PERU: MACHU PICCHU
Machu Picchu Extension following Manu Tour
2010
Saturday July 24 to Wednesday July 28
Guided by Gary Rosenberg
2011
Saturday September 24 to Wednesday September 28
Machu Picchu Extension Price $1300
**2011 price not available yet
Immediately following the Manu Tour, we offer a three night extension to fabulous Machu Picchu. Those taking the Manu tour will deplane in Cusco when flying back from Puerto Maldonado. One Night in Cusco, one night at Aguas Calientes, with a guided tour of Machu Picchu, and another night back in Cusco. Half day of coastal birding outside Lima.
Extension Day 1: This morning we will board an early train from Cusco to Machu Picchu, one of the most amazing archeological sites in the world! The train trip takes about three and a half hours as it climbs out of the dry valley that houses Cusco, crosses over a pass and through high-elevation pasture and agricultural land, and then drops into the scenic and historical Urubamba River valley. The train follows the river as it descends in elevation into the subtropical zone and the town of Aguas Calientes. It is striking making this transition from dry hillsides with terracing, to lush rainforest around Machu Picchu. Along the way we’ll make a point of counting the Torrent Ducks and White-capped Dippers, both common along the raging river. Arriving in mid-morning, we’ll board a bus that will takes us from the river valley below up to the famous ruins. A local guide will give us an in depth historical tour of Machu Picchu, and we’ll have plenty of time to see this incredible place. After a wonderful buffet lunch we’ll bird the switchbacks just below the ruins in search of Inca Wren, a species only recently described to science in the 1980’s. In the late afternoon we’ll take the bus back down to the river and walk the last kilometer back into Aguas Calientes birding in the lush forest that lines the Urubamba. There are a number of specialties that we’ll search for, including Torrent Duck, Mitred Parakeet, Highland Motmot, Ocellated Piculet, Streaked Xenops, Variable Antshrike, Sclater’s and Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulets, Masked Fruiteater, Pale-eyed Thrush, Pale-legged Warbler, Silver-backed, Saffron-crowned, Fawn-breasted, and Rust-and-yellow Tanagers, and Tricolored Brush-Finch, among others. We’ll return to our hotel in Aguas Calientes to clean up and have a wonderful dinner at a local restaurant. Night in Aguas Calientes.
Extension Day 2: This morning is flexible. Normally we have a leisurely breakfast and then bird our way back down the Urubamba River to the lower section of the “switchbacks” in search of any of the birds that we may have missed the previous day. If we experienced poor weather the day before, we’ll have the option of returning to the Machu Picchu ruins. We’ll return to Aguas Calientes for a nice lunch, have some time set aside for last minute gift shopping – Aguas Calientes is an excellent place to shop. In the mid-afternoon we’ll board our train for Cusco, arriving in time for a nice dinner. Night in Cusco.
Extension Day 3: We’ll take a morning flight from Cusco back to Lima, where we will be met at the airport and transported south along the coast for a half day of coastal birding. We’ll visit Playa San Pedro and the marshes at Villa. We have the opportunity for numerous coastal birds, all of which will be new for the trip. Some of the many birds we’ll look for include White-cheeked Pintail, Great Grebe, Humboldt Penguin, Peruvian Booby, Red-legged and Guanay Cormorants, Black-bellied, Semipalmated and Snowy Plovers, Blackish Oystercatcher, Peruvian Thick-knee, Whimbrel, lots of shorebirds, Belcher’s Gray, Kelp, and Gray-hooded Gulls, Peruvian and Inca Terns, Croaking Ground-Dove, Amazilia Hummingbird, Vermilion Flycatcher, Long-tailed Mockingbird, Yellowish Pipit, Grassland Yellow-Finch, and Peruvian Meadowlark. We’ll have day rooms at a hotel near the airport, which we’ll return to for cleaning up and dinner before being transferred to the airport for our international flights. The tour ends this evening at the Lima airport.
