RFI: Abra Malaga and Arequipa (1 Viewer)

Hello all

I am visiting Peru in october with my wife (non-birder) and have a couple of free days in Ollantaytambo and Arequipa, and would (naturally) like to make the most of it and do some birding! Does anyone know if it's possible to arrange bird guides for day trips from those towns? I can speak a little spanish and have learnt the bird species myself, so I wouldn't need an expert english speaking guide, just someone to take me to the right places and help me find the birds.

Alternatively I'd be happy to arrange a taxi tour myself but think i need more precise information than what's in Thomas Valqui's book!

For Abra Malaga I'd like to know the best two or so places on the amazonian side of the pass to visit (emphasis on high altitude cloud/elfin forest as we're staying a few days at 1500m on the Manu road), and how to recognise them from the road?

For the pass itself, i would like to do the famous valley walk from the ridge back to the road. I can see this area on google maps but am not sure exactly where to go. There seems to be a building at the right side of the road near the pass (driving towards Quillabamba). I think the walk starts some way before this (i see from a photo series that there seems to be an information board somewhere round here)?

The walk from the ridge down to the valley seems very steep - is it easy to find a way down?

How do i find the best areas for the best polylepis species?

And how do i best recognise the pick-up area from the road (coming from Ollantaytambo) so that i can arrange pick-up with the driver?

How do i recognise the area called Penas in the book?

And for a day trip, what is the best schedule, in terms of time leaving Ollanta, time spent in each area of Abra Malaga, time returning etc.?? (I don't want to miss out or hurry the later parts because i spent too long in the first place!)

And for Arequipa, my thoughts are to do the Chiguata and Salinas trip - is this a good day trip from the city? Any particularly good areas to concentrate on? Is it worth going to Salinas at the end of the dry season? Any chance of small flamingos?

thanks in advance for any help!

cheers,

James

I did a day from Arequipa to Salinas by taxi in August about six or seven years ago, without any specific gen.
We did see all three species of flamingoes on the lake but not much on the way. And it was very windy.
I will have my notes somewhere but am in a bit of a rush today - going away until the 20th. Will look things up then.
Steve

James:

I visited Abra Malaga in March. I would not recommend doing the trail at the Royal Cinclodes preserve without a guide. It is difficult to follow the trail (very rocky, muddy in the rain) and also difficult to find the best Polyepsis groves for the best birds there. A great guide in Cusco is Alex Duran Torres. He works for Kolibri Expeditions based in Lima http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birding/ (see other postings on this Peru section). I also know Alex has info on www.regattaperu.com. Have a fantastic trip!

Thanks Steve and Brian,
I e-mailed Kolibri today so hopefully they can put me in touch with a guide for Abra Malaga. Probably worthwhile splashing out!
James

As an update now i've been to Peru

ABRA MALAGA
This site is easy enough to visit without a guide provided you don't make the same mistake with the path that i did! See
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1639000#post1639000

You need a vehicle however and it's probably useful if you get someone who's used to taking birders out as sites like Canchayoc, Penas etc. are a little difficult to find. The Albergue in Ollantaytambo can arrange transport with an experienced driver although if you're brave and want to cut costs you'd probably be fine just organising it on the fly with a taxi.

AREQUIPA
Salinas lake is normally dry nowadays unfortunately so didn't go there.
Wim Ten Have at Tanager Tours was able to arrange a day tour to the Chiguata area with a local guide which was enjoyable enough although expensive if you're on your own at about $100. There are some specific sites for stuff like thick-billed miner, tamarugo conebill (both of which we missed!), but otherwise if you hired a taxi you'd probably be ok just following your nose. Note that above Chiguata the road is *really* bad!

cheers,
James

Abra Malaga w/o guide

A couple of considerations about Abra Malaga without a guide..

When I visited it was foggy and rainy. Conditions change quickly there at high elevation. There are several ridges and alternate trails that could cause confusion if you wander off the correct trail. Use extreme caution. Also there are several forest groves there and guides know how to easily get to them.

BA