PERU MEGADIVERSE
Peru Megadiverse tour
17-day tour
Peru has more than 1800 bird species, 113 of them endemic to the country. The “Peru Megadiverse” tour has been designed to offer the opportunity to enjoy, in the shorter possible time, most of Peru’s amazing bird diversity. The tour includes the more important habitats of the Pacific coast, the southern Andes, and Amazonia.
The Pacific coast
First, the tour visits desert habitats near Lima: Lomas, the Pacific shore, and wetlands, with great opportunities for Peruvian Thick-knee, Peruvian Pipit, Inca Tern, Surf Cinclodes, Humboldt Penguin, Coastal and Thick-billed Miners, just to mention a few species.
Cuzco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas
Then, the tour goes to the Andes of Cuzco. There, you will explore dry habitats nearby the city and the Sacred Valley of The Incas. Some interesting birds here are Streak-throated Thornbird, Rusty-fronted Canastero, Bearded Mountaineer, Green-and-white Hummingbird, Chestnut-breasted Mountain Finch, and others.
Afterwards, at higher elevation habitats, around Abra Malaga, it is also possible to find White-tufted Sunbeam, Creamy-crested Spinetail, Puna and Diademed Tapaculos, Paramo Pipit, Andean Hillstar. Also, If you are in good physical conditions, we can make a hike above 4000 meters to look for Royal Cinclodes, White-browed and Tawny Tit-spinetails, Line-fronted Canastero, Ash-breasted Tit-tyrant, Giant Conebill.
The cloud forests
Also, the cloud forests below Abra Malaga have a good set of birds like Puna Thistletail, Cuzco Brushfinch, Barred Fruiteater, Inca Wren, Cuzco Warbler, Parodi’s Hemispingus, Sword-billed Hummingbird, and a lot of mixed species flocks.
After a few days birding around Cuzco, we take the road towards the Marcapata valley. This is the best and new way to access the eastern slope of the Andes and the Amazonian lowlands of Tambopata, avoiding the difficult and expensive boat trip along the Madre de Dios river. You can spend at least six days birding the Marcarpata valley, based at a comfortable lodge situated at 750 meters of elevation. The watershed of the valley ranges from 4700 to 500 meters of elevation. As you can imagine, the bird diversity is just astonishing. At higher elevations, possible birds are Buff-breasted Earthcreeper, Andean Hillstar, Black Siskin.
Then, as we enter the eastern slope of the Andes and encounter more humid habitat, we could find special birds like Three-striped Warbler, Scarlet-bellied Mountain-tanager, Blue-backed Conebill, Cuzco Warbler, Black-capped Hemispingus, and more. here, the main attraction is the endemic Marcapata Spinetail, that can be found above 3000 meters near the town of Marcapata. Also, other interesting birds of the forests above the lodge are Versicolored Barbet, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Andean Motmot, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Military Macaw, Peruvian Piedtail, Black-crowned Tityra, and a lot more.
Furthermore, there are several trails around the lodge that are good for Chestnut-fronted Macaw, Sunbittern, Common Potoo, Red-billed Scythebill, Crested Oropendola, Dot-winged Antwren, White-browed Hermit, Wire-crested Thorntail, Scarlet-hooded Barbet, Ivory-billed Aracari, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, and more.
The eastern Andean foothills
At lower elevations, but before entering the Amazonian lowlands, it is possible to find interesting birds like Manu Antbird, Black-backed Tody-Flycatcher, Fine-barred Piculet, Bare-necked Fruitcrow, Rufous Motmot, Lemon-throated Barbet, Red-throated Caracara, and others.
The Amazonian lowlands
Then, we take the road down the mountains and finally enter the Amazonian lowlands of Tambopata. We can spend at least three nights at a comfortable lodge inside the Tambopata National Reserve. Inside the reserve we can visit parrot clay licks, where several species of parrots come every day for clay. Among these birds we could find Orange-cheeked Parrot, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Scarlet Macaw, Red-and-green Macaw. The trails and lakes around the lodge can be good for Western Striolated-Puffbird, Great Potoo, Red-necked Woodpecker, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Rufescent Tiger-Heron, King Vulture, Crested Owl, Purus Jacamar, Opal-rumped Tanager, Peruvian Recurvebill, Pheasant Cuckoo, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and a lot more.
The “Peru Megadiverse” bird list has more than 1000 possible species. If you are ready to experience the great bird diversity of Peru in one single trip, please contact one of our specialists. He/she will be happy to assist you until you get your perfect itinerary
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
PRICES:
Reference price per person, base on a group of 4 people and on double occupancy:
US$ 5,200.oo
Single supplement: US$ 650.oo
Private departures only.
All itineraries are fully customizable to fit your requirements.
ABOUT THE TRIP:
Minimum duration: 17 days
Maximum duration: 21 days
Best time to travel: April through early November.
Group size: 1 to 6 people.
PRICES INCLUDE:
- Lodging.
- 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 for 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.