Best Birding Tours in Peru

5Day Birding in Abra Malaga

9 reviews
5 Days
18+
Starts with 2 people
Bird Watching
Available all year
  • Masked fruiteater

Tour Overview

This birding tour explorers the Abra Malaga Mountain as well as Ipal Lodge, both areas are considered great for birds.

General Information:


  • Areas of Observation: Cusco, Huacarpay, Peñas, Abra Malaga, Canchayoc, Carrizales, San Luis and Ipal.
  •     Bird Species: The bird species included in this itinerary are referential and are the most popular so, not all the species that we can in the tour are included. Endemic species are marked with***.
  •     Weather: Humid and foggy in the mornings and in the afternoons, sometimes very cold and wet, it is recommended to bring rain ponchos and umbrellas on this tour because weather conditions are unpredictable.
  •     Degree of Difficulty: Easy, the days start early and can include long days, but the hikes are generally easy.
  •     Tour Price: see bottom of page.
  •     Group Size: This tour departs with a minimum of 2 people.
  •     Type of Hotels: Hotel/lodge accommodations are included only during the tour, you must arrange your own accommodations in Cusco and if you need help with your reservations we will be happy to assist you with your hotel booking.
  •     Equipment used in this tour: Binoculars and Telescope.

The endemic species you can find in this tour are:

  • Bearded Mountaineer
  • Rusty Fronted Canastero
  • Inca wren
  • Marcapata Spinetail
  • Cusco Brush Finch
  • Unstreaked tit tyrant
  • White browed tit Spinetail
  • White tufted Sunbean
  • chestnut Breasted mountain finch
  • Masked Fruiteater

Tour Itinerary

Day1: Cusco– Huacarpay Lake - Ollantaytambo.

Early in the morning we will start birding at Huacarpay Lake where we can see good birds as: ***Bearded Mountaineer (Oreonympha nobilis), Streaked fronted Thornbird (Phacellodomus striaticeps), Cimnamon teal (Anas cyanoptera), Plumbeous Rail (Pardirallus sanguinolentus), ***Rusty Fronted Canastero (Asthenes ottonis), Puna teal (Anas puna), Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas), and many more birds. In the afternoon we will continue travelling through the sacred valley and then to Ollantaytambo; along the way we will stop in specific planes along the road in order to add more birds to our list. We will spend the night at Ollantaytambo in a Hotel.

Day2: Ollantaytambo - Abra Malaga - Cloud forest – Ipal Lodge

Today again we will leave early and travel by bus from Ollantaytambo to Abra Malaga, in the area we will look for several endemic species and some other interesting bird species such as: ***Inca wren (Pheugopedius eisenmanni), *** Marcapata Spinetail (Cranioleuca marcapatae), ***Cusco Brush Finch (Atlapetes canigenis), Parodi´s Hemispingus (Hemispingus parodii), ***Unstreaked tit tyrant (Anairetes agraphia), and Puna Thistletail (Asthenes helleri), and a lot more birds traveling in flocks. In the afternoon we will spend the night at Ipal Lodge.

Day3: Ipal Lodge - Abra Malaga – Ipal Lodge.

Today we will start our day birding at 4,316masl. In a Polilepys forest that has unique specialized birds to the area; the birds we can see are: ***White browed tit Spinetail (Leptasthenura xenothorax), Royal Cinclodes (Cinclodes aricomae), Puna Tapaculo (Scytalopus simonsi), Andean Hillstart (Oreotrochilus estella), Giant conebill (Oreomanes fraseri),*** Creamy Crested Spinetail (Cranioleuca albicapilla), ***White tufted Sunbean (Aglaeactis castelnaudii),***chestnut Breasted mountain finch (Poospiza caesar), Stripe Headed Antpitta (Grallaria andicolus), and many more Birds.

Day4: Ipal Lodge all Day.

This day we will visit a Lek of the Andean cock of the rock (Rupicola peruvianus) along the way we will also observe Green jay (Cyanocorax luxuosus), Swallow-tailed hummingbird (Eupetomena macroura), Red-crested Finch (Coryphospingus cucullatus), Masked trogon (Trogon personatus), among other tropical and semi-tropical species.

Day5: Ipal Lodge - Cusco.

Today after breakfast we will start our journey back to Cusco, along the way we will search for birds we missed in the previous days.

Included / Exclude

Tour guide with binoculars and spotting scope
Bird Check List
Transportation in Private Service
Accommodations in Lodges and Hotels
All meals except last diner
All Entrance fee to Private and Natural Reserves.
Mineral Water
Snacks
Rubber boots when needed,
Cook, if needed
First aid kit
Travel Insurance
Mineral water in the first day
Last day Dinner
Alcoholic beverages
Tips for the team

Tour Location

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