Tour D: Andes / Los Llanos / Henri Pittier
Bird watching 14 days (Venezuela West, Coast)
Day 1: Arrival at the internacional airport in Caracas. Transfer to hotel close to the airport. Night Hotel Santiago
Day 2: In the morning transfer back to airport. Flight from Caracas to Merida City. Our bird guide will pick you up and give you a detailed briefing. Then we drive to La Azulita and start to bird. There we will bird around La Carbonera cloud forest and coffee plantations.
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Highlights: Crested Quetzal, Masked Trogon, Plush capped Finch, Military Macaw, Bronze Winged Parrot, Rose Headed Parakeet, Black Mandibled Toucan, Collared Aracari, Emerald Toucanet and different hummingbirds, flycatchers and tanagers.
Übernachtung in einer traumhaft gelegenen Posada in La Azulita
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Day 3: In the morning we will bird around La Azulita again. When the bird activity gets quiet, we will drive to Tabay and bird in the afternoon in the subtropical cloud forest beyond La Mucuy. We will stay in the beautiful Posada Casa Vieja.
Day 4: Full day at La Mucuy, Sierra Nevada National Park. Some of the birds are: tanagers, endemic hummingbirds and with some luck endemic antpittas and endemic tapaculos. Overnight in Posada Casa Vieja.
Day 5: We drive to the Páramo, which is between 3000 and 4300 meters/ 14000 feet, and start to bird down the outside wall of the Andes.
Highlights: Andean Condor, Black-Chested Buzzard-Eagle, Ochre-browed Thistletail (endemic), Bearded Helmetcrest (endemic), Paramo Wren (endemic) and the Sword-Billed Hummingbird.
In the afternoon we go down to the Santo Domingo Valley to La Soledad, San Isidro, and Los Frailes. We will stay in the Posada Caceres in Altamira.
Highlights: Cock of the Rock, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Crested Quetzal, Masked Trogon, Sword-Billed Hummingbird und verschiedene sunangels und fruiteaters.
Day 6: After breakfast we will bird in the Altamira area, looking for the Wire-tailed Manakin, White-bearded Manakin, Golden-headed Manakin, White crowned Manakin, as well as many tanagers and hummingbirds. Here are plenty of trails where to observe. Around 11 am there are soaring birds of pray. With luck we might see a Black and chestnut Eagle, Crested Eagle or Black Hawk Eagle.
We will stay in the Posada Casa Vieja in Altamira.
Day 7: This day we will observe the birds at Altamira the direction to Calderas and La Soledad road again. There will be different species to fill our lists. We are flexible this day and can also go to the different areas you enjoyed most like the Cock of the Rock or the Manakin LEKs. This day is important like there are so many species to see in the area of Altamira, Soledad, San Isidro, Rio Baragan, Calderas, etc... We will stay in the Posada Casa Vieja in Altamira.
Day 8: In the morning we will drive to our ranch in los Llanos. Here it is possible to see up to 150 bird species in one day. Los Llanos is also the best area in Venezuela to see wildlife like Orinoco crocodile, spectacled caiman, giant anteater, different turtels, capybaras, monkeys, etc. We stay at the biological station from WWF at Hato El Cedral.
Highlights: Orinocan Saltator, Ruby Topaz and Copper-rumped Hummingbird, Orange-crowned Oriole, Russet-throated Puffbird, Pale-headed Jacamar, Yellow-knobbed Curassow, Scarlet Macaw,
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White-fringed Antwren, Barred- and Black-Crested Antshrike, as well as all kinds of storks, ibis, herons, hawks, kites, falcons, caracaras, vultures etc.
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Day 9: Fullday birding in the Hato. In the morning we do a boat excursion on the Caño Cuaritíco. Besides the shorebirds we will see dolphins in the river . In the afternoon we will concentrate on birds, or, if you would prefer, the animals that we haven't seen yet. Overnight Hato el Cedral
Highlights: the Hoatzin and, with luck, the Ornate Hawk-Eagle. Jabiru stork, roseate spoonbill, owls sowie parrots und macaws.
Day 10: In the morning we will have one hour to bird in El Cedral and then after breakfast we will drive ca 8 hours to Maracay. In the late afternoon we will arrive at Posada Limon where we will stay the night.
Day 11: After an early breakfast we drive 10 minutes and we are in the national park Henri Pittier. The park was created 1937 and named after the Swiss botanist Henri Pittier. The size of the park is 220.000 ha and there are different ecosystems with up to 2000m high mountains to the Caribbean coast in the north. There are different zones from semi dry woods to evergreen rain forest and cloud forest without driving a big distance. First we will observe birds in the subtropical cloud forest and then all the way downhill to the coast. We drive the way to Ocumare and at an altitude of 50m we will drive west the way to Cumboto and bird around the cacao plantation. Night at Posada Limón.
Highlights: White tipped Quetzal, Collared trogon, Helmeted Curassow, Venezuelan Wood-Quail, Red eared Parakeet, Solitary Eagle, White necked Puffbird, Black banded Woodcreeper, Guttulated Foliage Gleaner, Short tailed Antthrush, Plain backed antpitta, Tanagers, Hummingbirds, etc.
Day 12: Today we drive the other road in the park direction to Choroni. At the highest point of the road at 1600m we will observe birds. Lots of times while birding we spotted Sloths there. From here we drive all the way down and bird on the way to Choroni in diffrent ecosystems.
Day 13: In the early morning we will bird in the xerofitic vegetation around the village. Then we go to the evergreen rain forest and bamboo areas to look for other species.
At this day you also have the possibility to bird in the garden around the posada or to visit the beaches of choroni. Of cause you tell our guide if you want to keep birding. Overnight Posada el Ancla
Highlights: Lance tailed Manakin and Wire tailed Manakin.
Day 14: Our last day and travel back Europe. The morning will be at your disposition. At 10 am transfer to the airport in Caracas an you will have your international flight connection.
If you want after that excursion a visit to the Canaima national park and Angel Fall or to the Caribbean islands of Los Roques have a look at our website.
Prices:
1 Pax: EUR 3250
2-3 Pax: EUR 2690
4 or more Pax: EUR 2480
Extra day in Los Llanos: EUR 180
Extra day in Mérida: EUR 160
Included: Bilingual bird guide, Transportation with new vehiculos, Lodging in beautyfull guesthouses and lodges , nationalpark entrance, cooling box, breakfast and lunch is incuided in the excursion. Dinners are only at Hato el Cedral incluided. National Flights.
Not included: Tips, Airport Tax
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