Hummingbirds and Condors

Experience the amazing biodiversity of Limas central Andes

Just a few hours by road from Peru’s capital Lima you can experience the amazing landscapes of the Andes off the beaten path. Here Andean condors are soaring and Hummingbirds are rocket-shooting in-between the flowers. The valley with its river vegetation and numerous habitats in different altitudes offers an amazing bird diversity, with several being endemic species of Peru.
Go birding and trekking with Nature Expeditions in the high valley of the River Chancay. Over 40 bird species, Pumas, Vicuñas and deer have been sighted in the area. While birding discover the amazing lost cities of Rupak and Chiprak from the pre-inca Atavillos culture with their intact two story buildings being glued to the mountain tops and overseeing the entire valley. And in the evening relax in the thermal baths of Collpa.

Click here and see our tours and services in the upper Chancay Valley

Trekking in the upper valley of the Chancay River in an altitude of 3000 to 4000 meters (= 9800 – 13.100 ft) is a great alternative for people that have only little time. You can visit the Thermal Bath of Collpa and the ruins of Chiprac or Rupac in only two days. And with a few more days of time you can fully explore the amazing beauty of the area.

Experience the real, wild and amazing Andes, far off from mass tourism. You can go there any time of the year but of-course the best time is between April to early June, when the mountains are covered with a carped of colorful flowers.

The valley of the river Chancay is located north of Lima and can be reached in only about two hours by car northwards on the Panamerican Highway. From the city of Huaral we will be driving up the valley on a dirt-road:  four-wheel-drive trucks are required from here on. After another two hours you will reach the town of Acos, where we will accommodate us in a rustic local hostel.

Click here and see our tours and services in the upper Chancay Valley

The Thermal Bath of Collpa
Starting from Acos a visit of the Thermal Bath of Collpa is a must for our stressed city-dwellers mind and body. It is the perfect start for a few days of high-altitude trekking and of course an even better end of our trekking adventure. In order to get there we will drive up the valley for another two hours from Acos on dirt road, now following the river within a tight valley of steep mountains, passing by a great number of beautiful water falls.

Ruins of Rupac
About 90 minutes by car from Acos up the steep serpentines you will find the ghost-town of Pampas (nobody lives there anymore), being the starting point for your five-hours trekking tour to the ruins of Rupac. The Rupac and Chiprac archeological sites belong to the pre-inca culture of the Atavillas.

Ruins of Chiprac

Chiprac is a huge city of the Atavillos culture, overseeing the valley from an altitude of 3740 m (12.270 ft). Hundreds of buildings are grouped together in different sectors separated by plazas. From the town of La Florida we will continue half an hour more climbing up the mountain in our four-wheel-drive car. The following trekking tour takes 3-4 hours.

Click here and see our tours and services in the upper Chancay Valley

See below a list of bird species which you can observe on our birding tour

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