Trip
Information
Date: March
30 - April 10, 2006
Duration: 12
days
Leader: Héctor
Gómez de Silva
Limit: 12
people
Cost: $3095
USD, $3975 CDN, Singles add $180 USD, $240 CDN
From: Tuxtla
Guttierez, Mexico
tour ends in Tapachula
Featured birds:
• Horned Guan
• Highland Guan
• Emerald-chinned Hummingbird
• Wine-throated Hummingbird
• Resplendent Quetzal
• Blue-throated Motmot
• Rufous-and-white Wren
• Azure-rumped Tanager
• Blue-crowned Chlorophonia
• Nava's Wren
Trip Summary:
• 4 nights in bunk house; 3 nights in tents; 4 nights in hotels
• 14-kilometer (8.5 mile) uphill hike; shorter hikes
• Two, 2- to 3-hour truck rides on rough roads
• Warm and cool, humid weather
• 4 - 8 participants |
El Triunfo
is a biosphere reserve protecting a range of critical habitats in extreme
Southeastern Mexico. Within the reserve are several endangered or threatened
species, from Horned Guan and Central American Spider Monkeys to the
range-restricted Azure-rumped Tanager. Even Baird's Tapirs and jaguars
are in these forests. Hector Gomez de Silva knows this area well, having
conducted studies on El Triunfo's bird populations. Our tour also takes
in areas around Tuxtla for many other specialties, including the very
rarely seen Nava's Wren. A trip to El Triunfo is a wonderful opportunity
to experience true wilderness with a galaxy of very special birds.
See a detailed itinerary
below
Click here to download a list of birds from out 2004 El Triunfo Tour
Click
here to download a list of birds from our 2002 El Triunfo
tour
Click
here to download a registration form
Photos by
Cam Gillies |
Itinerary
Day
1 - Arrival
and Orientation
This tour begins after dinner in Tuxtla Guttierez. Our tour leader will meet
you in the hotel lobby at 7:00 pm to get acquainted, discuss the tour and answer
any questions that you may have. Night in Tuxtla Guttierez.
Day 2 - Canyon del Sumidero National
Park
We look for birds in the Canyon del Sumidero National Park, as well as have
the chance for enjoying the spectacular canyon scenery. At the lookout, the
vertical walls are two-thirds as deep as Arizona’s Grand Canyon. Special
birds abound in the National Park, including Lesser Roadrunner, the shy Pheasant
Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Warbler, Belted Flammulated Flycatchers, Black-vented and
Bar-winged Orioles, Banded Wren, Ridgway’s Rough-winged Swallow, and
the gem-like Red-breasted Chat. Night in Tuxtla.
Day 3 - Tuxtla and transfer to Jaltenango
We spend the morning searching for specialties of the area, including the range-restricted
Nava’s Wren and other hard-to-find species. In the afternoon, we are
driven to Jaltenango (a three- to four-hour drive). Night at Hotel Central,
Jaltenango.
Day 4 - To Finca Prusia
From Jaltenango we make the two- to three- hour drive on a rough road to Finca
Prusia, where the El Triunfo trail begins. The central Chiapas race of Northern
Bobwhite, Green Parakeet, Lesser Roadrunner and Yellow-billed Cacique are some
of the birds we may see on this road, though we will try to reach the beginning
of the El Triunfo trail without too much stopping. Reserve staff will be waiting
for us with pack mules for carrying our luggage and supplies while we hike
the 14 kilometer (nine miles) to El Triunfo base camp at a relaxed pace. There
are many opportunities for birdwatching on this trail, including our best chance
for seeing some species such as the shy Pheasant Cuckoo and both Chestnut-sided
and Green Shrike-Vireos. Night at El Triunfo bunk house.
Days 5 to 7 - El Triunfo
The humid forest with every surface covered with moss and other epiphytes is
the epitome of un-spoilt wilderness teeming with biodiversity. After listening
to the glorious dawn chorus at the El Triunfo base camp, which includes the
yelps, cackles and mellow notes of Barred Forest-Falcon, Emerald Toucanet,
Yellow Grosbeak, Brown-backed Solitaire and the endangered Resplendent Quetzal,
and the unusual “falling-tree” or “crash-landing” sound
made by male Highland Guans, we head out on the well-marked trails that radiate
out into the cloud forest. The unique birdlife of the cloud forest includes
the endangered Horned Guan as well as Singing Quail, White-faced Quail-Dove,
Fulvous Owl, Barred Parakeet (usually seen flying overhead), the tiny Wine-throated
Hummingbird (one of the smallest birds in the world), Green-throated Mountain-gem,
Blue-throated Motmot, Ruddy and Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaners, Black-capped
Swallow, Blue-and-white Mockingbird, Blue-crowned Chlorophonia, Black-throated
Jay, Hooded Grosbeak, Rufous-browed Wren, Spotted Nightingale-Thrush and Black
Robin, and even the rare Scaled Antpitta. Many of these species are rarely
seen elsewhere. Our 3 days in this habitat will give us a chance to see most
of these specialties. Nights at El Triunfo bunk house.
Day 8 - To Canada Honda
Today we take one of the trails that lead out of the base camp, but this time
we will not return for lunch but hike the 10 kilometers (six miles) downhill
to Canada Honda. The first stretch of the hike will take us through the same
cloud forest that surrounds the base camp, but then will lead us through a
small coniferous grove with Olive and Grace’s Warblers, and then to the
subtropical forest at Canada Honda, where we will spend the night. Blue-throated
Motmot is more common in this area than at the El Triunfo cloud forest, and
a number of bird species not found in the cloud forest occur here, such as
Rufous Saberwing, Golden-browed Warbler and Brown-capped Vireo. However, the
main attraction of Canada Honda, and the reason it is world-famous in birdwatching
circles, is that it is the best (indeed, one of the only) places to see the
endangered Azure-rumped Tanager. This species has such a restricted range and
has been seen by so few people that until recently it had never been photographed,
and it is not even illustrated in most field guides. Night in tents in Canada
Honda.
Day 9: To Limonar
We will make a special effort to see some of the birds we may have missed around
Canada Honda, and make the six-kilometer (three-mile) hike to Limonar, which
will give us further opportunities to look for birds from this altitudinal
belt such as Long-tailed Manakin, Emerald-chinned Hummingbird, Rufous-and-white
Wren (which has one of the most beautiful songs in the bird world), Fan-tailed
Warbler and White-eared Ground-Sparrow. Night in tents at Limonar.
Days 10 & 11 - To Tres de Mayo
Our last hike of the tour take us 12 kilometers downhill hike from Limonar
to Tres de Mayo. We will do this hike over two days. We will encounter another
suite of birds here, including Yellow-green Vireo, Paltry Tyrannulet, and many
others. There is even a chance to see Thicket Tinamou, Crested Guan, Striped
Cuckoo, Tody Motmot and White-faced Ground-Sparrow. In Tres de Mayo we will
be picked up and driven by truck to Mapastepec and from there to Tapachula.
Night in a hotel in Tapachula.
Day 12 - Tapachula
Time permitting, we will do some morning birding before we board our flights
home. We may find White-bellied Chachalaca, Blue-tailed Hummingbird, Yellow-naped
Parrot, Orange-chinned Parakeet, and Giant Wren. Our tour ends at noon.
What to expect
Facilities are limited in such an unspoilt region. We spend three nights
in tents and four nights in a bunk house. It takes an all-day hike of 14
km (8.5 miles) at a relaxed pace to reach our main base camp in the upper
cloud forest. Pack animals will carry our luggage up the mountain while
we walk and bird. There are two two-three hour truck rides on rough roads.
Most days will be spent walking the forest trails radiating in different
directions from the base camp. Weather at higher altitudes is cool, whereas
lower down the mountains it will be warm and humid. Rain is possible. Nights
should be quite comfortable. Some warm clothing and a light, waterproof
jacket are, therefore, advised, as are stout walking shoes or boots. In
the evenings, we review the days bird list and discuss the itinerary for
the next day.
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