Best of Peru Birding Tour

You will be met on your arrival at Lima Airport by your driver who will transfer you in private to your Lima hotel, the comfortable Faraona Grand Hotel. It is ideally situated in the pleasant district of Miraflores. Here you will be able to settle in and have a short briefing from your Peruvian Secrets Tour controller who will be waiting to meet you. He will answer any questions and issue you with a local mobile telephone for your use while on tour.  You will then be able to relax in the comfort of the hotel and rest from your international flight.

Today you will have a relaxed start as you enjoy breakfast at your hotel before you are collected for your private transfer to the airport to meet your flight to the northern city of Chiclayo.  On arrival you will be met by your guide who is a wealth of information on all aspects of life in Peru. He will be acting as your personal guide whilst you are in his care here in the lesser-known North of Peru. You will join him for the Journey to the town of Lambayeque to visit the ‘Museo Tumbas Reales del Señor Sipán’ or the ‘Lord of Sipan Museum’. This world-class museum exhibits the most important archaeological remains of the Moche Culture housing the stunning collection of extraordinary gold, silver and pottery artefacts and offerings recovered from the excavation of the tombs of the Lord of Sipan, who was thought to be a Moche government leader. This is considered to be the most magnificent archaeological find in the Americas and the visit can take two to three hours, after which, you can take lunch in the town of Lambayeque sampling some Peruvian cuisine such as ceviche or tortilla. Continuing the journey you will visit the pyramids of Túcume before arriving to our special Los Faiques, some 60 kilometres north of Chiclayo near Salas. Salas is well known as being the centre of healers and witchdoctors, or ‘Shamans’ in Peru.  Manuel a keen cook and botanist will show you around their beautiful home built using traditional techniques and local materials in a truly dramatic setting, where the savannah meets the nearby foothills of the Andes. Once settled in you will be met by your birding guide who will be helping you see the best of the Savannah birdlife to be found in this ideal location, sunset bring out its own magic with the last of the days birds in preparation for the nocturnal wildlife.  Here you will enjoy a relaxing evening meal freshly prepared by Manuel, in an appealing home with excellent conversation with your host. Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Today you will have the entire day bird watching in the grounds of Los Faiques; the property has a river area that can attract many birds making it an ideal vantage point. There is also extensive woodlands to explore while offers a safe hiding place for birds looking to escape predators or the heat of the day.  The main house is never too far away to return and relax at any time. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning you will be met by your guide and transferred to the Chachapoyas region, this is a long transfer taking approximately 8-9 hours. As the transfer is in private you will be able to make stops as you wish to take photographs and see the changing variety of birdlife as you climb the Andes to the high cloud forest. On you will be taken to the comfortable Gocta Natura Lodge for check in. After a full day of travel will then have the rest of the evening free to relax in this comfortable hotel and meet with your birding guide. He will explain what you can look forward to seeing and the coming events. Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast this morning your guide will come to collect you for the 4km walk to the base of the falls, this is a gentle walk passing agricultural fields and stunning sub tropical vegetation.  This is an ideal photographic opportunity; during the walk it is possible to observe a variety of hummingbirds, birds, flowers, sometimes toucans, monkeys and other species in the region.  We provide boxed refreshment for you to enjoy while at the falls before we start the return walk to the hotel.  Stops will be made a various place to observe birds as they are found.  The evening can be spent logging the birds seen and making positive identifications.  Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today is an en early start as you will need to travel through Chachapoyas to the small village of (New) Tingo from where you will start your tour of the incredible fortress of Kuelap. The site is easily reached from the convenient car park but older people may find the entrance to the fortress needs care. On entering the main site you will discover a different world in this impressive location perched high on top of the mountain with uninterrupted views of the surrounding mountains, your guide will bring to life the history of this place only now being excavated to reveal a culture that disappeared after what was a tragic event which left the fortress to be reclaimed by nature. You will have sufficient time to really enjoy this amazing place before you return to your vehicle and continue to visit some of the best birding sites of the region. From here you will return to the Gocta Natura Lodge for your last night in this region. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast at your hotel you will have the day free to continue to explore Tarapoto, in the afternoon you will be collected by your driver and transferred to the airport to meet your short flight to the northern Amazon city of Iquitos.  On arrival you will be met by your hotel representative for the transfer to the Casa Morey Hotel where you can rest from your day of travel and settle into the Amazon region. Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast you will be met at the hotel by your local jungle guide, you will transfer to the port to take your small boat to the Muyuna Lodge in a fast boat for 3 hours, 140 kms. Upon arrival to the lodge you will be met by your guide for the duration of your stay. After introductions you will be shown to your comfortable lodgings before lunch is served. After lunch your guide will take you on an orientation walk in the area around the lodge, your guide will take the time to show you the various fauna that attracts the birds you are looking for. After this you will return to the lodge for dinner and your first night in the Amazon.  Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Very early in the morning you will make an expedition into remote rainforest to see the Piurí (wattled curassow/Crax globulosa) which is a critically endangered bird restricted to western Amazonia and which can only be seen in Peru at Muyuna lodge. In the afternoon, while you enjoy the greenest sunset of your life, take a boat ride along the Yanayacu River, looking for more different species of birds of the flat forest, such as parrots, macaws, jacanas, kingfishers, herons, seedeaters, flycatchers, antbirds, tinamus, doves, pigeons, screamers, muscovy ducks, cormorants. After dinner, the Amazon Rainforest will surprise you again showing you that it changes by night. You will have a nocturnal excursion to look for nocturnal birds, while you listen to the deafening sound of silence. Pootos, pauraques, night herons, bats, owls, and nocturnal hawks will accompany you. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, if your physical state is strong enough to a have a long trek and if the water level permits it, you will enjoy this day. A six hours trek deep in the jungle is made towards the Tahuayo River. In this path, the guide will explore the jungle with you pointing more birds and other kind of wild life, such as chachalacas, hummingbirds, cuckoos, nunbirds, woodpeckers, fruitcrows, tinamus, doves, pigeons, in this path you are not only going to see birds, but also insects, tamarin, and squirrel monkeys, pygmy marmoset, colorful butterflies, and if you are lucky, you may see an anaconda crossing the path. In the afternoon we are taking you using small motorboats pulling canoes to the Lake Corrientillo, looking for different species of birds, such as the white throated toucan, yellow ridged toucan, ara caries (small toucans), egrets, herons, kingfishers, oropendolas, hoarned screamers, caciques, comorans, anhingas, vultures, antbirds, black collared hawks, antshrikes, antpitas, tapaculos, barbets, woodpeckers, togons, hummingbirds, etc. The guide will tell you about their behaviors and life. At night, you do a night walk to see nocturnal birds. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning you will have your final bird watching trip with the Muyuna lodge, visiting the many islands found along the Amazon River to observe the endemic birds found there. You will then continue to a different part of the Amazon where the change in landscape offers a whole new variety of birds to observe. After the tour you will return to the lodge for lunch and to prepare for your journey back to the port at Iquitos. On arrival to the port you can have time for a meal before you transfer to the airport to meet your flight back to Lima. On arrival into Lima you will be met by your driver who will transfer you in private back to the Faraona Grand Hotel for check in. You will then have the rest of the evening free to relax and enjoy the comforts of the city.  Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today you can discover some of Lima before you need to transfer to the airport for your international flight home, at the appropriate time your driver will transfer you to the airport and see you checked in for your flight before wishing you farewell and a safe flight. (B)