Cuzco Birding Tours: Sacred Valley

Begin your day with Wild Andes Tours as we depart Cusco at first light, making the most of the crisp morning air and peak bird activity. A scenic one-hour drive brings us to the tranquil Piuray Lagoon, an important high-Andean wetland ringed by reedbeds and open fields. Here our expert naturalist guide will get you onto Andean Gull, Puna Teal, Yellow-billed and Andean Teal, Slate-colored Coot, Silvery Grebe, Plumbeous Rail, Spot-winged Pigeon, Puna and Black-faced Ibis, and the charismatic Burrowing Owl — while the reeds themselves may reveal Many-colored Rush-Tyrant, Brown-bellied Swallow and Greenish Yellow-Finch.

We then drop into the breathtaking Sacred Valley toward the renowned Yanahuara Hummingbird Sanctuary, one of the region's finest sites for close hummingbird encounters. Feeders and flowering gardens pull in dazzling species: Giant Hummingbird — the largest hummingbird on Earth — alongside the endemic Green-and-white Hummingbird, Tyrian Metaltail, Sparkling Violetear and Shining Sunbeam. Keep your binoculars ready for nearby specialties too, including the endemic Creamy-crested Spinetail, Chestnut-breasted Mountain-Finch and the striking Red-crested Cotinga.

After a carefully selected lunch at a local restaurant, we continue to Pachar, where the Urubamba River cuts through dramatic Andean slopes. This fast white water is home to the highly sought-after Torrent Duck, often seen riding the rapids from midstream boulders. Additional targets here include the impressive Bearded Mountaineer — a giant endemic hummingbird of tobacco flowers — plus Andean Swift, White-browed Chat-Tyrant, Blue-and-yellow Tanager, Peruvian Sierra-Finch and the elegant Green-tailed Trainbearer.

As the afternoon light softens we begin the comfortable return to Cusco, arriving before nightfall after a day rich in birdlife, scenery and expertly guided exploration — the hallmarks of every Wild Andes Tours journey.