24 May 2025 - 06 Jun 2025 (14 days)
USD6,495 - 2 Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Adam Walleyn
Tour price (Per person): USD6,495 * GBP5,180 * EUR6,250 * AUD10,428
Single Supplement: USD650 * GBP518 * EUR625 * AUD1,044
Flight costs: USD110 * GBP88 * EUR106 * AUD177
Can be linked with: Peru - Southern: Lima & Ancash Extension 2025
30 Apr 2026 - 13 May 2026 (14 days)
USD6,800 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Lev Frid
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*
Tour price (Per person): USD6,800 * GBP5,423 * EUR6,544 * AUD10,918
Can be linked with: Peru - Southern: Lima & Ancash Extension 2026
Moving from Lima to Cusco for our Classic Andes and Manu Road tour, we will take in the scenic Apurimac River valley - the source of the mighty Amazon, the world’s largest river system - in search of some highly localised and rarely seen endemics including Apurimac Spinetail and Apurimac Brushfinch. A full day up the might Abra Malaga will take our breath away – quite literally! The remnant patches of polylepis forest host both Tawny and endemic, White-breasted Tit-Spinetails, exhibitionist Stripe-headed Antpitta, endemic Junín Canastero, Puna Tapaculo, Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant, Blue-mantled Thornbill, and Red-rumped Bush Tyrant.
Returning to Cusco, we climb the famous Manu Road before descending the eastern Andean slopes, birding through temperate zones and montane cloud forest, offering chances for an incredible variety of exceptional species, including Cerulean-capped and Yungas Manakins, Rufous-capped Thornbill, Crested and Golden-headed Quetzals, Blue-banded Toucanet, Spotted Barbtail, the outrageous Amazonian Umbrellabird, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Inca Flycatcher, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Golden-eyed Flowerpiercer and Peruvian Piedtail. We will also visit an Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek, where numerous males sometimes congregate and perform their strange mating ritual! With persistence, night birding in this area might yield the uncommon Napo and Rufescent Screech Owls, Rufous-banded Owl, Lyre-tailed Nightjar and possibly even Andean Potoo.
Andean Condor; White-rumped & White-throated Hawks; Puna & Andean Ibis; Blue-headed Macaw; Mitred & Andean Parakeets; Versicolored Barbet; Yungas Pygmy Owl; Lyre-tailed & Swallow-tailed Nightjars; Andean Potoo; Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan; Southern Mountain Cacique; Andean Cock-of-the-rock; Crested & Golden-headed Quetzals; Yungas, Fiery-capped, Round-tailed & Cerulean-capped Manakins; Lanceolated Monklet; White-throated, Undulated, Stripe-headed, Urubamba, Thrush-like & chances for Red-and-white Antpittas; White-capped Dipper; Black-streaked Puffbird; Amazonian Umbrellabird; Scaled & Band-tailed Fruiteaters; Bolivian Tyrannulet; Inca Flycatcher; Koepcke’s Hermit; Sword-billed, Giant, Green-and-white, White-bellied & Oasis Hummingbirds; White-tufted Sunbeam; Great Sapphirewing; Scaled Metaltail; Bearded Mountaineer; Rufous-webbed Brilliant; Rufous-capped, Blue-mantled & Purple-backed Thornbills; Peruvian Piedtail; Inca Wren; Cuzco Warbler; Apurimac, Marcapata, & Creamy-crested Spinetails; White-breasted Tit-Spinetail; Parodi’s Hemispingus; Puna & Vilcabamba Thistletails; Peruvian Treehunter; Puna, Diademed, Trilling & chances for Vilcabamba Tapaculos; Rusty-fronted, Junin, Ayacucho (Pale-tailed) & Streak-throated Canasteros; chances for Royal Cinclodes; Streak-fronted Thornbird; Plumbeous Tyrant; Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant; Kalinowski’s Chat-Tyrant; Many-colored Rush Tyrant; Giant, Blue-backed & White-browed Conebills; Black-faced & Tit-like Dacnis; Moustached & Golden-eyed Flowerpiercers; Chestnut-bellied Mountain Tanager; Paradise, Saffron-crowned, Golden-collared, Rust-and-yellow & Grass-green Tanagers; Andean Negrito; Peruvian Sierra Finch; Chestnut-breasted Mountain Finch; Apurimac & Cuzco Brushfinches.
Tayra; Brown-throated Sloth; Saddle-back Tamarin; White-fronted & Large-headed Capuchins; Bolivian Squirrel Monkey; Geoffroy’s Woolly Monkey; Brown Titi Monkey; Bolivian & Southern Amazon Red Squirrels; Long-tailed Weasel; White-lipped Peccary; White-tailed Deer.
humid montane forest, foothill forest, tropical forest, high altitude lakes, polylepis forest
cold to cool in the highlands, hot & humid in the lowlands
8 with 1 Rockjumper leader
moderate, with some long drives and high altitude
comfortable
moderate with some challenging species
Cusco (the historical Incan capital city of Peru), Apurimac River valley (source of the Amazon), visiting an Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek
good
Successful and enjoyable. Rob proved his already high reputation. Special thanks to our driver Miguel - always helpful, always smiling.
This is my first birdwatching tour organized by a company such as Rockjumper, but I have been on tours organized by my local Naturalist Society. Both Rob and Miguel were excellent. They worked extremally hard to keep everyone happy, find as many species as possible and get everyone onto each sighting.
The tour was fantastic. Forrest Rowland, did a terrific job spotting birds, giving us clear directions to actually sight the birds and displayed plenty of patience in the process.
This tour and the extension tour were exceptional. Of course the birds were a real pleasure to view, scenery was unbelievable, food and lodging were excellent. The main highlight were the people. A wonderful, fun group to be with. Hope I see everyone on another trip. The driver not only carried us many miles safely, he did so many other things for us, making certain getting out of bus safely, setting up for meals, and on and on. The local guide got us onto so many birds with his x-ray vision (seemed that way) and was helpful in so many ways. He and the driver were simply put, very nice people. I addition to his obvious bird locating and identification skills, Lev has exceptional people skills with his attentiveness and humor. I had a problem with the altitude one day. I wa., to put it simply.. very slow..lots of breaks. Lev was with the whole way and made certain I was OK. I am very appreciative for that. Thanks again. Its things like that, to me, that makes a guide exceptional. Lev is an exceptional guide. Now to the office team. Wow. Tia and Sarah were so helpful to me with all the questions I had. Not only do they have the answers. the answers come quickly. And I thank them for their patience. As usual, a wonderful job. Thanks again. Lastly, to the Peruvian people, the tour group, the guides, drivers, cooks, office staff and to many others. Thank you. Take care everyone.
Forrest Rowland is a terrific guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable of the birds we encountered on our trip. Further, he is very friendly, engaging and enthusiastic. I’d be quite pleased to join him again on any birding tour in the Neotropics.
Peru - Northern: Marañón Endemics & Marvelous Spatuletail 2024 - October 2024
Peru - Northern: Scarlet-banded Barbet Extension 2024 - October 2024
Peru - Central: Rare Andean Endemics 2024 - September 2024
Peru - Northern: Marañón Endemics & Marvelous Spatuletail 2023 - October 2023
Peru - Southern: Machu Picchu Extension 2023 - April 2023
Peru - Southern: Classic Andes & Manu Road 2023 - April 2023
Peru - Southern: Lima & Ancash Extension 2023 - April 2023
Peru - Northern: Marañón Endemics & Marvelous Spatuletail 2021 - September 2021
Peru - Northern: Marañón Endemics & Marvelous Spatuletail 2018 - September 2018
Peru - Northern: Marañón Endemics & Marvelous Spatuletail 2016 - September 2016
Peru - Northern: Marañón Endemics & Marvelous Spatuletail 2015 - September 2015
Peru - Northern: Marañón Endemics & Marvelous Spatuletail 2014 - September 2014