually swim in.
This is where the real Peru begins.
A flood took everything in 2024.
We rebuilt it. Here's what's waiting for you now.
Today: trails open. Waterfall accessible. Café open every day.
In 1960, our family settled here along the Vilcanota River.
In 1998, my mother Nelly turned it into a nature sanctuary —
a forest worth protecting.
In February 2024, a flash flood took everything.
Trails gone. Gardens gone. Years of work, overnight.
We didn't leave. We rebuilt.
When you stay at Mandor, you're not just a guest.
You're proof it was worth starting again.
— Erwin & the Mandor family
What does a day here actually look like?
Grown in the valley.
Roasted right here.
We don't just serve coffee; we cultivate it. Our organic beans are grown, harvested, and roasted right here at Mandor, surrounded by the cloud forest.
Enjoy a freshly brewed cup at our on-site café while watching hummingbirds, or take a bag home as a taste of the real Peru.
At night, the only light is the stars.
All of them.
No streetlights. No city. The Milky Way above the cloud forest, completely unfiltered.
We didn't plan for it to be this dark.
That's just how far we are from everything.
"Some guests say it's the moment they remember longest."
Eco-lodge doesn't mean uncomfortable.
It means waking up to this.
- Shared room — 2–4 beds per room
- Private hot shower
- Starlink WiFi (yes, it actually works)
- Breakfast included
- Trail access from your door
- Drinking water provided
Starlink WiFi. Hot shower. Breakfast included.
A waterfall outside your door.
All for less than a mid-range room in town.
Don't take our word for it. Take theirs.
Google reviews: day visitors & guests.
Workaway reviews: volunteers who lived on-site 2–8 weeks.
Closer than you think.
From Aguas Calientes:
Follow the train tracks toward Hidroeléctrica.
Mandor is on the way — 50 minutes on foot.
Finishing the Salkantay Trek:
We're your last stop before Machu Picchu.
Walk off the trail and you're already here.
Questions? Write to us:
