CUSCO AND TAMBOPATA: great compacted best birding tour in South Peru
Highly recommended for anyone visiting Peru, by far one of the best options softcore or hardcore birders. A great routine to see hundreds of species combining Cusco, the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and the close Tambopata National Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon. Best between March to December, mostly during the dry season in Peru. Your list will include the Andean Condor, several Andean resident and endemics and beautiful and colorful rainforest birds such macaws and parrots, toucans, tanagers, woodcreepers, and antbirds in relatively short-time. Ideal for nature photographers and “digiscopers”.Extension to Machu Picchu, Inca Trail or birding in Lima available to request.
Once in Cusco, you will have a free afternoon to experience an interesting city tour of Cusco that highlights the Incan, Colonial and Republican past of this historic city. Later, before dinner time, your birding guide and expert will brief you about what you will see in the next days during your visit to the Andes and Amazonia doing what you like most: birding.
On the second day, you will start exploring part of the Apurímac Canyon which offer clear views of the Andean Condor, the iconic giant of the Americas, also many raptors found in the domains of this dry and subtropical canyon, including Black-Chested Buzzard Eagle and Aplomado Falcon, also some endemics such as the Apurimac Brush-Finch, Apurimac Spinetail, White-tufted Sunbeam, Chestnut-breasted Mountain Finch, Creamy Creasted Spinetail and Rusty fronted Canastero. The third day you will have easy walks along the Huacarpay wetlands, located in the Southern part of the Cusco Valley, you will find the Bearded Mountaineer and many other common wetland birds and other species from associated plant communities, making a good sample of species between 3000 to 3400 mt of altitude, not far from Cusco City and its surrounding archaeological sites such as Sacsayhuamán and Quenq´o.
Finally, during the last three days, after a flight to Puerto Maldonado, you will take a boat ride up the river entering the untouched Tambopata National Reserve in the Southeastern Peruvian Amazon, an iconic location for ornithologists and birders visiting Peru. Flocks of large and medium size parrots, parakeets, several species of toucans, and hundreds of other birds including antbirds, flycatchers, tanagers, and more, will make your trip unforgettable. The highlight will be the morning visit to a macaw clay lick in the Chuncho River where you will have the opportunity to see hundreds of parrots including spectacular red-and-green, scarlet, blue-and-yellow macaw, and other smaller ones arriving from different directions to land in tall canopies and take turns to jump on the river bank claylick and eat clayish soil layers exposed by erosion. Prime time for photography and video. In addition, you will have time to also walk parts of an extensive trail network to see more forest birds finding several antbirds and medium and large canopy flocks, and even other wildlife such as 5 or 6 monkey species, peccaries and with luck even Brazilian Tapir or even the Jaguar.
Accommodations while in Cusco will be in comfortable nice hotels and while in the Tambopata rainforest will be in the new Finca Sachavacayoc, a place hidden in the Amazon rainforest that offers enough comfort, good meals and great access to several ideal habitats to find many birds, one of them is Condenado Oxbow lake, a spectacular place home of the Giant Otter and place to find many birds from river and lake margins. Great views of tall canopies while you will enjoy a visit on a paddled catmaran.
Book this tour today! If you have questions, write us. We will contact you by means of mail, phone or Skype and help you plan your next trip to Peru.
For more information visit: Cusco Valley, Condors, Tambopata rainforest (EA110)