Wildlife of Peru

Our wildlife adventure began on the first day with a boat trip out of Lima to the Palomino Islands, known for their wonderful bird life, including inquisitive Humbolt penguins, and an abundance of friendly sea lions that we swam with! A great start which whet our appetite for what was to come.

The Sacred Valley of the Incas was our next stop, where we not only did we explore the impressive Inca ruins but visited Manoa de la Comunidad to learn more about llamas, alpacas, vicuñas and a range of camelids. The lush gardens in a couple of private haciendas attracted a huge range of hummingbirds and it’s hard to believe that over 300 species have been identified. Nick is an expert and was particularly excited to see a beautiful Swordbill hummingbird. As we watched the clouds rise above Piuray lagoon, early one morning, the active birdlife was a photographers dream, and visiting a local home in the village of Chinchero gave us the opportunity to see the local weavers hard at work - the vibrant colours providing more photo opportunities!

The iconic site of Machu Picchu was our next highlight and didn’t disappoint. It was just as impressive on this trip as it was on my first visit to Peru, and is on the majority of people’s 'wish list' when visiting Peru. A night at the Inkaterra Machu Picchu, in Machu Picchu Pueblo, below the ruins was very special, not only for the huge range of wonderful hummingbird species seen in the gardens, but to see  ‘Cock-of-the-Rock’ while eating breakfast was an unforgettable experience.

Inkaterra Machu Picchu

A couple of nights in Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire, allowed time to explore the wonderful cobbled streets with their incredibly precise Inca stonework. We also visited Museo de Sitio Qoricancha, the beautiful church and monastery of San Francisco, and the impressive outlying ruins, including Sacsayhuaman, where some of the remaining stones are up to 8.5m high and weigh over 360 tonnes!

An early morning flight then took us to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon for our final five nights - an unforgettable end to this special trip. Our guide was superb and splitting our stay between two lodges worked perfectly, and provided two quite different experiences.

Refugio Amazonas was our first stop, situated in a 200-hectare private rainforest reserve within the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve, and where an extensive number of bird species and a range of mammals can hope to be seen. Climbing up the 25m scaffolding canopy tower, where a staircase allows access to platforms above, our first evening offered great views of continuous primary forest extending out towards the Tambopata National Reserve. As the sun went down the night chorus began as birds started to roost on our return to the lodge. Hiking the trails and an early morning excursion to Condenado oxbow lake, where we paddled around in a canoe, were wonderful experiences too.  

Refugio Amazonas

Departing Refugio before dawn we continued our journey by motorised canoe to arrive at the shingle sandbar, in front of the Chuncho macaw clay lick, at sunrise to see the spectacle of macaws, parakeets, parrots and other species arriving at the lick. After eating breakfast on the shore we continued into the wilderness surrounding the Tambopata Research Centre, a remote lodge immersed in primary rainforest within the Tambopata National Reserve, our home for the final three nights and the perfect end to this trip.

The 25km of walking trails, 300m of elevated walkways, 480 species of birds are just some of the attractions at the research centre. Red howler monkeys provided an early morning alarm call and macaws visited us in the lodge. A variety of forest walks, including a hike through a forest of huge bamboo native to the Amazon, and exploring the Tambopata river and its tributaries by motorised canoe filled our days. Excellent talks and presentations about the region, conservation etc. were also given in the evenings.

After saying farewell to our wonderful guides we flew back to Lima where the trip came to end, we all said goodbye and everyone flew home.

Tambopata Research Centre