MOUNTAINS OF MANU, PERUAn in-depth transect of the higher-elevation half of the Manu Biosphere Reserve and buffer zone, from treeline through temperate and subtropical forests down to rich upper-tropical zone. Spectacular scenery along one of the birdiest roads in the world.
$4775; extension $1975 (2008 fees). 16 days plus extension See our triplist for 2007 or 2006 or 2005.
This tour offers a rich transect of the upper reserve, from the incredibly “birdy” road above Cusco down to the Alto Madre de Dios in the rich upper-tropical zone, and represents our most thorough, relaxed, and comfortable coverage of montane Manu. The scenery alone would be reason to take the tour—the copses of treeline forest that plunge down the east slope, becoming taller and wetter and more cloaking at mid-elevations, secreting streams and waterfalls and rushing rivers that in places completely cover the narrow road that snakes downslope. But the birds are genuinely breathtaking—from eye-to-eye looks at striking male Andean Cocks-of-the-rock and Plum-throated Cotingas to Black-and-chestnut and Solitary eagles screaming overhead; from scarce and inconspicuous Lanceolated Monklets to indescribably beautiful Orange-eared and Paradise tanagers feeding at eye level on melastome berries, along with dozens of other tanagers in mixed-species flocks, a phenomenon for which the east-Andean slope is justifiably famous; from nest-building Hoatzins with their shaggy crests to tiny Rufous-crested Coquettes and Amethyst Woodstars feeding on the vervain hedge off our veranda; from virtuoso Chestnut-breasted and Fulvous wrens to staccato Black-capped Tinamous and hair-raising Great Potoos. We’ll seek numerous range-restricted specialties, from Blue-headed Macaw, Bearded Mountaineer, Black-streaked Puffbird, Scarlet-hooded Barbet, Marcapata and Creamy-crested spinetails, Rusty-fronted Canastero, Red-and-white Antpitta, Slaty and Chestnut-crowned gnateaters, Yungas and Cerulean-capped manakins, Cinnamon-faced Tyrannulet (first described in 1997), Yellow-crested Tanager, and Chestnut-breasted Mountain-Finch to a wide range of bamboo specialties, including Crested Foliage-gleaner, Peruvian Recurvebill, Bamboo Antshrike, Goeldi’s, White-lined, and Manu antbirds, White-cheeked Tody-Tyrant, and an as-yet-undescribed “Manu tanager.” In our two weeks we should encounter around 500 species of birds, including some of the fanciest and most sought-after in the Neotropics. Our extension offers three days to enjoy the spectacular Inca ruins of Machu Picchu and the birds that inhabit the montane cloud forest that surrounds the ruins and extends down the slopes to our base in the lovely Hotel Pueblo, complete with teeming hummingbird feeders along the Rio Urubamba, 1500 feet below.
Contact our office by e-mail in Austin, Texas at fieldguides@fieldguides.com.
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