Western Amazonia is known to be one of the richest areas in bird species in the entire Amazon Basin. During this 12-day birding tour, we will explore the different habitats of the Upper Amazon River around the city of Iquitos in northeastern Peru, including river islands and the white-sand forest.

We will start our tour with a flight from Lima to the city of Iquitos, located in the Amazon Basin and surrounded by the Amazon, Nanay, and Itaya rivers. Founded during the rubber and timber boom of the 19th century, Iquitos is the largest city in the world accessible only by river and air, as there are no roads connecting it to the outside world.

Not far from Iquitos, two major rivers of Peru, the Marañón and Ucayali, meet to form the majestic Amazon River, creating a variety of habitats, including river islands. Each habitat is home to its own specialized bird species.

More than 600 bird species have been recorded in this area. We will search for interesting Amazonian species that are specialists of these restricted and unique habitats, such as Chestnut-belted Gnateater, Pavonine Quetzal, Black-necked Red Cotinga, Undulated Antshrike, Reddish-winged Bare-eye, Band-tailed Cacique, and the endangered Wattled Curassow.

The Amazon River also forms a natural barrier, with different bird species occurring on the northern and southern banks. The river islands themselves support distinct types of vegetation and their own specialized birdlife. The rich variety of river island specialists includes Zimmer’s Woodcreeper, Pale-billed Hornero, White-bellied Spinetail, Black-and-white Antbird, Olive-spotted Hummingbird, and Parker’s Spinetail, to name just a few.

The white sand forests of Allpahuayo Mishana close to Iquitos are a unique and fragile environment where we can find special bird species, several of them only recently discovered and described by science, like Ancient Antwren, Allpahuayo Antbird, Mishana Tyrannulet and Iquitos Gnatcatcher.

The terra firme ecosystems at ACTS Field Station, with access to a canopy walkway of 500 meters (one-third of a mile), offer fantastic birding opportunities at 35 meters (115 feet) above the ground among giant trees. Here and along the trails on the property, we may encounter interesting and rare species such as Black-faced Hawk, Dugand’s Antwren, Ochre-striped Antpitta, Red-billed Ground-Cuckoo, and, with luck, the remarkable Nocturnal Curassow.

All these diverse habitats and their unique bird species can be found around Iquitos, offering a truly unique birding experience during our Amazon River Birding Tour.

If you would like to learn more about the birds and locations featured in this tour, you can read our trip report on birding around Iquitos.