HUMMINGBIRDS OF PERU
Hummingbirds of Peru
12-day tour
Hummingbirds are unique and fantastic birds, exclusive to the Americas, and we have many of them in Peru. They have captivated people’s imagination for centuries, even nowadays, we are still fascinated by their names, like fairy, sylph, sunbeam, woodnymph. With this in mind, we have designed a new tour for hummingbird lovers, that allows people to spend a lot of time at hummingbird feeders, even permits taking time for photography.
The tour includes the Lima area, the northern east slope of the Andes, and the Marañon valley. During the trip, we could find up to 76 species of hummingbirds, including 7 endemics.
First, in the Lima area, we will focus on finding Peruvian Sheartail, Amazilia Hummingbird, and Oasis Hummingbird. Then, we flight north, to the eastern slope of the Andes, one of Peru’s most bird diverse areas. There, between Tarapoto and the legendary Abra Patricia, we will be mostly at hummingbird feeding stations, where some of the possible hummingbirds are Koepcke’s Hermit, Gould’s Jewelfront, Rufous-crested Coquette, Wire-crested Thornbill, Royal Sunangel, Botted Racket-tail, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Rufous-vented Whitetip, and a lot more. Finally, at the Marañon valley and its tributaries, we will focus on finding specialties like Spot-throated Hummingbird, Grey-bellied Comet, Coppery Metaltail, Black Metaltail, Little Woodstar, just to mention a few.
But it isn’t just about hummingbirds, the tour also offers the possibility of other Peru specialties like Johnson’s Tody-flycatcher, Grey-winged Inca-finch, Cajamarca Antpitta, Rusty-tinged Antpitta, Yellow-scarfed Tanager, Chestnut-backed Thornbird, Yellow-faced Parrotlet, and lots of other birds like multicolored tanagers, flycatchers, woodpeckers, and more. The complete list of birds for the Hummingbirdsof Peru tour has more than 600 species.
Top 5 highlights:
Marvelous Spatuletail
Rufous-crested Coquette
Wire-crested Thorntail
Grey-bellied Comet
Royal Sunangel
Your holidays and nature conservancy: Cheqa Peru SRL, owner of Green Tours, will donate 50 US$ of its benefits per participant to association “Plantando Futuro” to support local nature conservancy initiatives.
Details and itinerary
PRICES:
Reference price per person, base on a group of 4 people and on double occupancy:
US$ 3,400.oo
Single supplement: US$ 350.oo
Private departures only.
All itineraries are fully customizable to fit your requirements.
ABOUT THE TRIP:
Duration: 12 days
Best time to travel: January through May, then October through December
Group size: 1 to 6 people
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
Lima
Arrival in Lima and transfer to the hotel.
Overnight at a 3 stars hotel in Lima.
Meals: None.
Lima
This morning we explore the Pacific coast along the Lurín river and “Lomas de Asia” reserve. Our goal is to search for Oasis Hummingbird, Amazilia Hummingbird (Green-throated sub-species), Purple-collared Woodstar, and Peruvian Sheartail. Additional birds here are Collared Warbling-finch, Thick-billed and Coastal Miners, and others
On the way back to Lima, we stop at the “Villa Marshes” reserve, looking for additional birds like Peruvian Thick-knee, Grassland Yellow-Finch, Many-colored Rush-Tyrant, Inca Tern, and lots of shorebirds.
Return to the hotel in Lima.
Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner.
Lima – Tarapoto
Morning flight to the city of Tarapoto, in the eastern slope of the Andes. Today, we visit the Cordillera Escalera and the Aconabikh reserves. There, we plan to spend most of the time at the Aconabikh hummingbird feeders, where common birds are Koepcke’s Hermit, Black-throated Brilliant, Gould’s Brilliant, Black-breasted Mango, Pale-tailed Barbthroat, and other hummers.
Before leaving the reserve, we can also make a short hike up the hill behind the feeders to look for Golden-headed Manakins.
To finish the day, we can make several stops along the road to look for Plumbeous Euhonia, Dotted Tanager, Curl-crested Aracari, Striolated Puffbird, and more.
Overnight in Tarapoto.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Tarapoto – Moyobamba
First, early morning, we drive to Ricuricocha lake to look for Planalto Hermit. Also, other birds in the area are Ashy-headed Greenlet, Plain-crowned Spinetail, Northern Slaty Antshrike.
Then, we take the road towards Moyobamba. There, we stay at Waqanki lodge, where the gardens and hummingbird feeders are good for White-chinned Sapphire, Blue-tailed Emerald, Rufous-crested Coquette, Golden-tailed Sapphire, and another 20 species.
Additionally, the vegetation around the feeders could surprise us with mixed species flocks of tanagers, including Golden, Paradise, Blue-necked, Black-bellied, and many other brightly colored tanagers.
Overnight at Waqanki lodge.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Moyobamba – Arena Blanca – Abra Patricia
Morning drive to the Arena Blanca Reserve. They have hummingbird feeders, attracting especial birds like Rufous-crested Coquette, Wire-crested Thorntail, Blue-fronted Lancebill, Sapphire-spangled Emerald, Many-spotted Hummingbird, Amethyst Woodstar, and some another 15 species of hummingbirds have been recorded here.
In the afternoon we go back to the road to drive up the mountains towards the famous Abra Patricia. But first stop at La Llanteria hummingbird feeders, for Green Hermit and Ecuadorian Piedtail. Then, we move to Fundo Alto Nieva, for Royal Sunangel, Booted Racket-tail, White-bellied Woodstar, Rufous-vented Whitetip, and another 10 species of hummingbirds.
Once in Abra Patricia, we will spend the rest of the day at the hummingbird feeders, with birds like Amethyst-throated Sunangel, Emeral-bellied Puffleg, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Long-tailed Sylph, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Collared Inca, just to mention a few.
Overnight at Abra Patricia Owlet lodge.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Abra Patricia
We spend the first hours of the day at the hummingbird feeders.
Then, we can explore the trails around the lodge, looking for interesting birds like Grass-green Tanager, Johnson’s Tody-Flycatcher, Black-throated Tody-tyrant, Beryl-spangled Tanager, Chestnut Antpitta, and more.
Overnight at Abra Patricia Owlet lodge.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Abra Patricia – Huembo – Leymebamba
First, in the early morning, we drive to Huembo for Marvelous Spatuletail, Andean Emerald, White-bellied Hummnigbird, Little Woodstar. Additionally, in the close-by forest, we could look for Chestnut-capped Antshrike, Southern Emerald Toucanet, Andean Guan, and many others. We also explore the Rio Chido road, looking for Mountain Velvetbreast. Also, other possible birds here are Maroon-belted Chat-tyrant, Pale-eyed Thrush, Speckled-faced Parrot, Grey-breasted Mountain-toucan.
Later, in the afternoon, we drive along the Utcubamba valley towards the town of Leymebamba. Again, making a few stops along the road we could find Speckle-chested Piculet, Marañon Crescenchest, Marañon Wren, and other Marañon specialties.
Overnight at Rangra Wasi lodge.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Leymebamba
First, in the morning we explore the Rio Atuén valley in the search for Rufous-capped Thornbill, Purple-throated Sunangel, Rainbow Starfrontlet, and Mountain Velvetbreast.
Then, we plan to spend the afternoon at higher elevations, looking for Coppery Metaltail, and Shining Sunbeam. Additionally, other interesting birds today are Yellow-scarfed Tanager, Scarlet-bellied Mountain-tanager, Large-footed Tapaculo, Grey-breasted Mountain-toucan, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker.
Overnight at Rangra Wasi lodge.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Leymebamba – Celendín
Today, we take the road to go across the Marañon valley, with more chances for Coppery Metaltail and Shining Sunbeam. Also, We could have more possible hummers for the list: Coppery-naped Puffleg and Spot-throated Hummingbird. Other birds in the area are Grey-winged Inca-finch, Marañon Thrush, Yellow-faced Parrotlet, Chestnut-backed Thornbird.
Overnight in Celendín.
Meals: Breakfast, picnic-lunch, dinner.
Celendín – Cajamarca
This morning, we drive to the city of Cajamarca. The possible hummingbirds along the road are Shining Sunbeam, Rainbow Starfrontlet, Huanuco Starfrontlet.
Then, we spend the afternoon in a drier habitat near the town of Jesús, this time looking for Amazilia Hummingbird (leucophoea sub-species) and Spot-throated Hummingbird. Also, other possible birds in the area are Great Spinetail, Buff-bridled Inca-finch, Marañon Gnatcatcher, Chestnut-backed Thornbird, and others.
Overnight in Cajamarca.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Cajamarca
This morning, we go to the Chonta valley for Grey-bellied Comet, Giant Hummingbird, Black Metaltail, Green-tailed Trainberar. Then, after lunch, we move to Cerro El Gavilán for Green-headed Hillstar and Purple-throated Sunangel. Other interesting birds today are Rufous-naped Ground-Tyrant, White-winged Cinclodes, Andean Flicker, Yellow-billed Tit-tyrant, Striated Earthcreeper, Unicolored Tapaculo, Stripe-headed Antpitta, and others.
Overnight in Cajamarca.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Cajamarca
Today, we will take you to the airport at proper time for your flight to Lima.
Meals: Breakfast.
TRAVEL TIPS & RECOMENDATIONS:
Weather
Since we will be in the Andes, most days will be dry and not very cold, with a mixture of sunshine and overcast conditions. In Lima, between June and August it can be very humid and cold. The Tarapoto area is warm and humid; in the Abra Patricia area, conditions are humid and warm during the day, and slightly cold at night. The Marañon valley is warm and dry, and Cajamarca is dry, can be warm in sunny days, and cold when cloudy.
Time Zone
Peru is 5 hours behind GMT. Also, it is in the same time zone as US Eastern Standard Time Zone and does not observe daylight-savings time
Immunizations
Having a Yellow Fever vaccine at least 10 days before your trip is recommended but not mandatory.
Electricity
220 volts in all cities. All lodges do have electricity.
Physical effort
People should be in good physical condition in order that they can do short hikes in the mountains at high elevations (3,600 meters, or about 11,200 feet).
PRICES INCLUDE:
- Lodging as described above (some lodges, hotels, might change depending on room's availability).
- Ground transportation and driver throughout the tour.
- English speaking bird guide
- Meals as mentioned in the itinerary
- Drinking water supply available in the car during the whole trip.
- All entrance fees to nature reserves.
- Applicable taxes, fees, and licenses.
PRICES DOES NOT INCLUDE:
International or domestic flights, reconfirmation of flights, visa fees, airport taxes, excess luggage charges, additional nights during the trip due reasons beyond our control, bottled water, alcoholic beverages, snacks, laundry, phone calls or messages, any kind of travel insurance, and items of personal nature.
If you want us to include the internal flights within Peru just let us know.
All itineraries are given as a guide only. Actual holiday content may vary according to the judgement of your guide, and elements beyond our control (e.g. weather).
See our Booking Terms and Conditions.