Peru Birding Tour
Chaparrí Dry-Forest Birding Tour
Peru's flagship dry-forest reserve — the last stronghold of the White-winged Guan, a cast of Tumbesian endemics and wild Spectacled Bears, an easy flight north of Lima.
Coming soon · Chaparrí Dry-Forest Birding · 3 days / 2 nights (4-day option)
Register your interest →Overview
Chaparrí Dry-Forest Birding
Two hours inland from Chiclayo, at the foot of the Cerro Chaparrí, lies the finest tract of equatorial dry forest left in Peru. The 34,000-hectare Chaparrí Private Conservation Area — Peru's first community-run reserve, established by the people of Santa Catalina de Chongoyape — protects a bird community found almost nowhere else on Earth: the Tumbesian endemism centre, where the arid Pacific slope meets the Andes.
Chaparrí is best known for two flagships. It holds the largest protected population of the Critically Endangered White-winged Guan — a turkey-sized endemic once thought extinct — and its breeding-and-release program is one of South America's great conservation stories. And on its wilder upper trails roam wild Spectacled Bears, the only bear in South America, alongside a rescue-and-rehabilitation centre for animals recovered from illegal captivity.
For birders the draw is the supporting cast: White-tailed Jay, Rufous Flycatcher, Peruvian Plantcutter, Elegant Crescentchest, Tumbes Tyrant, Sulphur-throated Finch and a dozen more Tumbesian specialities that fall in a single reserve. We are building this as a relaxed three-day tour based at the rustic-but-comfortable Chaparrí Ecolodge, deep inside the reserve, so you bird the best hours at dawn and dusk without a long daily commute.
This tour is coming soon. Register your interest below and we'll email you launch dates and confirmed pricing first — or ask us about a private departure in the meantime, which we can run on request now.
Planned Itinerary
Day by day
The route we're building for this tour. Details may still shift before it opens for booking.
Getting there: Chiclayo is a 1 h 20 m flight from Lima, with several departures daily. We meet you at the airport and handle every transfer — you only book the flight (we can arrange it for you).
Day 1
Chiclayo → Chaparrí Reserve
Fly into Chiclayo and meet your guide. We drive around 1.5 hours southeast through Chongoyape into the Chaparrí conservation area, settle into the ecolodge and bird the Enchanted Garden and lodge trails in the soft afternoon light — first Tumbesian specialities: White-tailed Jay, Collared Antshrike, Superciliated Wren and, at dusk, the diminutive Peruvian Pygmy-Owl. Night at Chaparrí Ecolodge.
Day 2
The White-winged Guan & the dry forest
A full day in the reserve, dawn to dusk. We visit the White-winged Guan breeding program — Chaparrí's conservation flagship — and work the quebradas and thorn scrub for the region's endemics and near-endemics: Rufous Flycatcher, Peruvian Plantcutter, Elegant Crescentchest, Sulphur-throated Finch, Cinereous Finch, Tumbes Tyrant and Tumbes Hummingbird. In the afternoon we call at the Spectacled Bear rescue area, where rehabilitated Andean Bears await release. Night at Chaparrí Ecolodge.
Day 3
Upper trails, Tinajones & Chiclayo
An early start on the wilder upper trails, where wild Spectacled Bears, Collared Peccary and Andean Tinamou range and raptors ride the first thermals. After a final reserve session we transfer back toward the coast, pausing at the Tinajones Reservoir for waterbirds and migrant shorebirds — grebes, herons, White-cheeked Pintail, Comb Duck and Peruvian Thick-knee — before reaching Chiclayo for your afternoon flight home.
4-day option
Spirit of the Andes & Bosque de Pómac
Prefer more time? A four-day version adds a full day for the strenuous 'Spirit of the Andes' high trek into the remote upper reserve, plus the Bosque de Pómac dry forest with its Sicán pyramids and a further round of Tumbesian birding.
Indicative Pricing
What it will cost
A guide price while we finalise departures — this tour is not yet bookable. Register your interest and we'll send confirmed rates and dates first.
Indicative price
From $820per person
- 2 travellers$980per person
- 3+ travellers$820per person
Per person, land only from Chiclayo (2 nights at the ecolodge, all meals, reserve & guide fees, private transport). Minimum 2 travellers; solo departures on request. The 4-day option runs from about $1,180 per person. Indicative pricing — final rates confirmed when the tour launches.
What's included
- 2 nights at the Chaparrí Ecolodge, inside the reserve
- All meals from Day 1 lunch to Day 3 lunch
- Chaparrí reserve entry, community-guide and conservation fees
- Private ground transport, Chiclayo airport ↔ reserve
- Expert English-speaking bird guide throughout
- Tinajones Reservoir birding stop on Day 3
Not included
- Return flights Lima ↔ Chiclayo (we can book these for you; roughly $120–180 per person round-trip)
- Travel insurance
- Drinks, gratuities and personal expenses
- The optional 4-day 'Spirit of the Andes' trek extension
What You'll Target
Target species
Species shown in red are Peruvian endemics.
- White-winged Guan
- White-tailed Jay
- Rufous Flycatcher
- Peruvian Plantcutter
- Elegant Crescentchest
- Tumbes Tyrant
- Tumbes Hummingbird
- Peruvian Pygmy-Owl
- Collared Antshrike
- Superciliated Wren
- Sulphur-throated Finch
- Cinereous Finch
- Baird's Flycatcher
- Andean Tinamou
- Red-masked Parakeet
- Pacific Parrotlet
- Aplomado Falcon
- Peruvian Thick-knee
- White-cheeked Pintail
- Comb Duck
Available to book now
Book one of these while you wait
These related tours are running now and share much of this tour's birdlife.
Be first to know
Get Chaparrí Dry-Forest Birding dates before anyone else
Tell us your travel dates and target species — we'll email you the moment this tour opens for booking, and can arrange a private departure in the meantime.