DAY 1 - CAJAMARCA

We'll arrive in Cajamarca as part of our longer tour of northern Peru. Instead of flying to Lima this night, we'll stay overnight in Cajamarca at the beginning of this extension.

DAY 2 - SAN MARCOS & TRANSFER

We'll depart early for a half day drive south to Huamachuco. Our first stop will be a couple mountain roads outside the town of San Marcos. The first road we'll check above San Marcos will be to look for the localized endemic Pale-naped Brushfinch and Rufous-backed Inca-Finch. Then we'll descend back down to town and take another gravel road leading up another mountainside where we have very good chances of seeing the very localized Great Spinetail, a bird that long eluded birders until it was relocated in this area. After spending the morning birding these two sites, we'll continue south to the town of Huamachuco for two nights stay. Night at a hotel in Huamachuco.

DAY 3 - EL MOLINO

El Molino is the only accessible site to see the lovely Purple-backed Sunbeam. This hummingbird is quite common in the valley and pretty much nowhere else that is accessible. To reach El Molino requires a long 4-hour drive, beginning along a well-maintained, paved highway but eventually becoming a sometimes rough and sometimes narrow gravel road that tops out at an elevation of 3900 m (12,800 ft) and then drops in a long series of switchbacks to the town of El Molina at an elevation of 2400 m (7900 ft). Once we finally arrive, we'll have the rest of the morning and half the afternoon to bird the roadsides above town. The sunbeam is quite common and usually easy to find. Much rarer and more difficult to find is White-cheeked Cotinga, which is possible in the valley. More likely are Red-crested Cotinga, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Jelski's Chat-Tyrant, Rufous-eared Brushfinch, Pale-naped Brushfinch, Fawn-breasted Tanager, Black-throated Flowerpiercer, Peruvian Sierra Finch, Plain-tailed Warbling Finch, Black-and-white Seedeater, and Plain-colored Seedeater. Fortunately, there is a suitable restaurant in town for lunch, so no box lunches will be required. By mid afternoon we'll need to depart for the 4-hour drive back to Huamachuco. Night at a hotel in Huamachuco.

DAY 4 - SINSICAP & TRUJILLO

We'll depart fairly early for the 4-hour drive to Trujillo, stoppin en route to drive up a side gravel road into the Sinsicap district, where we'll be looking for the highly localized Russet-bellied Spinetail. Like all spinetails, this one lurks in sometimes dense scrub. Fortunately, the area is not frequently visited by birders, so this spinetail reacts quite well to playback. With a little persistence, we have a good chance of finding it. While there, we could also find some other interesting species such as Elegant Crescentchest and Great Inca-Finch. From Sinsicap we'll continue on to Trujillo. If time permits and it's migration season or winter, it could be worthwhile looking for shorebirds at the beach near town. The tour ends at the airport in Trujillo, where a domestic flight will return us to Lima for international flights home.

DAY 5 - ARRIVAL

Arrive home.

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFO
(Not on Menu Above)

• Country Map
• Accommodations
• Photos from Past Tours
• Travel Information

BIRDING LOCALES

• El Molino
• San Marcos Area
• Sinsicap