Birding Peru Tours and Wildlife Holidays
Kolibri Expeditions offers Birding Peru Tours suitable for all types of birders. Based in Lima, Peru, Kolibri Expeditions has been operating since 1998
For beginner birders and aspiring bird photographers, we have many short tours of only 5 days, that go to the best birding spots in Peru with most of the iconic, beautiful, or endemic species which you will see up-close at the most comfortable birding lodges that are the perfect bases for bird photography holidays.
These birding tours in Peru are also suitable for more experienced birders who have limited time and want some of the best birds in Peru, while only taking 5 days off from work. They generally run Monday to Friday, which means you can fly and get settled in during the first weekend and fly back the following weekend.
Once the COVID 19 pandemic allows, we shall offer weekly departures of our most popular 5-day trips. The whole concept around 5-day birding tours and our most popular destinations in Peru are explained in this video.
For those with more time available for birdwatching in Peru, the short tours can be put back to back and supplemented with day tours of 1-2 days for birding or bird photography in Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Arequipa, and Puno. Naturally, we are also your go-to choice if you don’t want to fill your Peru tour with only birding, but also want a lot of cultures, cuisine, or just easy-paced discovery on your own. We often combine birding, history, and culture in our Birding and Archaeology tours.
More traditional birders and listers enjoy our classic Peru birdwatching tours for two weeks or more along the Northern birding route, the Central Peru birding itinerary with many of the most sought after endemics at Bosque Unchog, Junin Lake, and the Satipo road; and the most diverse birding road on earth along the Manu road. The latter is often combined with birdwatching in lowland Amazon rainforests of Manu National Park, Tambopata, or Rio Amigos.
Even though you save money using a local operator like Kolibri Expeditions compared to bird tour operators in the UK or the US, long birdwatching holidays can become very expensive due to small group size, many internal flights, and luxurious lodgings. Many birders complain that the birding tours are too expensive and that they don’t need such expensive lodges and wined and dined every night. So as the first operator, Kolibri Expeditions introduce tiered pricing on our longer tours. You decide which comfort level you need. Check out the video below to learn how it works.
Kolibri Expeditions takes pride in training our local guides. Our expert guides recognise the bird calls and now where to find the endemics and the target species. We will share with you our unique insights into Peru, including its birds, wildlife and nature; and the world-famous cuisine and culture.
Kolibri Expeditions also pioneered the Peruvian pelagic tours back in 2000 and have the longest track record of pelagic expeditions in Peru. Special rare species of the Humboldt Current such as Hornby’s and Markham’s Storm-Petrels, Peruvian Diving-Petrel, and a variety of Albatross species can be seen on our trips.
Itineraries are arranged to suit all budgets, including choices of accommodation, from comfortable lodging in rural areas to upmarket hotels. There are also options to just rent the car and our trained driver who know all the birding spots.
Our Owner & Guides
Kolibri Expeditions and owner Gunnar Engblom were featured in Noah Strycker’s book “Birding Without Borders“. Gunnar is also an accomplished singer in his band Guran Guran. Check out the Birding Hit Song – Bird Party in this video. Gunnar is a biologist with a particular interest in the conservation of threatened bird species, discovering new ones and human impact on the environment. As well as guiding Gunnar takes care of all the logistics from Lima. In his spare time, he is a marathon runner and singer/songwriter of the Swedish punk/alternative rock scene.
Alejandro Tello: Alejandro guides many of our tours that originate in Lima and the trips to Central Peru. He is a very skilled photographer who has published a number of books. Alejandro is involved in the conservation of wetlands in Lima, Ica and Junin.
Alex Durand: Alex started training with Kolibri Expeditions in 2003. He is now the number one birder in Peru with a list of 1748 species. Alex is very sharp at finding elusive birds and has a photographic memory for bird calls. A native of Puerto Maldonado, he guides all over Peru.
Photos and videos supplied by Dustin Chen, Alex Durand, Carlos Altamirano, Max Waugh, Kevin Bartlett, and Gunnar Engblom. All rights reserved.
Kolibri Expeditions has for many years been committed to being “single use plastic” free, providing filtered water in the field as well as reusable food containers and utensils. We also, whenever and wherever possible, will give preference to our partners in the hospitality industry who provide alternatives to single-use plastic products; and actively encourage local communities to work towards a plastic-free lifestyle.
Our breakfasts in the field are vegetarian and most of our lunches in the field are vegan in order to be kinder to the planet. For dinner, you eat what you want.
Kolibri Expeditions trains local community members as guides and conservation specialists. This is especially important in areas where deforestation is rampant and the need for conservation to promote tourism as a viable alternative to unsustainable logging and coca production. We are the lead partner in the Satipo Road community initiative.
Kolibri Expeditions also provide financial and logistical support towards the conservation of the critically endangered Junin Grebe.
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