Wildlife Tours to PeruPERU
Photo: This Jaguar was found on the Papyrus 2007 Peru tour (© Geoff Carr).
*Single room supplement
Tour Destinations :
- Lima
- Paracas National Reserve
- Ballestas Islands
- Cusco
- Sacred Valley
- Manu National Park
- Machu Picchu
Tour Summary
Peru
Peru is a country of tremendous diversity in landscape with an incredibly rich culture which has been drawing visitors for many years to experience its truly unique qualities.
The 19 day itinerary for our tour combines visits to major coastal and rain forest reserves where we will encounter many of the country’s bird species and other wildlife with time to enjoy some of the best of Peru’s rich heritage without which no visit to the country would be complete.
Following an overnight stop on arrival in Lima, we will travel first to the Pacific coast nature reserve, La Reserva National de Paracas, where we will visit both the mainland section, the Peninsula de Paracas, and take a boat ride to the Ballestas Islands, home to thousands of sea birds and many sea lions. From our hotel in Ica, it will also be possible for those particularly interested in archaeology to take a one hour flight over the Nazca Lines, mysterious markings in the sand covering an area of no less than 135sq. miles.
We then head back for Lima and take an internal flight to Cusco, once the main city of the Incas, where we will spend the afternoon acclimatising to the altitude. From Cusco we head off for the cloud forest beginning with two nights at the Cock of the Rock Lodge where we can enjoy exceptional cloud forest bird watching at an altitude of 1600m. From there, we travel further east to Amazonia Lodge for a three night stay in this old hacienda in the foothills of the Andes making use of the trails in the forest to add to the bird species seen.
Our final stay in this section of the tour is the Manu Wildlife Centre. The lodge is set in tropical gardens with 48kms of trails, and 12 species of monkey are found here along with numerous birds, many of which we will see from platforms which enable visitors to reach the forest canopy. There will also be a short excursion to explore the nocturnal life in the rainforest, an evening hike to the Amazon’s largest known Tapir clay lick, an early morning trip to the only large parrot and macaw clay lick in the area and visits to local oxbow lakes where we will hope to encounter families of giant otter.
After returning to Cusco by motorised canoe and light aircraft, we take a full day tour of the Sacred Valley which has many Inca sites as well as Andean villages and Indian markets. Leaving Cusco, our next port of call is Machu Picchu, the World Heritage Site which is the site of the Lost City of the Incas. Our four hour train journey by rail is taken in a vistadome coach offering excellent views of the surrounding countryside. We will have an afternoon guided tour of Machu Picchu and the option of a further visit the following morning or some local birdwatching before we take the afternoon train back to Cusco.
We fly back to Lima on the penultimate day of the tour and on our final day in Peru we have a tour of the capital before departing on our overnight flight back to the UK.
And don’t forget that it would be possible to arrange an extension to visit the Galapagos Islands if you would like to do so!
Itinerary
Day 1 : We depart from the UK for Peru, arriving in Lima in the evening and transferring to our hotel for overnight.
Day 2 : We depart from Lima after breakfast for Ica, visiting the Pachacamac archaeological site en route and calling at Chincha for lunch. Pachacamac was a major Inca city before the arrival of the Spaniards and a thousand years before the expansion of the Inca Empire. On arrival in Ica, the remainder of the day will be spent relaxing in the hotel grounds where there are bird watching opportunities, or sampling the sights of Ica.
Day 3 : We will spend the morning bird watching in the hotel grounds and in the afternoon there is the possibility of taking a flight over the Nazca Lines. This is not included in the tour cost and advance booking is necessary. The Nazca Lines are mysterious markings in the sand spread over an area of 135sq miles. The lines feature several animals and plants including the spider, the monkey, the lizard, the humming bird and the condor in dimensions ranging from 16 to 328 yards and are made by lines about 1 foot deep. Although their purpose and origin remains obscure, Maria Reiche, who has spent most of her life studying the lines, believes they comprise the largest astronomical calendar in the world.
Day 4 : An early morning departure will take us to Paracas where we will board our boat for a trip to the Ballestas Islands. Our boat ride will take us past the Candelabro, a huge chandelier carved in the hillside similar to the Nazca Lines. The Ballestas Islands themselves are home to thousands of seabirds and countless sea lions. The Islands form part of the Paracas National Reserve, the only marine reserve in Peru and after lunch we will explore the land section of the reserve before returning to Lima for an overnight stay.
Day 5 : We take the early morning flight to Cusco, the imperial city of the Incas where the remainder of the day will be spent acclimatising to the change in altitude, although the location of your hotel will enable those who wish to do so to explore some of the sights of this very important historic city.
Day 6 : An early departure will take us to Manu National Park, with a full day travelling to the highest parts of the park, stopping frequently to bird watch in areas of Andean cloud forest and scrub. Our stay in Manu begins with two nights at the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge.
Day 7 : A day spent birding in the cloud forest along the road above and below the lodge.
Days 8—10 : We continue to a lower altitude today via the Manu Road, bird watching en route in sub-tropical forest before reaching Amazonia Lodge where we will stay for three nights. The lodge is located in tropical lowland rainforest in the Manu Biosphere Reserve. Amazonia Lodge is regarded as one of the best bird watching locations in Peru and a viewing tower is available. In addition, we will use the extensive trail system in search of some of the 600 plus species which have occurred here.
There are also eight species of monkey recorded here, including the rare night monkey, and butterflies, amphibians and reptiles are all represented.
Days 11—13 : We continue today by boat to the Manu Wildlife Centre, a journey which will be at a relaxed pace taking most of the day. The journey will give us the opportunity to see typical birdlife and other wildlife along the river.
A further two days will be spent birding in a variety of habitats which include terra firme forest, flooded forest, a large oxbow lake, and the clay lick where we can anticipate seeing the spectacle of macaws and parrots in large numbers. A system of trials, which provide excellent birdwatching and cross the territories of several key species, will facilitate our exploration.
Day 14 : There will be time for early morning birding along the river before we transfer to the airstrip at Boca Manu where we will spend a few hours birding secondary habitats and forest edge before we return to Cusco by small chartered aircraft on a 40 minute flight. Our overnight stay is in Cusco.
Day 15 : In the morning we will drive to the valley of the Urubamba River, the so-called Sacred Valley of the Incas. We then proceed to Pisaq where visitors and people from remote communities meet at the market to barter their products. Today, the market also has a tourist element so there is an opportunity to buy souvenirs. Lunch will be served at a typical ‘hacienda’. Afterwards, we drive along the valley to Ollantaytambo, where the Temple of the Sun (formed of six gigantic monoliths) and the Terrace of the Ten Niches are found. Ollantaytambo was the site of the only successful Inca battle against the Spanish conquerors and it is the only town in the area to retain its original layout. Our overnight stay will be at the Sonesta Posada del Inca Yucay Hotel
Day 16 : In the morning we transfer to Ollantaytambo train station to catch the train which takes us on a 90 minute train journey through the Sacred Valley up to Machu Picchu. On arrival, a small coach will take us up the steep roads to the entrance to the citadel. Machu Picchu, a World Heritage Site, remained undiscovered by the Spaniards for centuries before it was found by Hiram Bingham in 1911. The site is truly one of the great wonders of the world.
After the tour we return by bus to Aguas Calientes for lunch. There will be walks available from the lodge to look at the birdlife and plants in the extensive grounds and we will stay overnight in Aguas Calientes
Day 17 : Day 17 provides us with a further day in Aguas Calientes, with the possibility for an optional second visit to Machu Picchu for those wishing to do so. This would be at your own expense. Further walks will also be available in the lodge grounds. In the afternoon we will return to Cusco by train and stay in Cusco overnight.
Day 18 : We return by air from Cusco to Lima, arriving at lunchtime. There will be day rooms available in a Lima hotel before transfer to the airport for the overnight flight back to the UK.
Day 19 : Arrive back in the UK.
EXTENSION
A brief outline of the extension is set out below. Please contact us if you would like to discuss the extension in more detail.
Day 18 : After a morning at leisure in Cusco, we will fly to Arequipa arriving in the afternoon.
Day 19 : A full day city tour of Arequipa
Day 20 : We transfer from Arequipa to Colca by road, a journey of about 5-6 hours, pausing to bird watch en route. We will stay overnight in the Parador outside Colca.
Day 21 : A visit to the Colca Canyon will be the highlight of Day 21, seeking the magnificent Andean Condor. We will arrive at about 0800 when the Condors are usually to be found ascending the rising thermals form the 1200m deep canyon.
Day 22 : We fly from Colca to Arequipa and on to Lima where we will connect with our onward flight to the UK.
Day 23 : Arrive back in the UK.