4Day Manu Cloud Forest Birding Tour

Tour Itinerary

Day1: Cusco – Huacarpay – Huayquecha Biological Station.

Today we leave at 5:30am from the hotel heading towards laguna Huacarpay which will take approximately 45 minutes where we can see the ENDEMIC Bearded Mountaineer that is a special hummingbird found in the area. It is not the only hummingbird you can see in the region of Cusco but it does not exist in other parts of the world. We can also observe many other types of birds such as: Plumbeous rail, Cinnamon teal, Puna teal, Yellow billed pintail, White tufted grebe, Cinereous harrier, Black chested buzzard Eagle, Streak fronted thornbird, Many colored rush tyrant, Rusty fronted canastero and creamy crested spinetail which are also an ENDEMIC birds, and many others; afterwards, we will have a quick breakfast and then continue looking for more birds around the lake. Later we will take the bus to Manu. Later we arrive in the highest part of the tour to have lunch at the entrance of the national park of Manu (3565masl.) From hear we will enter the cloud forest to see tanagers hummingbirds, antpittas, tyranulets, flycatchers, toucans and toucanets and many other bird species. We will arrive to our lodge Huayquecha around 4:30pm. At night before sleep we will look for Swallow tailed nightjars.

Day2: Huayquecha Biological Station all Day.

We will start our day at 5:40am. to observe birds at the elevation of 3600 masl. In the area we can birds such as: Puna thistleail, Rufous Antpitta, Puna Tapaculo, Greal sapphirewing, Yungas pygmy Owl, Red crested cotinga, Barred fruiteater, Buff Brested Mountain Tanager, Hooded Moumtain Tanager, Grass green Tanager, Golden plumed Parakeet, Scaly naped Parrot, Moustached plowerpiercer, Rufous Bellied Bush tyrant, Sedge wren, Scarlet Bellied Mountain Tanager, White browed conebill, Three striped Hemispingus, Line fronted Canastero, Scribble tailed canastero, and many more birds. Then we will return to our lodge at Huayquecha for lunch and a short break. In the afternoon we will look for: White winged Black tyrant, Rufous capped thornbill, Plushcap, Crimson mantled woodpecker, Trilling tapaculo, Gray breasted Mountain Toucan, and Blue capped tanager. At night after dinner we will look again for Swallow tailed nightjars.

Day3: Huayquecha Biological Station – Cock of the Rock Lodge

Today we will head to Cock of the Rock lodge. In the way we will search birds such as: Golden collared tanager, Grass green Tanager, Scaled metaltail, Mountain Cacique, white collared jay, Barred parakeet, Barred fruiteater, Band tailed fruiteater, Marcapata Spinetail , Red and white antpitta, Blue Banded Toucanet, Hooded Mountain Tanager, Black and Chestnut Eagle, Black solitary Eagle, White throated Antpitta, Slaty Tanager, Slaty Backed Chat tyrant, Fulvos Wren, Chestnut crested Cotinga, Crested Quetzal, Golden Headed Quetzal, Black Streaked Puffbird, Yellow Throated Tanager, Buff Breasted Mountain Tanager, Superciliary Hemispingus, and many more. This night we will look for Rufous-bellied Nighthawk.

Day4: Cock of the rock lodge all day.

In order to visit the “Lek” of the Peruvian National Bird called the Andean Cock of the Rock we will have to start the tour very early in the morning. At the lek we can see the “Gallito de las Rocas” displaying; besides the Andean Cock of the Rock we can also see species like: White crowned Tapaculo, Yungas Manakin, Crested Quetzal, versicolored Barbed, Orange Eared Tanager, Highland Motmot, and many more. After the morning activity we will return to the lodge for breakfast then go out for a walk along a trail to see more birds and such as: Slaty Gnateater, Chestnut breasted Wren, Cinnamon faced Tyranulet, Spotted Nightingale Thrush, Amazonian Ambrella Bird, Tyrannine Woodcreeper, Masked Trogon, Crimson Bellied Woodpecker, Black Streaked puffbird, Paradise Tanager, Saffron Crowned Tanager, Golden Tanager, Brown Tinamou, and possibly monkeys. Later we will return to the lodge for lunch, around the lodge we have flowers that attacks hummingbirds; in total we will be able to see around 13 species of them: Booted Racket Tail, Wire crested Thorntail, Gree Hermit, Buff Tailed Sicklebill, Many Spotted Hummingbird, Violet Fronted Brilliant, White Bellied Woodstar, Peruvian Piedtail, long Tailed Sylph, Wedge Billed Hummingbird, Speckled Hummingbird, Fawn Breasted Brilliant, and common Sparkling Violetear are the species of humming birds we can see. After lunch we will start our trip back to Cusco.