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Peru Classic Tours
Andean Odyssey proudly offers an outstanding selection of tour packages to Peru - from Peru classic tours to well-known destinations like Cusco, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, to tours to little-known delights such as Kuelap in the northern jungle region, as well as a variety of adventure programs and special interest packages.

Peru classic tours include the 7-day "Best of the Southern Andes," 5-day tours of "the Inca Empire" or "Pre-Incan Civilization" and the two-week tour of "Enigmatic Peru." Peru classic tours offer the best of Peru's world-renown attractions in its southern highlands, as well as jungle adventure and spectacular archaeological ruins and museums in the north.

Do you want to see the best that Peru has to offer in a package that makes the most of your vacation time? Then Peru classic tours are just what you are looking for.

Regional Tours
In Peru's coastal region, Andean Odyssey will guide you to magnificent colonial Lima, the mysterious Nazca lines, pristine beaches of Tumbes, lush desert oasis outside Ica and the nearby Ballestas Islands teeming with marine and bird life, the world-class archaeological ruins and museums near Chiclayo and Trujillo, or to the famed Chulucanas artisans near Piura.

Andean Odyssey tour packages to Peru's spectacular Andean highlands region help you enjoy the very best of Cusco and Puno, as well as such lesser-known delights as the marvelous Colca canyon near Arequipa, the renowned fairs and handicrafts of Huancayo, the snow-covered Cordillera Blanca at Huaraz, the newly excavated Chachapoyas fortress at Kuelap, or the historical wonders of Cajamarca

Andean Odyssey tours to Peru's Amazon jungle region near the cities of Iquitos and Puerto Maldonado are unsurpassed. Whether you are looking for an air conditioned cruise down the Amazon or a walking tour in search of the exotic flora and fauna of the rainforest, you can't do better than the tours we have to offer.

Adventure Programs
Hiking on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu? Trekking in the breathtaking Cordillera Blanca? River rafting down the Urubamba between Cusco and Machu Picchu? Or perhaps you would prefer mountain biking or horseback riding in the Cusco region? Full adrenaline - Andean Odyssey tours in Peru have it all!

Special Interest Tours
Andean Odyssey has a variety of bird-watching tours to Lima and Paracas, Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, the Cusco-Machu Picchu region, Lake Titicaca, and to the jungle regions. Other special interest tours include educational family-oriented tours, study tours for executives and students, photography programs, archaeology and experiential tourism tailored to your desire to work with the local population.

So don't forget - whether you seek Peru classic tours to its world-renowned destinations, a package tour to one of its lesser-known attractions, or a specialized, made-to-order adventure or educational experience, it's all here at Andean Odyssey!
 
     Special Interest  
 
     - BirdWatching
     - Family Travel
     - Experiential Tourism
     - Study Tours
     - Vegetarian Tours 		Tours Within Peru
 
     
     
  Highlights
 
  Cinnamon Teal
 
   
 
  Mourning Sierra Finch
 
   
- Lima, Paracas - Titicaca Lake
- Arequipa, Colca - Puerto Maldonado
- Cusco, Machu Picchu, Abra Malaga - Manu National Park
Program: Birding in Cusco, Machu Picchu
(6D,5N)

DAY 1
Reception in Cusco
On arrival, meeting and transfer to your hotel. In the afternoon, tour of this beautiful city and surrounding ruins. You will visit the Koricancha, or Temple of the Sun, where you will appreciate the incredible masonry of the Incas. The tour will take you to the Plaza de Armas, scene of so many historical events in Cusco during the Inca and Spanish reigns. Enjoy the drive to the Inca fortress of Sacsahuamán on the hill above the city of Cusco. The views from here down the Andean valley and overlooking the city are spectacular. You will continue on to the underground cave and temple of Kenko and then to Tambomachay, known as the "Baths of the Inca" due to its thermal springs. Drive back down to Cusco and your hotel.


DAY 2
Machupicchu
Transfer to the train station to catch the morning train for a two day visit of Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incas" one of the most renowned examples of Inca architecture. Surrounded by lush cloud forest, the citadel perches on a mist shrouded mountaintop. The climate differs considerably according to the altitude. Machu Picchu has a subtropical climate, humid and warm during the day and cool at night. It is one of the world´s archeological jewels. Peruvian Government created the Historical Sanctuary of Machu Picchu in 1981 as Protected Natural area, in order to preserve the archeological complex, the flora and fauna and the natural surroundings (32592 hectares), and in 1983 UNESCO declared the Sanctuary a World Heritage Site. In Machu Picchu and the surrounding areas there is a high incidence of endemism and near endemic species of birds and plants, we can find some of the rarest Andean birds and threatened species of birds here. After visiting the ruins we can take an ornithological excursion into the heart of the Sanctuary. Overnight in Aguas Calientes, little town located in the bottom of Machu Picchu, Breakfast included.

DAY 3
Aguas Calientes
After an early breakfast, we can start our activity from the railway line at the community of Aguas Calientes. By foot we can walk for a few kilometers downstream following the river. The area is covered in dense tropical vegetation , with patches of high-altitude bamboo, abundant orchids and arboreal ferns.

The Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary harbors 423 species of birds recorded. Some of the species are:
  • Royal Cinclodes (Cinclodes (excelsior) aricomae)
  • Junin Canastero (Asthenes virgata)
  • White-browed Tit-Spinetail (Leptasthenura xenothorax)
  • Inca Wren (Thryothorus eisenmanni)
  • Cusco Brush-Finch (Atlapetes (schistaceus) canigenis)
  • Parodi´s Hemispingus (Hemispingus parodi)
  • Green and White Hummingbird (endemic) (Leucippus viridicauda)
  • White-winged Black-Tyrant (Knipolegus aterrimus)
  • Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant (Myiotheretes striaticollis)
  • Tricolored Brush-Finch (Atlapetes tricolor)
  • Sickle-winged guan (Chamaepetes goudotii)
  • Speckle-faced Parrot (Pionus tumultuosus)
  • Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus)
  • Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
In the afternoon, take the train back to the Sacred Valley. Overnight in the Sacred Valley ( Ollantaytambo ). Breakfast included.

DAY 4
Abra Malaga
 Early morning we leave the Inca community of Ollantaytambo to visit a high mountain pass (Malaga), featuring abundant wetlands and lakes. An accelerated descent begins here and leads us into beautiful forests, perhaps the best preserved in the region. We can find elfin forests (humid and stunted), humid montane forests, Interandean valleys, Puna grasslands, humid temperate forests and Polylepis forests, which has some unique high Andean species of birds.

To explore this area, it is better to use as a reference mark the spot known as San Luis. This area is abundant in endemic bird species and is considered by birdwatchers as a very important destination. Late in the afternoon, return to Cusco. Overnight in Cusco. Breakfast included.

Some species of the area are:
  • White browed Tit-spinetail (Leptasthenura xenothorax)
  • Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant (Anairetes alpinus)
  • Royal Cinclodes (endangered specie) (Cinclodes excelsior aricomae)
  • Giant Conebill (Oreomanes fraseri)
  • Stripe-headed Antpitta (Grallaria andicola)
  • Tawny Tit-Spinetail (Leptasthenura yanacensis)
  • Line-fronted Canastero (Asthenes urubambensis)
  • Blue-mantled Thornbill (Chalcostigma stanleyi)
  • Purple-backed Thornbill (Ramphomieron microrhynchum)
  • Puna Thistletail (Schizoeaca helleri)
  • Streak-throated Canastero (Asthenes humilis)
  • Puna Tapaculo (Scytalopus simonsi)
Other species in this area (Polylepis forest and surrounding - Puna grassland and meadows):
  • White-winged Diuca-Finch (Diuca speculifera)
  • Andean Goose (Chloephaga melanoptera)
  • Tit-like-Dacnis (Xenodacnis parina)

DAY 5
Cusco / Huacarpay
Early breakfast and transfer to Huacarpay, thirty minutes from Cusco to the southeast out of Cusco (main road to Puno). Huacarpay is a small town with high Andean marshes (3150 m - 10335 ft.). This place is the best site to see an endemic hummingbird (Bearded Mountaineer), grebes, ducks, gallinules, coots. The road around the lake is a good site for birding. Late in the afternoon, return to Cusco for overnight. Breakfast included.

Some of the species seen in this area are:

  • Many colored Rush-Tyrant (Tachuris rubrigastra)
  • White-tufted Grebe (Rollandia Rolland)
  • Silvery Grebe (Podiceps occipitalis)
  • Andean Duck (Oxyura ferruginea)
  • Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera)
  • Puna Teal (Anas Puna)
  • Yellow-billed Pintail (Anas georgica)
  • Plumbeous Rail (Pardirallus sanguinolentus)
  • Andean Gull (Larus serranus)
  • Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas)
  • Rufous-naped Ground-Tyrant (Muscisaxicola rufivertex)
  • Andean Negrito (Lessonia oreas)
  • Yellow-winged Blackbird (Agelaius thilius)
  • Rusty-fronted Canastero (Asthenes ottonis)
  • Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica)
  • Baird´s Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii)
  • Black-chested Buzzard Eagle (Geranoaetus melanoleucus)

DAY 6
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport to catch your flight. (B)


(B) Breakfast Included
(L) Lunch Included
(D) Dinner Included

*We provide vegetarian meals
 
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