6 weeks in Sth America (1 Viewer)

Hi all,
My partner and I have decided to make the most of cheap flights to South America (normally horrendously expensive from Australia). We'll probably have around 6 weeks, the bulk of which we hope to spend in Peru.. on a budget!

Only part of the broad plan so far is:
3 weeks in the South-east (Cusco, Macchu Piccu, Manu rd, Tampodata)

Then we have contacts in both Peru & Ecuador so spend other two weeks through them (either around Mindo, E., or North Peru).

1 week either in California on the way, or around Santiago.

SO.. few questions.

PERU:
1) There seems to be some community lodges springing up around Manu? Where can I find out about these?
2) How much of the Manu rd can be done on foot? How long is the main birding sections (from 3500m to 800m it seems..)
3) Does Cock-of-the-Rock lodge still allow camping?
4) Is it worth going to Puna for the Rhea? Any chance of Diameded Sandpiper-plover? I'd be keen on going to Lake Titicaca for interests sake, but how long would that take (i.e. could i rent a budget vehicle in Cusco and drive there)?

Outside:
5) Is it worth going to Lauca NP (Chile) at that time of the year? I've read that the Rheas move into Bolivia?
6) Is it worth spending time around Santiago and the coast at that time of the year?

Ok that should be enough for now! I know alot of it is on the internet, but there's so much commercial stuff to filter before you can get to any of it!
Cheers,
Damien

Hello,

I never been to Peru.
If You go to Bolivia, make sure You can reach the target area.
I red different time streets can be blocked.
There are demonstartions.
Further our foreign ministery is writing there is a Dengue epidemie now ( about 5.000 registred cases ). But in higher area this will not be a problem.

I do not know what mens Rhea ?

Lauca NP has normally few rain and snow. The rain time is usually betweeen Novmber - April.
I saw e.g. Andean Snow Geese, Nandu, Flamingo and Vicuna in Chungura.

Take care of acclimatisation, Chungura is almost on 4.600 m altitude.
You need one week to increase the sleeping place about 1.000 m.


Best regards
Dieter

I'm going to Peru as well

so your message is really applicable to me as well. However, I've been to both Ecuador and Chile, so I can give you a little information there, anyway.

I was in Chile in November with my wife, and we had a great time in Valparaiso - I would not spend time in Santiago, really. There are some nice areas around Valpo for birding. We also spent time at Termas de Cauquenes (sp?), which was fantastic, and we saw burrowing parrots (heaps!) and giant hummingbirds there. Though mostly we relaxed! We rented a car and it worked out very well - the roads are superb!

We were in Mindo, Podocarpus and a couple of other places in Ecuador - in the Mindo area alone we saw about 30 species of hummingbirds - we did see other species, but hummers were our focus. The area around Mindo is quite amazing.

Anyway, I'll subscribe to this thread, since, although my wife and I are going for just two weeks in May, a lot of what you ask applies to us as well...

Hi thanks for the info jimforjim. Your info about Ecuador is interesting. Have you been to the Galapagos? Looks like we're going to try and get out there but its hard finding something on a tight budget, in particular something going out to where the Flightless Cormorants are!
Thanks
Damien

when you arrive to Ecuador

Hi,

If you're planning to come to Ecuador by the border, I have 2 pieces of advice:

1.- Entry by Macará: is in Loja and then you can got to Jorupe (dry forest) or try going to Zamora and visit places such as: Copalinga near Podocarpus, Bombuscaro inside Podocarpus, near Vilcambamba it's Tapichalaca Reserve (Jocotoco Antpitta).

Also the old road from Loja to Zamora is very good for birding.

2.- Entry by Huaquillas: try to get a bus at Machala and them take a bus to Piñas to visit Buenaventura Reserve (Long-wattled Umbrellabird, Ecuadorian Tapaculo, El Oro Parakeet, etc, etc), also around Piñas you can find dry forest patches (tumbesinian endemics). All the road from Huaquillas to Piñas takes 4 hours aprox.

In Quito I can help you too.....

If you have questions please send a message

regards,

Manuel Sánchez
Clandestine Bird
"Responsible Birding"

Ecuador & more

swiss7 said:

Have you been to the Galapagos?

Click to expand...

Hi Damien,

No, we haven't gone there. To be honest, everything vis-a-vis the Galapagos tours is so scripted, almost military in its organization, that we were kind of turned off by the whole thing, as we prefer independent travel. It's great knowing that a place like that exists, though.

I'm not sure if you have any particular preferences with birds, but Ecuador is really great. The fact that it's small, and yet has so many different micro-climates, really helps. Overall, I liked the Mindo area the most, then Guango was good, as was the Loja/Vilcabamba area - we tried to get to Zamora, but the road was blocked by a mudslide, sadly.

As for Peru, we're thinking about the Manu road (probably just the cultural zone) for a week or so, then the north around Maranon Valley for a week or so. I've thought about driving myself, but it's a pretty risky proposition, from what I can tell, so we'll probably rely on public transport/car & driver hire. Also, you'd have to drive (usually) on the opposite side of the road from what you're used to, which can slow your reactions down a tiny bit ... but that tiny bit can be enough.

If you haven't read Tom McKinney's trip report, it's very long but humorous enough to keep you reading: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=65919.

Anything you find out I'd love to hear about.

Cheers, Jim