Machu Picchu Bird Watching

To know more about the wonders of Machu Picchu, let your imagination fly. Imagine you are in the middle of the cloudy forest, a place full of 20 meters high trees and a soil covered by a thick skin of leaves, tugging trunks, and wet moss. Then a branch crunches under your feet…and the whole forest gets alive.

A noisy chorus of bird chanting comes from everywhere. Some of them fly away on flocks, but some others fly over you, almost touching your head. The trees leaves and the birds wings seems to be the same. The upper zone of the treetops gets colorful and alive.

That is the bird watching diversity of Machu Picchu Sanctuary, a national reserve that shelters more than 400 bird species. An astonishing ornithological diversity, a paradise for bird watching that puzzles the world and attracts hundreds of visitors, just to get sweetened by its natural spell.

Bird watchers from all over the world have experienced these emotions in Machu Picchu. They know that, with hundreds of endemic species hidden in the forest, this reservation is one of the most important birdlife preservation sites of the planet.

They are everywhere, composing the infinite melody of the cloudy mountains. As part of a guided tour, birdwatchers could discover the treasure of their lives. There are many bird watching tours in Machu Picchu, thought for a variety of people, from the amateurs to the experts. The emotion they get is the same: amazement.

Some bird watching tours take you to different sites inside the Machu Picchu Sanctuary, discovering nature in every turn; the magic of the unknown unfolded. Some of them invite you to take a look on their winged and exotic inhabitants on a walk, surrounded by the forest and with all the bird species of the region suddenly exposed at once.

That’s how you can see a variety of humming birds, some of them licking nectar from a flower with their bright blue tails frozen in the air, and suddenly disappearing within the blink of an eye. Guess who? Yes, that was the long tailed sylph, an elusive beauty of the Machu Picchu reserve. The bird watcher that had the privilege to see him must consider very lucky.

But you didn´t take it a shot, shocked by the little and wonderful view. Trying not to make a noise, your eyes perceived a yellow spot up in the trees. It´s too far to see which bird species it belongs to. Suddenly, like reading your mind, the curious bird approaches, perching in a branch just a few meters from you. It´s the slate-throated redstart, with a bright yellow chest shining for you. Its head moves very fast and, a couple of nervous flutter later, the delicate bird disappears.

No pictures were taken this time neither. You begin to get desperate. Those small and elusive beauties are simply impossible to catch with your camera.

The bird watching guide comes to comfort you: “Don´t worry, right here you´ll have time to take all the photos you want”.

After the last turn of that fantastic natural path, an almost miraculous view appears right in front of your eyes: there is a chestnut-capped brush-finch, motionless, like it was posing for the photo. There is also a golden-crowned flycatcher trying -but not enough- to look as yellow as its cousin, the redstart you saw earlier. You feel this could become the best bird watching of your life.

At the opposite branch, a speckle-faced parrot with its pick shut -thanks to god- and a sclater’s tyrannulet incessantly jumping beside, trying to get the attention of a blue-gray tanager, almost metallic and looking sideward at you.

Finches, vireos, doves, motmots and woodpeckers overflow the view; a birdwatcher dream. An inconceivable diversity of colors, chantings, movements and life paints the most wonderful natural picture no human being could imagine, celebrating life and sharing their miracle with you.

Finally, you take the photos; memories of a bird watching that will be with you for a lifetime. The evidence that will remind you, many years later, that this journey was real, not just an amazing dream.

The bird watching trail is coming to an end. All your friends begin to share their impressions of what they´ve just saw.  You are also about to leave, when you perceive something with the corner of your eye. It can´t be. It´s impossible. But it´s true.

The cock-of-the-rock is there to salute you.  Known in the region as “gallito de las rocas” o “tunqui”, this is considered a national symbol, an icon of nature and survival. This extremely rare bird, exotic and deeply red is hard to found in the mists of  Machu Picchu. Its endangered beauty has inspired many conservationist and bird watcher movements to promote its preservation, driving many of them to study and protect this bird from illegal hunting and commerce.

It´s hard to know how such a huge diversity of bird species could inhabits such a small region. Maybe it´s the richness of the soil, or the extreme humidity of the weather trapped between tons of leaves and branches. It is also possible that the inaccessible geography helped to maintain this paradise away from human, long enough to aloud the species to evolve as they wish to.

We could do nothing about this but to speculate. But the truth is that the unique diversity of bird species of Machu Picchu makes it a true paradise for birdwatchers. There won´t be a reason to avoid a journey to such an exotic place, an opportunity to get in real contact with one of the most amazing showcases of mother nature.

Take a trip to Machu Picchu: you´ll get the journey of your life.