Southern Peru: Birds and Ruins

We will transfer to your hotel after you arrive at Lima International Airport. Your guide will give you a short briefing on the upcoming trip. If the flight schedule allows, we will visit the Pantanos de Villa coastal reserve south of the city. These coastal marshes are home to many resident species and can be very interesting staging areas for migratory birds at certain times of year. We’ll return to the hotel for some rest at the end of the day. For those who wish, visiting the colonial districts of the Peruvian capital at your own pace is possible.

Dinner and overnight stay in a charming hotel in Lima in the peaceful Miraflores district.

This morning, we will fly to the ancient Inca capital, Cuzco. As soon as we arrive, we will board our private transport and head south of the city to the high-altitude lake of Huarcapay. Here, an array of localized species awaits us. We will also look for some species of Furnarids that are typical of these xerophytic Andean environments. Our main objective will be to observe the rare Bearded Mountaineer hummingbird, which feeds on tobacco flowers. We’ll return to Cuzco in the early afternoon for a peaceful tour of the city, where we’ll discover the highlights of the colonial and pre-Hispanic architecture and history of the Inca capital.

Dinner and overnight stay in a charming hotel.

This day will essentially be a day of relaxation as we visit the historical and archaeological highlights of one of South America’s most emblematic Inca areas. We will explore different archaeological sites in the "Sacred Valley" and the small Inca village of Ollantaytambo. We will stroll through the traditional Sunday market of the colonial village of Pisac, between Andean tubers, wool handicrafts, and traditional clothes. We will also have the opportunity to visit part of the archaeological site of Pisac, which overlooks the city. We’ll enjoy lunch in a local country restaurant in or around Urubamba before departing to the less-touristic village of Chinchero. We will then stroll through the village streets to discover some of the remains of the Incan past of this mystical, high-altitude place. Afterward, we’ll return to Ollantaytambo.  There are two options for the late afternoon. Those who wish can visit the Inca site of Ollantaytambo at their own pace. The rest of the group can go for a short bird walk around the village in search of some range-restricted species.

Dinner and overnight stay in a charming hotel in Ollantaytambo.

Early this morning, we will head to the highlands and the Abra Malaga pass. This famous birding site is home to several special ecosystems. We will look for several endemic hummingbirds in the mixed high-Andean forests and flower gardens on the drive up. At the pass, we will explore extremely specific environments at an altitude of more than 4000 meters: scrub, herbaceous areas, Polylepis woods, and rocky peat bogs. After surveying these high-altitude ecosystems, we will descend along the eastern side of the pass to subtropical and cloud forest areas. We will pay particular attention to the large bamboo patches (Chusquea) that line the road. At the end of the day, we will return to Ollantaytambo, where we will take the last train to Aguas Calientes, the village at the foot of Machu Picchu.

Dinner and overnight stay in a charming hotel.

Early in the morning (5:30 am), we will leave for the archaeological site of Machu Picchu, a mysterious Incan citadel discovered in 1911 by the American anthropologist Hiram Bingham.  We will visit the Plaza de Armas, the Circular Tower, the royal dwellings, and the Temple of the Three Windows. We will also have the opportunity to take a leisurely stroll through the ruins. We must not forget our binoculars to enjoy the rich birdlife around the ruins: we will look for Inca Wren, Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet, Masked Fruiteater, Sclater's Tyrannulet, and Variable Antshrike. After the arrival of the hordes of tourist buses from Cuzco, we will descend to Aguas Calientes through the high-altitude temperate forests.

Dinner and overnight stay at the same hotel.

This morning, we will take the train to Ollantaytambo and then our private bus to take the southern route through the sandy landscapes of the eastern cordillera, discovering different ecosystems and typical Andean landscapes and mixing birding and archaeological stops. It is a long way to the Tres Cruces pass, but the panorama from this point is breathtaking. This is the start of the famous Manu Road. We descend gently through high-altitude elfin forest and temperate forest sectors to the Wayqecha Lodge, located 15 kilometers from the pass. Several endemic species are present along this route, and we will try to find them all. We arrive in the late afternoon at the Wayqecha Lodge in the heart of the high part of the Manu road. For the more adventurous, going out at night during the next two evenings will be possible.

Dinner and overnight in Wayqecha.

We will spend the whole day in the heart of the Wayqecha Reserve. This reserve is home to a vast territory covered by a magnificent temperate forest. We will walk the various trails of this conservation area in search of the many specialties of the area. We will look for gigantic mixed tanager flocks and listen for the characteristic songs of the antpittas present at this altitude. In the afternoon, we will walk along the main road, where the slightly more open environments will offer more photo opportunities and a different mix of species. In the evening, we’ll go on a night excursion in search of the nocturnal birdlife of the area, particularly the magnificent Swallow-tailed Nightjar, which is actually quite common in this area.

Dinner and overnight at the same lodge.

Today we will take the full day to travel from the temperate forests around Wayqecha Lodge to the subtropical forests of the legendary Cock of the Rock Lodge. Along this incredible altitudinal gradient, we will make several stops at well-known sites such as the "tunnels,” but also wherever the magnificent forest seems favorable to birding. We will arrive in the middle of the afternoon at the Cock of The Rock Lodge, where we will be able to use the last hours of the day for some "Veranda Birding.”

Dinner and overnight stay in the Cock of the Rock Lodge.

Early in the morning, we will enjoy one of the most fabulous spectacles the Andean subtropical forests can offer: a live lekking performance from the Andean Cock-of-the-rock. After plenty of time observing this memorable performance from the bright-orange males of this eastern subspecies, we will leave their surreal calls behind to walk along the paths of the lodge in search of the area’s other specialties. After a well-deserved meal and some time to relax on the veranda, watching the incessant ballet of hummingbirds, we will head back to the main trail to bird around the lodge until nightfall. After dinner, we will enjoy a night walk in search of the nocturnal birdlife of the area, as well as some mammals and reptiles.

Dinner and overnight at the same lodge.

We’ll do some final birding throughout the morning in the different ecosystems of the reserve - gallery forests, swamp areas, and adjacent bamboo forests - before taking our dugout canoe up the Madre de Dios River to Atalaya, where our transport will be waiting for us for a short transfer to our next accommodation: the scientific station of Villa Carmen (500 masl), near Pillcopata. After settling into this new accommodation recently opened to tourism and receiving a short briefing on the project, we will start exploring the station’s surroundings.

Dinner and overnight stay in a Biological Station.

The distinct bamboo ecosystems of the Manu bio-region have generated a very specific evolutionary process, with many endemic species specially adapted to this niche. We will also have the opportunity to visit and explore the great Piñipiñi river valley and its different types of vegetation that host a large number of understorey species, including many antbirds (thamnophilidae) and antthrushes (formicaridae). The night walks here can also be very productive, both in terms of birds and mammals, and we could observe night monkeys, Tayra, Kinkajou, Opossum, and other reclusive nocturnal mammals.

Dinner and overnight at the same charming lodge.

From Villa del Carmen, we continue our descent to the small port village of Atalaya to board our canoe down the Madre de Dios River, leaving behind the green ridges of the eastern foothills to plunge deeper into the wet lowlands. Careful scanning of the riverbank may reveal some new species: Sand-colored Nighthawk, Neotropic Cormorant, the curious Orinoco Goose, Great Black-Hawk, the rare Sunbittern, and perhaps some Capybaras, the world's largest rodent. With some luck, we should also be able to spot the majestic and iconic Razor-billed Curassow, a species driven to near extinction in most of the Amazon but still quite common here. Cocoi and Capped Herons, Tantalus, the enormous Jabiru, Roseate Spoonbill, Horned Screamer, Greater yellow-headed Vulture, Plumbeous kite, the graceful Swallow-tailed Kite, Crane Hawks, Black Caracara, Bat Falcons, Pied Plover, and many species of Terns, Macaws, Kingfishers, Cotingas, Cowbirds and Oropendolas are all encountered along this mythical river. Finally, we arrive at the Manu Birding Lodge, where we settle into our cabins.

Dinner and overnight stay in a superior lodge.

This will be another day full of birding and photo opportunities. We will visit some hides strategically placed in front of natural feeding areas called collpas, which attract a wide range of species emblematic of the Amazon basin. This morning, we will focus on a clay lick where an extraordinary number of parrots (psittacidae) gather every morning. The rest of the day will be dedicated to watching hummingbirds around the lodge and exploring different trails in terra firme forest.

Dinner and overnight stay at the same superior lodge.

This morning, we will depart early to the Blanco oxbow lagoon for various bird, mammal, and reptile observations. We will spend some time observing and photographing all these species from the floating platform. Back on land, we will bird the different trails to look for new species, many of which are endemic. This area combines many ecosystems: bamboo forest, varzea, and terra firme, giving us many biotopes to visit. Armed with a lot of patience, we will also visit the mammal salt lick, where, with some luck, we will be able to observe Tapir, Peccary, and maybe even a Jaguar.

Dinner and overnight stay at the same superior lodge.

After breakfast, we will travel down the Madre de Dios River for three hours to reach the town of Boca Colorado, the gold capital of the region. From there, we will take the road to San Carlos for 45 minutes. A new 15-minute crossing by canoe will allow us to explore the Inabari river and reach Puerto Santa Rosa. The last two hours of the trip will take us to Puerto Maldonado, on the Brazilian border, for our flight to Cuzco. We will take an immediate flight to Lima for our international connection.