Our tour will begin with a visit to the coastline south of Peru where we will enjoy a seabird colony where Humboldt Penguins breed, specialty species of the coastal desert habitat, and many waterbirds in a coastal marsh!

After flying from Lima to Tarapoto we will spend the next eleven days exploring the Andes as we travel west to Cajamarca. We will spend a day birding the Cordillera Escalera Reserve where we will look for the endemic Koepcke’s Hermit as well as a long and diverse list of other species. We will also spend a couple of nights at Waqanki Lodge where over 20 species of hummingbirds can be seen visiting their feeders.

Next, we will spend several days at Abra Patricia Owlet Lodge, where we will be looking for the little-known Long-whiskered Owlet. Around the grounds of the lodge, we’ll look for some colorful tanagers such as White-capped, Grass-green, and Yellow-scarfed.

As we continue west from Abra Patricia we’ll make a stop to look for the Marvelous Spatuletail, one of the most stunning hummingbirds in the world! We’ll continue west towards Leymebamba and Celendin where we will be birding some high elevations before making it to the Maranon Valley. Here, we’ll be looking for several endemics, including the Gray-winged Inca-Finch and Chestnut-backed Thornbird.

We’ll spend our last couple of days birding around Cajamarca. This high-elevation city provides a great base to look for a number of specialty species in this area. It also allows us to visit lower elevations on the Pacific slope. During our time here, we’ll be looking for several endemics, including Gray-bellied Comet, Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail, Rufous-backed Inca-Finch, Striated Earthcreeper, and Unicolored Tapaculo.

If you love beautiful endemic birds, spectacular scenery, and great culture, this is the tour for you!