EVERY TIME MORE BIRDS The flying colors
- Information
- Tour Plan
- Location
- Gallery
- Reviews
- Additional Info
- Similar Tours
What's included
- Accommodation on double bed room
- All meals included (vegetarian, vegan mentioned in advance)
- Birdlist of the Location
- Duffel Bags for Travelling Light
- Entrance Fees to the Guadalupe Ecological Reserve
- Free Storage Room in Cusco
- Nights at Guadalupe Lodge
- Rubber Boots
- Snacks (fresh fruits, cookies, chocolate)
- Unlimited Purified Water
- Alcoholic Drinks
- First day breakfast
- Last day dinner
- Services not specifically stated in the itinerary
Cheap Bird Watching Holiday around Cusco
This tour offers a birding escape from Cusco. Peru is recognised as the second most diverse country in the world with its variety of birds. More than 1800 species inhabit the different ecosystems. Peru represents 15% of all the species on the planet without a doubt is a “Premier Birding Destination.” If you are searching for a cheap bird watching holiday, The Manu road its vertical transect from the high mountain to the rainforest. The species are most frequently reported at the transitional habitats that differ drastically in elevation.
Affordable Birding Tours from Cusco on 3 days
If you are looking to stay in Cusco and have a couple of days free to explore. Manu National Park is certainly a location you shouldn’t miss. For sites for Birding, combined with nature, wildlife and beautiful landscapes on a low budget tour.
We invite you to join us in a great Birdwatching Experience in Peru. With an extra bonus of much lower rates than the traditional rigid programs. Under the guidance of expert local guides from the Manu region that will take you to the exclusive location. This route is also supporting a large number of species of birds and a wide range of different habitats.
You can check the tour calendar and ask for fixed departures. You should have a flexible schedule. This birdwatching tour program includes alternative lodges. However, this program can be also upgraded if you wish to reside at other lodges such as Cock of the Rock.
Bird Watching Holidays where begins?
Cusco city is the gateway for our cheap birdwatching holidays Peru. The route extends from the Andes to the foothill forest down the cloud forest. In contrast to it’s high elevation and low forests, this enriches the species of birds that dwell here in these different environments that Manu has to offer. Furthermore, this transect route is easily travelled in the 3 days. This allows you to experience a wide variety of habitats from; Andes, Elfin, Foothill, Cloud forest, Bamboo and Palm forest at the much lower rainforest.
Our Cheap Bird Watching Holiday offers the visiting birder a fantastic adventure. And above all, including most of the endemics species of the south of Peru; Red and White Antpitta, Gray-breasted mountain toucan, Andean cock of the rock, Lyre tailed nightjar, cerulean capped manakin, Black-backed tody flycatcher, white checked tody tyrant, Hoatzin, blue and yellow macaw, Great potoo.
Interesting Birds.
Cock of the Rock
The cock of the rock (rupicola peruviana) is one of the most spectacular and well-known birds in Peru. They live at the lower montane forest bellow 2,000 m altitude.
You can witness this large orange frugivorous bird feeding on fruit trees. But its most impressive when seen at an LEK. Here the males gather at the traditional LEK sites in the early morning to displays.
First of all, they have an extraordinary display. They squeal loudly and dance, bending their heads forwards and raising their wings. The duller females visit the Leks to select a male, however after mating, he plays no further part in the nesting or feeding of the young.
Hummingbirds
Peru supports a staggering 127 species (39 % of all the hummingbirds) in the Manu National Park. Hummingbirds occur in all the habitats of the region. From the high montane forest to the flooded forest and can even found in the towns and agricultural areas.
Biology
The hummingbirds are the most accomplished precision flyers of the birds able to hover, fly backward. They are unique in generating lift on both the upstroke and downstroke of the wings, which typically beat 10 – 80 times a second but can beat up to 200 times a second in display flies.
They also fly extremely rapidly with speeds of up to 150 km per hour being recorded. Such an active life means they have high metabolism demands and their hearts beats 500 – 600 times per minute at rest and over 1,000 times a minute when fighting.
Lifestyle
Because of this, their lifestyle means that they must feed regularly while active and they tend to be active throughout the day. They feed mainly on nectar from flowers, but also take small arthropods to supplement their sugar diet. Hummingbird’s bills show a great variety of shapes and sizes. Reflecting the great diversity of plant species that they feed on.
Tanagers
Above all, tanagers are on the most colourful and distinctive group of birds of the world. This occurs only in the new world tropics. With the highest diversity of species occurring in the forest of the southern Andes.
Manu Park holds an extraordinary number of them. Most noteworthy, this fruit-eating bird can often seen in mixed flocks moving through the forest canopy as a colourful procession.
There are so many species of birds where Manu is their home. Help us monitor and protect these species. Even more be part of it.
If you are interesting in a our cheap bird watching holiday, join us today and book a tour with us. For more information check out of Tour Plan for a day to day itinerary.
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
Cusco - Sapansachayoq Lodge
- Breakdown of Day 1;
- Bird watch - Acjanaco Pass.
- Sapansachayoq Lodge.
This morning we travel along the Andes. During our trip we will pass through dry habitats, and this provides great chances to search for a couple of endemics; Bearded Mountaineer, Chestnut Breasted Mountain Finch and other interesting bird for the high Andean Mountains such as; Andean Flicker, Mountain Caracara, Andean Lapwing, Giant hummingbirds, Rufous Webbed Shrike-Tyrant, Ground Tyrants and others.
We continue and passing by the Intermountain valleys, we stop briefly for the Undulated and Rufous Antpitta, Rust, and Yellow Tanager, Red Crested Cotinga, Creamy Crested Spinetail, Sword Billed Hummingbird, Brown Backed Chat-Tyrants, Flowerpiercers, and Flycatchers.
Driving uphill we will reach the high mountains which is locally known as Puna, we will be searching diligently for Sedge Wren, Line Fronted and Junin Canastero, while descending the Acjanacu Pass (1066 feet). The vegetation is scattered and we will look for birds of this habitat such as; Chestnut Bellied, Hooded, Scarlet Bellied Mountain-Tanager and the bird’s flocks that travel at this misty forest are quite productive also to find some specialists at this elevation, Crimson Mantled Woodpecker, Plushcap, White Banded & throated Tyrannulet, Pearled Treerunner, Puna Thistletail, Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, Sierran Eleania, Golden Collared, Grass Green, Blue Capped Tanagers, Band-tailed and Barred Fruiteater, Streaked Tuftedcheeck, Purple Backed Thornbill among others in the mixed flocks as they are more frequently to find them flying across the road.
Other interesting targets at Tuneles and Esperanza location are; Gray Breasted Mountain-Toucan, Chestnut Crested Cotinga the Endemic Red and White Antpitta, while transecting along the Cloud Forest as we keep driving down into the mountain. The vegetation will gradually have changed into a more dense vegetation. It holds birds species like; Golden Headed Quetzals, Stripe-faced Wood-quail, Yungas Pigmy Owl , Blue-Banded Toucanet, Collared Jay Mountain Cacique, Greater Scythebill.
If lucky enough we may see the umbrella as far driving down the mountains we will arrive to Sapansachayoq Lodge which on of the best, to observe the Cock of the rock, (Peru’s national bird). It more easy to find them while they are displaying at their lek, (the male birds are a vibrant reddish-orange, and as many as several dozens get together for an exhibition of a mating ritual dance in a place called Lek) overnight at the Lodge.
Sapansachayoq Lodge - Guadalupe Lodge
- Breakdown of Day 2;
- Early Start, - Cloud Forest.
- Bird watch - Bamboo Forest.
- Guadalupe Lodge.
Early morning we will be searching diligently for more species of the Cloud forest; Yungas Manakin, Versicolored Barbed, Orange Eared Tanager, Streak Necked Flycatcher, Andean Motmot and the Cock of the Rock.
The driving downhill give us chances to explore the bamboo forest that holds a unique collection of birds, " White Checked Tody-flycatcher", Red-billed Scythebill, Bamboo Antshrike, Ornate, White-Eyed and Dot Winged Antwren, Peruvian Recurbill, Dusky Cheeked, Ruddy , Buff Throated Foliage Gleaner, Large Headed Flatbill, Manu and Black Antbird, the Unmistakable Rufous Headed Woodpecker and Yellow-Billed Nunbird.
Upon our arrival at Guadalupe Lodge, we will be exploring part of the palm forest to look for psittacines, Blue-Headed, Chestnut Fronted Macaw, Blue-Headed, Yellow-Crowned Parrots. The riverine forest also offers a great spot to look for the Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Sunbittern. Our target species this afternoon will be the Endemic Black-Backed Tody-Flycatcher which commonly heard along the road, as well as the Rusty, Fronted Tody-Tyrant.
Before dusk, we look for nightjars, potoo and owls, the road it’s by far the best place to see them. Overnight at Guadalupe Lodge.
Guadalupe Lodge - Cusco
- Breakdown of Day 3;
- Bird Watch & Breakfast.
- Hoatzin Kingdom - lagoon.
- Drive through the Cloud Forest. Waterfalls, bird watch / Journey back to Cusco.
- Arrival in Cusco at night.
We will wake up with the amazing variety of birds call that emerges out from the forest. The diversity of callings are incredible here, the most frequently heard are specialist from bamboo forest; Mustached and Scaly Breasted Wren, Golden Bellied and Buff Rumped Warbler, Warbling Antbird, Dot Winged Antwren, Bluish Fronted Jacamar, Manu, Striated, White Line Antbird, Stripe Chested Antwren among others. Calls you heard coming just behind your cabins, we also heard the calls of the Blue and Yellow Macaws overflying at dawn.
Exploring the garden we get chances to spot the; Golden Tailed Sapphire, Blue-tailed Emerald, Rufous Breasted, White Bearded and White Browed Hermit, Gray Breasted Sabrewing, Buff Tailed Sicklebill, Rufous Crested Coquette, Golden Tailed Sapphire.
During our way back, we visit a lagoon that is packed by Hoatzins known as pre-historic birds due its appearance, most of the bird sights here are also ; Brazilian Teals, Southern Lapwings, Flycatchers, Amazon, Green Kingfishers, Little, Lineated and Spot Breasted Woodpeckers, Gray Breasted and Rufous Sided Crake, Capped Heron, Little Cuckoo, Silvered Antbird, Amazonian Antpitta and many more. Continuing the journey back we start climbing the Andes and arriving in Cusco at night.
More about Manu National Park
More about this tour
Peru is one of the worlds megadiverse countries and exciting destinations for the visitors interested in wildlife, archeology and living heritage, in fact Manu park its supporting a large number of species of birds and wide range of different habitats, this diverse makes it a country of contrast for the visitors, whom can experience the world most diverse tropical rainforest, high mountain, and grasslands to mention some of the main habitats that these trips reveal.
Packing List
Equipment /Clothing | Comments |
Wellington Boots Provided at the lodge | Experience has taught us that Wellies are by far the most appropriate footwear for your time in the Jungle. You'll hopefully have noticed we asked for your shoes size on the application form; this is so we can buy you some new ones in Cusco ready for your departure so you don't have to lug them with you. However, please be aware that is difficult to get Wellington boots over European size 43 so if that's you please ensure you bring some with you. |
Flip flops | Useful for use in the bathrooms and for walking around the lodges. |
T-shirts, cotton shirts and a light sweatshirt | You should bring a mix of short and long sleeved to protect your arms from mosquito bites |
Underwear | Cotton is recommended rather than nylon. |
Socks | These should be long and made from breathable wool to ensure optimum comfort inside your boots. |
Sunblock Cream Sun Glasss Insect Repellent Fleece/Sweatshirt | at Least 40 % DEET |
Trousers & shorts | It’s important to be wearing long bottoms for protection from bugs and sun. We recommend full cut khaki bottoms or khaki type pants that can be zipped into shorts. Lighter |
Waterproof raincoat/poncho | Even in the dry season the rain can be heavy so it's good to come prepared! |
Flashlights | For night activities such as night walks , Caiman Search and for using when the power from the lodges runs off. |
User Reviews & Comments
Claire_72
We went on the 3 days birdwatching tour from Cusco. The whole trip was amazing - I couldn't believe the richness of the birds we encountered. Herbert was a great guide, pointing out and explaining everything for us with clear enthusiasm for the rain forest. We saw a huge number of exotic bird species including several species of parrot and parakeet at the clay lick along the Manu Road
28 January, 2020