This morning we will drive from Cusco to Huacarpay lakes 30 km, where we will head out with a picnic lunch to the Huacarpay lakes (3070 m), south of Cusco, where we will see a variety of high Andean waterfowl and wetland birds, a selection of typical highland passerines like Blue-and-yellow Tanager, Rusty and Black-throated Flowerpiercer. We will likely see the spectacular and endemic Bearded Mountaineer feeding in Tabaco flowering bushes near the lake, a spectacular hummingbird restricted to just a few arid valleys. Other birds we may well encounter here are: White-tufted Grebe, Yellow-Billed, Puna and Cinnamon Teals, Yellow-billed Pintail, Ruddy Duck, Cinereous Harrier, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Variable Hawk, Plumbeous Rail, Puna Ibis, Andean Coot, Andean Lapwing, Andean Gull, Andean Flicker, Andean Negrito, the impressive Giant Hummingbird, Sparkling Violetear, Black tailed and Green-tailed Trainbearers, the endemic Rusty-fronted Canastero, Streak-fronted Thornbird, Wren-like Rushbird, Many-colored Rush Tyrant, White-crested Elaenia, Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant, White-browed Chat-Tyrant, Rufous-naped and Spot-billed Ground-Tyrants, Greenish Yellow-Finch, Peruvian sierra-Finch, Mourning sierra-Finch, Golden-billed Saltator, Yellow-winged Blackbird, Hooded Siskin and many more. We will drive one hour from Huacarpay to San Salvador Lake (4000 m), the main target birds are the Andean Goose, Crested Duck, Silvery Grebe, Black-faced Ibis and Giant Coot. Nearby the lake, we will search for Andean Hilstar. There are small patches of Polylepis forest for two endemics of peru, the Creamy-crested Spinetail and Chestnut-breasted Mountain-Finch. In the late afternoon we will drive back to Cusco.

Our vehicle will take us to the trail head at Piscacucho (76 kilometers by paved road and 15 kilometers by dirt road—3 hours). From the trailhead we will follow the left bank of the Urubamba River, enjoying fine views of snow-capped Mount Veronica (5850 meters / 19,188 feet). After lunch, we will visit the ruins of Llactapata before continuing along the Huayllabamba valley to our campsite near the village of the same name (2968 meters / 9737 feet). Today we might see this kind of birds:
Torrent duck Merganetta armata, American kestrel Faclo Sparveius cinnamominus,Green Violet ear Colibri coruscan,Giant hummingbird patagona gigas,Sparkling violet ear Colibri coruscan,Andean hillstar Oreotrochilus estella, Sword Billet Hummingbird ensifera ensifera,Black tailet trainbearer lesbian victoriae,Green tailet trainbearer,bearded mountaineer oreonympha nobilis,creamy crested Spinetail cranioleuca albicapilla, Rusty fronted canastero Asthenes ottonis,Yellow billet tit tyrant Anairetes flavirostris,Blue and yellow tanager thraupis bonariesis,Peruvian sierra finch phrygilus punesis,Black throated flowerpiercer diglossa brunneiventris, Black chested buzzard eagle geranoaetus melanoleucus,
Altitudes: Cusco 3400 meters / 11,159 feet; Piscacucho (Km 82): 2650 meters / 8692 feet; Llactapata: 2610 meters / 8563 feet; Huayllabamba: 2968 meters / 9737 feet

From the village of Huayllabamba the trail climbs steadily through high Andean woodland to the plain known as Llulluchapampa, just before the first pass, from where there are excellent views of the Huayanay mountain chain. After another two hours walking we will reach Warmiwañuska Pass (4205 meters / 13,795 feet), before descending as far as the canyon of the Pacaymayo River (3604 meters / 11,821 feet), where we will make our second camp. We might see this kind of bird.
Blue mantled thornbill Chalcostigma stanleyi,White tufted sunbean Aglaeactis castelnaudii,Shining sunbean Aglaeactis cupripennis,Slender billed miner Geositta tenuirostris,Cordilleran canastero Asthenes modesta,Stripe headed Antpitta Grallaria Andicolus,Red crested cotinga Ampelion rubrocristata,Tawny rumped tyrannulet Phyllomyas uropygialis,Brown backed chat tyrant Ochthoeca fumicolor,whute winget black tyrantknipolegus aterimus,Scarlet bellied mountain tanager Anisognathus igniventris, Bluish flowerpiercer Dioglossa caerulescens,Golden billioed saltator saltator aurantiirostris,Andfea corndor vulture gryphus,puna variable hawk buteo polyosoma poecilochrous,
Altitudes: Huayllabamba: 2968 meters / 9737 feet; Llulluchapampa: 3767 meters / 12,359 feet; Warmiwañuska: 4205 meters / 13,795 feet; Pacaymayo: 3604 meters / 11,821 feet
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 4: Pacaymayo / Phuyupatamarca
The trail climbs to the second pass at Runkuracay (3950 meters / 12,956 feet), from where there are views of both the Vilcabamba and Urubamba mountain ranges. After a short rest, we will descend along a paved Inca road to the ruins of Runkuracay and Sayacmarca, which have been recently restored. Here we enter the cloud forest and in the afternoon the trail continues via a series of stone steps past the ruins of Phuyupatamarca (3640 meters / 11,942 feet) where we will camp for the night. We might see this kind of bird.
Scalet metaltail metallura aeneocauda,puna thistletail Schizoeaca helleri,Pearled treerunner Margaronis Squamiger,Undulated antpitta grallaria Squamigera,Vilcabamba tapaculo Scytalopus urubambae,orchraceus brested flycatcher,Rofopus breasted chat ttyrant ochthoeca rufipectoralis,Golden collared tanager iridonorsis taeniata,Chesnut bellied Mountain tanager delothraupis castaneoventris,Tit like dacnis dacnis cayana, Bluish flowerpiercer Dioglossa caerulescens,Moustached flowerpiercer diglossa mysticalis,White throated hawk buteo albigula,
Altitudes: Pacaymayo: 3604 meters / 11,821 feet; Runkuracay Pass: 3950 meters / 12,956 feet; Phuyupatamarca: 3640 meters / 11,942 feet
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

The trail climbs to the second pass at Runkuracay (3950 meters / 12,956 feet), from where there are views of both the Vilcabamba and Urubamba mountain ranges. After a short rest, we will descend along a paved Inca road to the ruins of Runkuracay and Sayacmarca, which have been recently restored. Here we enter the cloud forest and in the afternoon the trail continues via a series of stone steps past the ruins of Phuyupatamarca (3640 meters / 11,942 feet) where we will camp for the night. We might see this kind of bird.
Scalet metaltail metallura aeneocauda,puna thistletail Schizoeaca helleri,Pearled treerunner Margaronis Squamiger,Undulated antpitta grallaria Squamigera,Vilcabamba tapaculo Scytalopus urubambae,orchraceus brested flycatcher,Rofopus breasted chat ttyrant ochthoeca rufipectoralis,Golden collared tanager iridonorsis taeniata,Chesnut bellied Mountain tanager delothraupis castaneoventris,Tit like dacnis dacnis cayana, Bluish flowerpiercer Dioglossa caerulescens,Moustached flowerpiercer diglossa mysticalis,White throated hawk buteo albigula,
Altitudes: Pacaymayo: 3604 meters / 11,821 feet; Runkuracay Pass: 3950 meters / 12,956 feet; Phuyupatamarca: 3640 meters / 11,942 feet

From Phuypatamarca, the trail descends a vertiginous slope along a remarkable set of stone Inca steps, a descent of approximately three hours to the picturesque ruins of Wiñay Wayna (2665 meters / 8743 feet), an Inca site set in dense forest. The Wiñay Wayna complex was once inhabited by Inca farmers who used terracing to reclaim these steep slopes for agriculture. It is composed of around structures (which have all been restored), as well as an irrigation system and a splendid Inca temple. You will have at least an hour to explore the ruins of Winay Wayna on foot.In the afternoon we will walk for another two hours, enjoying the spectacular scenery along the way, with the Urubamba River far below, until we reach Intipunku (Sun Gate), from where we will get our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. From here it is a forty minute walk to the Inca city. We might see this kind of bird.Montane Woodcreper Lipidocolaptis lacrymiger,Trilling tapaculo Scytalopus parvirostris,black throated tody tyrant hermitriccus granadfensis,white banded tyranulet Mecocerculus stictopterus,white colared jay Cyanolyca viridicayanus,Sedge wren Cistothorus platensis,Blue and black tanager tangara varsorii,Plush cap catamblyrhynchus diadema, Bluish flowerpiercer Dioglossa caerulescens,
Altitudes: Phuyupatamarca: 3640 meters / 11,942 feet; Wiñay Wayna: 2665 meters / 8743 feet; Intipunku: 2693 meters / 8833 feet; Machu Picchu: 2460 meters / 8071 feet; Aguas Calientes: 2070 meters / 6791 feet.

oday we will make an early start to give us plenty of time to visit this lost city, which was rediscovered in 1911. Located at the top of a steep, forested hill overlooking the Urubamba River, Machu Picchu was hidden by dense vegetation for centuries until the American explorer Hiram Bingham began to clear the site.
Today the city has been completely restored and for visitors from all over the world it is an unforgettable sight.
Our guided tour includes a visit to the temples, plazas, palaces, watercourses and residential areas of Machu Picchu and you will also have time to explore the ruins independently.

Early morning for birding and visit to the Citadel of Machupicchu (2400m) lost city of the Incas is so well known from the numerous photographs and articles that feature this extraordinary place that it seems almost unnecessary to describe its dramatic setting amongst the Andes. The city is perched on a narrow ridge high above the Urubamba River and on seeing the precipitous slopes on all sides one can easily appreciate why it remained undiscovered for so many years. The area around Machupicchu has been cleared of forest and so scrub and bamboo thickets are now the predominant habitat, inhabited by the noisy endemic Inca Wren, although some forest patches can be found along the river valley. Other species we may find in the area include Mitred Parakeet, White-tipped Swift, Green-and-white Hummingbird, Collared Inca, Ocellated Piculet, Streaked Xenops, Variable Antshrike, Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet, Rusty Flowerpiercer, Oleaginous Hemispingus, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Hooded Siskin. Along the Urubamba River, where Torrent Duck and White-capped Dippers can regularly be seen along the fast flowing river.This afternoon we spent birding at the botanic garden. We may see: Green Hermit, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Speckle-faced Parrot, Sclater’s Tyrannulet,Glossy-black Thrush and the endemic Masked Fruiteater, Torrent Tyrannulet, Fawn-breasted Tanager, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Slaty Tanager, Silver-backed Tanager, Capped Conebill, Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch and Orange-bellied Euphonia. In the late afternoon we will return to Cusco.

5:00am we will collect you from your hotel and head out from Cusco to Chonta, from where our hike begins. We start off by descending to the amazing Inca site of Quillarumiyoc, which means Temple of the Moon. It was an Inca ceremonial site dedicated to the worship of water and, more importantly, to the moon goddess “Quilla”. Quillarumiyoc itself is a fascinating site about 1 km off the highway along a dirt track. The complex comprises a series of water channels following the course of a narrow gulley which descends from the sombre mountain overlooking the site. These water channels flow past sacred rocks, including the Great Stone, carved with a geometric representation of the moon herself, which has given the site its name.
The entire valley occupied by Quillarumiyoc and cut by the stream which feeds its water channels is littered with limestone outcrops – “huacas” or sacred stones – which, when one looks at them as the ancients did, appear to have landed there not so much from another geological region, but from another time. They stand, enormous and imposing, some
with their bases carved into simple altars and others left entirely in their natural state – for they needed no alteration from the hand of man to denote the mysterious nature one senses today and which for the Incas imbued them with religious significance. These sacred stones litter the valley, grey and immutable like an abandoned village, all the way up to the steep slopes of the local Apu, or sacred mountain, which dominates the landscape and seems to force itself into all the photographs one takes of the site.
From there, we continue on to Tarawasi, another astounding Inca site, which was used as a ceremonial center, as well as a resting place for the Inca chasquis (Inca runners who delivered messages over long distances). The exceptional polygonal retaining wall, noteworthy for its 28 human-sized niches, is in itself worth the trip from Cusco. On the wall below it, look for flower shapes and a nine-sided heart amid the patchwork of perfectly interlocking stones.
Then it will be time to climb back up to Chonta, where we will have some free time to explore the village before lunch. After a delicious meal, we will walk for approx. 1 to 1 and a half hours to reach an unrivalled condor viewpoint over the valley. Here, we will spend the rest of the afternoon waiting patiently to capture stunning photos of the king of birds: the Andean condor. Then we will head back to Chonta for dinner, and we will camp the night there.

On our second day, you will have the option of rising early to photograph the wonderful sunrise over the Andean mountains, or you can rest until breakfast! After filling our stomachs, we will head down the trail to the condor viewpoint once again, where you will be able to use your new skills to photograph the impressive birds. We will have a different light this time, which will bring a whole new quality to our photos. You will have plenty of time to enjoy watching the condors swoop down and soar around the canyon before we walk back to Chonta for lunch. From there you will be transferred back to your hotel in Cusco.

Transfer to the airport to La Paz: B/
End of our Birdwatching Inca Trail Hike / Services.