James Lowther
Well-known member
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 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