Birding in Peru | Expert Birdwatching Tours with Ikam Expeditions

BIRDWATCHING

WILDLIFE
PHOTOGRAPHY

PRIMATE
WATCHING

CONSERVATION

Enjoy our Tours

Hummingbird route of
northern Peru

From $ 1296 per person

Scarlet-banded Barbet &
Cordillera Azul Antbird

From $ 958 per person

Endemic birds of northern Peru (Huallaga, Mayo and Utcubamba valleys)

From $ 3424 per person

Endemic birds of
Santa Eulalia (Lima)

From $ 490 per person

Endemic birds of northern Peru

From $ 5560 per person

Primate route of northern Peru
(San Martin and Amazonas)

From $ 1678 per person

Wildlife in Alto Mayo
Wetlands – Tingana

From $ 90 per person

Tarapoto Wildlife

From $ 210 per person

Alto Mayo Wildlife

From $ 250 per person

Birds of Cusco and Manu

Birds of High Andes and Yungas of Bolivia

Wildlife of Ikam Expeditions Reserve and Moyobamba (San Martin)

From $ 110 per person

Coastal birds of Peru (Lima)

From $ 205 per person

Endemic wildlife of northern Peru
(San Martin)

Ikam Expeditions

In Awajun language, Ikam means forest. Ikam Expeditions is an ecotourism company specialized in birding, primate and wildlife photography. Through our expeditions we seek to strengthen the relationship between people and nature, and produce shared benefits for our partners, allies of conservation and biodiversity.

Birding Photography on Northern Peru Birding Route

What our clients say about us

I and my friends are extremely happy with our birding photography tour guided by Mr. Julio C Tello. Julio is a very experienced guide who took every request from us to heart. He went out of his way to help us find target birds, including modifying our itinerary twice and took us to new locations. Julio is very patient, compassionate, and also has a great sense of humor. Spending time with him is truly a wonderful experience. I highly recommend Julio and Ikam Expeditions to everyone who cares about birds and the natural wonder of Northern Peru.

My experience was lovely! had no expectations, however I felt very included not speaking any Spanish, very happy with the food! Breakfast was so delicious! Having breakfast in nature with all the birds singing was phenomenal! Also seeing the cute monkeys with their babies!

One of my best trips ever, I have done a lot of traveling all over the world. Julio has a phenomenal knowledge about birds, nature in general and the places to locate them. His devotion to find the birds is remarkable, never get tired looking after wildlife day and night. I got full attention, I am fully satisfied from the car, driver, lodging and the food. The results are, accordingly, a lot of excellent photos including of some rare birds. I will definitely return to another trip with IKAM as there are so many places and specious to see.

We had a fantastic tour to Tingana with Julio of Ikam Expeditions! Our group was a mix of birders and non-birders and he was able to adapt the tour perfectly for that, it really exceeded all of our expectations. Julio is a top-notch guide, he is super friendly, a highly skilled birder, and a true expert on the birds and monkeys of the area. We wouldn’t have seen or been able to identify nearly as many without him there. And thanks to him too we were able to see 50 species in just two hours during a rainy morning at Mirador de Tahuishco right in town in Moyobamba.

The staff were fantastic and after spending 3 days with 2 of them I felt a great relationship had developed. They were very respectful of the needs of my dad. It was a wonderful, better than I imagined experience.

Exceptional guides.
They could not have done more to accommodate our birding interests and practical needs.
They know the area, they know the birds and they are very personable.

I enjoyed a great trip to Peru mainly to photograph the Marvelous Spatuletail and the Paradise Tanager. Julio from Ikam Expeditions was able to suggest and then deliver a number of places to observe these main species (among others). Nothing was too much trouble for him. He was always on time and arranged drinks and food at all locations as well as being a joy to deal with. One of the best features is that Ikam offers a great service at a fraction of the cost charged by others in the industry, without skimping on the service. Highly recommended.

I had a great trip to Northern Peru with Ikam Expeditions focused on hummingbird and nature photography. Ikam arranged all the logistics flawlessly and my guide clearly knew the different areas we visited and helped me see some amazing things I would not have been able to on my own. My guide and driver were both friendly and provided excellent service, and even accommodated some last-minute schedule changes. I would highly recommend visiting this part of Peru for some amazing birds and other animals, and working with Ikam when you do.

A fabulous trip with a major hurdle: a civilian protest blocked the only highway between our starting point in Tarapoto and the majority of our stops in Moyobamba. Of our planned itinerary, we were only able to visit the first of three stops on day 1. I want to commend our guide Julio C. Tello Alvarado for doing an Amazing job of figuring out alternate locations to take us crazy birders for the remaining 4-5 days. He contacted several colleagues about nearby stakeout birds and filled the remaining 4-5 days with some of the best birding I’ve ever done.

Marvelous Spatuletail, Royal Sunangel, Long-whiskered Owlet, and Pale-billed Antpitta will have to wait for another trip. In their place, we saw truly iconic and glorious lower-elevation Amazon specialties and it was mindblowing. And the food was delicious.

Peru is a must-see. If you have the chance to go, do it!

I really enjoyed this trip Julio, and I think you went above and beyond to find us species, get us with amazing local guides and bring us to the best spots!

I wrote at more length on trip adviser... Alex was an AMAZING guide. Very special to have Julio join us for half of it too. A wonderful trip. Pasting the TA: I've been on two birding tours with Ikam, and the second, just finished was even better than the first. Marvelous spatuletail, long-whiskered owlet and scarlet-banded barbet in one trip! Julio, the boss, is a tenacious and patient birder who knows almost every call and won't move on til he figures out the others. He stops at nothing to deliver not just the planned itinerary, but a little something extra. He is also very responsive to requests to adjust things e.g. skipping breakfast, owling at night, whatever your thing is. On our second tour, we were guided by Alex Gimenez, who was an absolute joy to travel with. So much energy, joy, skill and knowledge. If you are planning to bird Peru, go with Ikam. https://ebird.org/tripreport/350339

This was a fantastic birding experience with my wife and two friends. Alex, our guide, was high energy and we birded extensively during the day and at night. We went night birding most evening and encountered 13 species of owl on our 16 day trip. What an amazing experience. Alex knew the birds very well and was certain to make sure that the clients had excellent opportunities to see and photograph the birds.

We had a fantastic experience. The birding was incredible, but the scenery was also extraordinary. The guides and drivers were exceptionally helpful and kind and fun. Wonderful experience overall. We look forward to returning.

I can tell you now, Julio and his colleagues were the best I've ever had, and I have travelled all over the world. They made sure our stay was comfortable and the organisation in each place in Northern Peru was down to a tee. The food was amazing and was also organised by Ikam so we did'nt have to worry about a thing (except Mozzy bites he he). They even gave us some lovely wildlife surprises along the way which weren't on our target list. I would highly recommend this company, not only for their expertise, but you would also be comtributing to the community which in my opiniom is priceless. Thank you, Julio and Pablo and all those associated people, we met who also helped us out immensely during our trip of a lifetime.

Traveled all over the world and found the guides. Drivers and local guides were all 1st class. Food and lodgings excellent.a lot of mud and difficult tracks. But Julio could always change things around to suit us always a plan b. Only one problem too much food put on loads of weight this has never happened before usually lose a lot hahaha.

My trip, with a special focus on Psittasiformes was arranged to perfection, with enough flexibility for changes were needed. Lodging totally exceeded my expectations. Julio has thorough knowledge about birds, where to find and ID them. He went above and beyond to call them in and to give me the opportunity to photograph. And above all, Julio has a delightful sense of humor, which added another dimension to the trip. We sure had a lot of fun. Rendez-vous for a next trip, Don Julio?

      EXCELLENT  
   Based on 13 reviews 
    
 
 
 
   
 
 
       Posted on Tripadvisor  
   
   Lilly M 
 
 
 
 Verified A wonderful time in Peru Birding
We are a couple over 70 yrs old. We took a private 16 days birding trip with Ikam. We love humming birds. Our target birds are Marvelouse humming bird and Cock-of-the-rock. Although the team took easy on us, we still got so many beautiful hummingbirds plus many other beautiful birds that totalled 300. We also get to see the beautiful Andes (at 3 miles high) and tested deliciace previen cuisines. Thanks to IKam to make this possible. We'll always cherish this expiernce and memory.
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
   
   Juscz 
 
 
 
 Verified 20 Day Birding Adventure of a Lifetime in Northern Peru
My wife and I have just returned from a 20 day birding safari of northern Peru (Tarapoto to Chiclayo) with Ikam Expeditions. Note that this ecotour company is based in Moyobamba, Peru and both owned and operated by Julio C. Tello Alvarado. We can affirm that our birding (under the guidance of Julio and his driver-guide assistant Elvis), lodging, and transportation experiences were all of the highest quality and would give Ikam Expeditions our highest recommendation for anyone wishing to experience an in-depth birding/wildlife experience in Peru. Prior to our arrival, Julio asked us which species we held to be most important to try and see. We made it clear that the Marvelous Spatuletail Hummingbird, Sword-tailed Hummingbird, and any Owl species would be most appreciated. But Ikam Expeditions tried very hard to try and see not only these but also every single bird listed for each day on the detailed 20-day itinerary of our adventure. Almost without exception, Julio and Elvis were able to find us remarkable bird sightings that were specified in the tour description. For not only are both of them excellent at finding even difficult species, but they also enjoy excellent rapport with other bird guides whom we met along the way and who were hired by Ikam Expeditions on an as-needed basis to assist in finding target birds on a given day. Thus, the local guide Juan (whom everyone called Johnny or Juanito) at the Mayo Wetlands Lodge we stayed at literally invested amazing energy into paddling our boat through the very wetlands in search of the American Pygmy Kingfisher, Amazon Kingfisher, Green and Rufous Kingfisher, Lettered Aracari, and many others. What was supposed to have been a 1/2 hour boat tour turned into an exciting 3+ hour adventure in which Johnny even found us various snake species in the overlying tree limbs above the water. Later, while tracking on foot through the jungle at night, Johnny also found us a great sighting of a kinkajou, a primate-in-appearance-looking relative of raccoons. This was a real unexpected treat! he also pointed out a coral snake and some night-roosting bird species. All the while, Julio and Elvis assisted in pointing out other wildlife (mostly birds) that Johnny had been unable to show us. All in all, an amazing wildlife team! As this birding safari progressed and we ascended the Andes of northern Peru, Julio and Elvis took us to lodges within the cloud forests where we saw Hummingbirds such as Wire-crested Thorntail, Giant Hermit, Rufous-crested Coquette, Sparkling Violetear, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Golden-tailed Saphire, Peruvian racket-tail, and Sword-billed. We had consistently excellent photograph/video opportunities. Indeed, Julio and Elvis would occasionally find and position blooming flowers within a tree so that we could get a very good shot of a Hummingbird feeding from that flower. On day 11 and 12, Julio and Elvis (both of whom, by the way, are people of great character and very enjoyable disposition) took us to the site where we were to see the Marvelous Spatuletail Hummingbird, the main species I wished to see on this adventure. Julio arranged it so that we could have a maximum of 3 days if necessary to ficus on this amazing species. Not only did we get excellent sightings of thre Marvelous Spatuletail, but Julio and Elvis located the perching area of a male. They led us to this area and we were able to video and photograph a male Marvelous Spatuletail displaying first to two younger males (we were informed that this might have been an instructional lesson given by the mature male to the two younger males) and later this same male displaying to a female. I will let the photographs accompanying this review speak for the quality of this incredible experience. After 1 and 1/3rd days with the Marvelopus Spatuletail, we were very satisfied and ready to move on to other species. As for lodging and meals, they were excellent throughout the adventure. I especially enjoyed some of the fish meals, including the great Arapaima fish of the Amazon prepared in a tomato sauce containing both onions and peppers. Julio was wise to keep our itinerary flexible so that we could concentrate on certain species (such as the Sword-billed Hummingbird, a more elusive Hummingbird species to both see and photograph) but always had us staying at a quality lodge (3 star or better) with basic (meaning such food as chicken, fish, or beef with rice and fresh vegetables) though undeniably delicious meals. In the end, we saw well over 30 Hummingbird species and 6 Owl species, including the Band-bellied Owl, which is rarely seen. The coastal Dry Forest experience, which included some new (for us) species of Hummingbirds as well as sightings of the Spectacled Bear and the Sechuran Fox, was the perfect conclusion to this great birding adventure. Both my wife and I give Ikam Expeditions our highest recommendation.
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
   
   Olivier L 
 
 
 
 Verified Fantastic five intensive birding days in Northern Peru with IKAM Expeditions
Julio Tello and Erick Reategui from Ikam Expeditions guided us from 23 October to 27 October in Northern Peru, between Leymabamba, Chachapoyas, Cocachimba, Corosha to watch birds and primates. Thanks to their exceptional skills we saw 170 species of birds, including 25 lifers such as the Whiskered Owlet, the Marvelous Spatuletail, Koepcke's Screech-Owl, Young's Pygmy-Owl, the Yellow-scarfed Tanager, and the Buff-bellied Tanager. We also managed to see 22 individuals of the Critically Endangered Yellow-Tailed Wooly Monkey and three individuals of the Critically endangered San Martin Titi Monkey considered the most threatened primate of Peru. Julio and Erich are excellent naturalist, have a great sense of humor and have good command in English. The sites were strategically selected based on the target list submitted ahead of the trip. I will soon plan a much longer trip with Ikam Expeditions to explore new regions of Peru.
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
   
   Minecrafters 
 
 
 
 Verified Excellent bird tour in northern Peru - a must for self-respecting birders
Julio and Eric organized an excellent tour to Amazonas and San Martin; all the birds that were promised, they showed us, including Marvelous Spatuletail, Long-Whiskered Owlet and Fiery-capped Manakin. The sheer diversity of birds is incredible. I will definitely be going back for more!
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
   
   904agnesc 
 
 
 
 Verified Some of the best of northern Perú.
My trip, with a special focus on Psittasiformes was arranged to perfection, with enough flexibility for changes where needed. Lodging totally exceeded my expectations. Julio has thorough knowledge about birds, where to find and ID them. He went above and beyond to call them in and to give me the opportunity to photograph. And above all, Julio has a delightful sense of humor, which added another dimension to the trip. We sure had a lot of fun. Rendez-vous for a next trip?
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
   
   Andy W 
 
 
 
 Verified A great adventure in peru.
A friend and i booked with ikam expeditions after reading the reports on trip advisor.Best thing we have ever done. both of us are seasoned wildlife travellers and photographers .We found all our target species of witch there were many. Julio and all associated guides and taxi drivers were driven to find and point out anything of interest. we had a great time and it was more than just a tour .The food was fantastic and lots of it. I would recommend IKAM to anyone with an interest in birds or wildlife. To all at ikam epeditions good look in the future and keep up the good work.
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
   
   A.B 
 
 
 
 Verified Amazing guides in an Amazing country
Ikam Expeditions were absolutely amazing. From the airport to some of the remotest places I've been, I felt safe, comfortable but most of all, I could tell they were there to make my experience one to remember and boy, did they do that. From the Spatuletail to the Whiskered Owlet, we couldn't have asked for a better suite of species. This trip surpassed any of my expectations and I would highly recommend this company not only for their expertise and professionalism, but they also contribute to the community in many areas of Northern Peru. The days went quickly and I already miss them and this wonderful country
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
   
   17Howlers 
 
 
 
 Verified Primate Watching Perfection
I booked a trip with Ikam expeditions about searching how to find the Isabel's Saki Monkey, a monkey that only lives in Peru and was high on my most wanted list. Not only did Ikam deliver the saki monkey, but with the expert level guiding of Julio Tello Alvarado we saw so much more. The trip was designed around primate watching, but we many other mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds. Julio has such a great relaxed personality and was always willing to change things on a whim when needed, and stay at places as long as we wanted, it was like traveling with a known friend. I was already planning my trip with Ikam for next year before this one was over!!
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
   
   Weilan Y 
 
 
 
 Verified Excellent experience with Julio at Ikam Expeditions
We are a group of 4 birders/bird photographers who went on a 10-day birding trip with Mr. Julio C Tello from Ikam Expeditions, and we enjoyed a fantastic tour. Julio is a very experienced and compassionate guide. He went out of his way to help us find our target birds and best photography opportunities, his efforts included modifying our itinerary twice and took us to two new locations that were not included in the original itinerary. We have seen and photographed all our target birds, including the Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird, Whiskered Owlet, Royal Sunangel, Rufous-crested Coquet. In total, I have photographed more than 200 bird species, as well as the critically endangered San Matin Titi Monkey up close! Julio is also a kind and humorous person who brought so much fun and laughter on our trip. We highly recommend Julio and Ikam Expeditions to anyone who loves wildlife and the natural wonder of northern Peru.
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
   
   Luke B 
 
 
 
 Verified Great experience
Had a great time on this trip. The viewing points allow you to see so many birds really clearly and get good photos. Julio put in a lot of effort to help me see all my targets (eg. revisiting places the next day if needed). Also much better priced compared to other companies operating in the area. If you want to see lots of hummingbirds and tanagers in a short timeframe I’d definitely recommend.

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