Guyana is an exciting, less traveled birding destination featuring over 70 Guianan Shield endemics and about 100 other species found almost exclusively in northeastern South America. Our Extended Guyana Tour is carefully designed to see most of the speciality birds found within the readily accessible areas of the country. The tour features the Georgetown area, Iwokrama Forest Reserve, Atta Rainforest Lodge. Surama, the Rupununi Savanna, Karanambu, Wichabai Ranch, Manari Ranch, Karasabi Village, and the Rio Takutu/Rio Ireng on the Brazil border. The best time to take this tour is October-April, as much of the south tends to be flooded and quite inaccessible other times of year. Accommodations are generally good except at Surama where they are very rustic and at Wichabai Ranch where they are rather basic. The birding is demanding and requires patience because many species are shy, forest canopy is high, undergrowth can be dense, and populations of each species can be low and dispersed. This is typical of birding in the Amazon lowlands.

Our tour begins with an early morning flight from Lima to Iquitos followed by a boat transfer to the Sucusari River and ACTS Canopy Walkway Lodge. After spending 3 days there birding terra firme forest and the many canopy walkways, we transfer by boat toe Explornapo Lodge. We'll sepnd two days birding the varzea forest at this lodge before transfer to Iquitos. While in Iquitos we'll devote two full days birding the Allpamayo-Mishana Reserve before taking a boat to the Muyuna Amazon Lodge. Our final 3 days will be devoted to birding a mix of river islands, varzea forest, and terra firme forest before returning to Iquitos for our flight back to Lima.

Tour Considerations

PACE - Easy

DIFFICULTY - Birding during this tour is generally easy. Much of the birding is along roadsides. The hike up Turtle Mountain is somewhat long and requires an early start. The first part of the trail is somewhat level and eventually up a moderate incline. The trail becomes steeper near its end, but we generally don't hike very far up that part of the trail. The hike at Surama is along a level jeep track.

DOMESTIC FLIGHTS - Flights into the interior are by small aircraft, typically 16-passenger planes. There is a strict baggage limit of 10kg (20 lbs) plus 4.5kg (10 lbs) carry-on. Extra baggage is subject to space availability and incurs an extra charge.

CLIMATE - Dry season in Guyana is from September to April, with September and April being transitional months. Temperatures are generally warm to quite hot (75-90 degrees). Rainy season is from April to September. During rainy season, roads and savannas south of Karanambu are subject to flooding and may become impassable.

BIRD ACTIVITY - Birds are generally active during dry season, especially in the mornings. Fruiting trees and flowering plants attract large mixed flocks. Breeding behavior and lek displays such as with Guianan Cock-f-the-Rock begin in January. Birding is excellent from October through April. Birding during wet season is more difficult due to dense cloud cover and often heavy rains. Also, the road between Lethem and Iwokrama may be impassable during those months due to flooding.

PHOTOGRAPHY - Opportunities for bird photography are reasonably good as forest understories are generally fairly open and birds in the savanna sometimes perch conspicuously. There are no bird feeders so photography is opportunistic. Getting photos of Red Siskins can take some patience as the birds often move around a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

• Photos from Past Tours
• Travel Information

BIRDING LOCALES
FOR THIS TOUR

• Abary River
• Atta Rainforest
• Dadanawa Ranch
• Georgetown
• Hope Beach
• Ireng River
• Iwokrama Reserve
• Karanambu Ranch
• Karasabai
• Mahaicony River
• Manari Ranch
• Rupununi Savanna
• Surama Village