If you've been hankering to see the Marvelous Spatuletail (an undeniable candidate for the fanciest of all hummers), been wanting to search for the rare White-winged Guan, watched with awe over the years as one new species after another has been described from northern Peru, or simply pored over the plates in the Peru field guide, honing in on those intriguing inca-finches, the rare Great Spinetail, the pretty Tumbes Tyrant, the critically endangered Peruvian Plantcutter, the lovely Rufous Flycatcher, or all those Maranon specialties, now is the time to mark your calendar.

Our tour transects the Andes from the coastal deserts and foothills in the west to the crest of the western cordillera, through arid intermontane valleys and up over the eastern cordillera to the humid forests of the east slope that spill down to the foothills. While overlapping some with the avifauna of southern Ecuador (especially in Tumbesia), many of the birds are different, especially south of the Maranon. On the way back west, we take a more southerly track, paying a visit to the city of Cajamarca after passing through treeline forest, puna grassland, and vast intermontane desert valleys on the way.

The focus is on endemics and regional specialties, but they end up being only a tiny percentage of a lengthy triplist, so rich and varied is the route. This is our most complete coverage of northern Peru, and, as a result, involves several basic hotels, but no longer includes camping. The birding rewards are terrific on one of our most varied tour routes!

Select the KEY INFO tab or click here for our itinerary plus space requests, status, fees, limits, and guides for any departure.