While most photographers chase common hummingbirds in predictable locations, a wilder spectacle awaits in the forgotten corners of northern Peru. Imagine a place where jewel-toned wings slice through mountain mists, where species unknown to most field guides visit feeders daily, & where every frame captures something extraordinary. This is your invitation to join David & to photograph Peru‘s Ultimate Hummingbirds – to go beyond the ordinary – to photograph hummingbirds so rare, many photographers have only seen them in dreams.
Your Extraordinary Itinerary
The 11 night Ultimate Hummingbird Photography Tour begins in Lima, where you will join David & our local guides who will ensure a smooth transition to your nearby hotel – because tomorrow, the real adventure begins at dawn. A quick morning flight transports you to Tarapoto, your portal to Waqanki Lodge’s avian theatre. Here, sunlight transforms hummingbird wings into living prisms – Violet-headed Hummingbirds hover like amethyst ghosts while Black-throated Mangos perform aerial acrobatics. The open feeders here are a photographer’s dream, offering perfect conditions for both natural light artistry & high-speed flash mastery.
As we climb into the Andean cloud forests, Owlet Lodge welcomes us into its misty embrace. This biodiversity hotspot thrums with life – the improbable Sword-billed Hummingbird (nature’s own needle-nosed wonder) shares space with iridescent Long-tailed Sylphs, their tail feathers trailing like celestial ribbons. Between hummingbird sessions, sudden bursts of color reveal tanager mobs & the occasional Chestnut Antpitta hopping boldly at worm feeders.
Then – the moment every hummingbird photographer craves. At Huembo Lodge, the legendary Marvelous Spatuletail makes its daily appearance. This isn’t just another hummingbird; it’s a flying paradox of physics, its outrageous tail feathers defying logic as it dances for your lens. You’ll leave with images that make ornithologists swoon.
The magic continues at Alto Nieva’s hidden feeders, where the Royal Sun-angel – a feathered sapphire so rare it’s mythical elsewhere – poses obligingly. Later, Arena Blanca’s photography blinds deliver intimate encounters with Cinereous Tinamous & the outrageous Wire-crested Thorntail, its spiked headdress bobbing comically as it feeds.
Unexpected delights await around every bend: a converted tire shop buzzing with Ecuadorian Piedtails, raucous Andean Cock-of-the-rock displaying at a secret lek, & fruiting trees that attract Fiery-capped Manakins in explosions of color.
As our journey concludes, a final morning near Moyobamba offers last chances to immortalise species you’ll never find elsewhere before returning to Lima, your memory cards overflowing with exclusive images.
With only a handful of spaces available, this isn’t a tour – it’s a photographic smorgasbord.
The 11 night package is conducted on a full board basis, including all meals & accommodation, so you don’t have to worry about a thing. Moreover, there is no single supplement for solo travellers, so you can enjoy Peru without the hassle & expense of travelling alone.
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