Description

We’re delighted to be offering this brand new tour to Peru in 2026! It is sure to be popular, read on to find out why…

Peru is one of the most exciting and rewarding butterfly destinations in the world, with almost 4000 named species, and at least 300 more that are currently undergoing scientific description. On this fabulous tour we expect to see numerous swallowtails, sulphurs, daggerwings, glasswings, phantoms, morphos, owl butterflies, emperors, numberwings, cattlehearts, banners, Adelpha sisters, “88”s, glittering metalmarks, ringlets, beautifully marked hairstreaks, Heliconius longwings and much much more. We can’t guarantee how many species you’ll see, but our last trip produced 440 species! However, as with all Greenwings tours, we won’t be rushing about trying to build huge lists. Instead we’ll spend the maximum possible time at each site, to fully enjoy and photograph the butterflies at a relaxed pace.

As well as the hordes of stunning butterflies, we’ll see a great variety of colourful and fascinating shield bugs, damselflies, grasshoppers, beetles, giant millipedes and much more. In the evenings at some locations we hope to run a moth sheet – and the moths of Peru are staggering in their variety of shapes, patterns and postures.

Our tour begins at Satipo in the eastern Andes. There, we’ll be based in a small comfortable hotel in town, and we’ll have daily outings to a variety of superb butterfly habitats in and around the legendary Chanchamayo valley. Journey times by minibus from Satipo will range from 30-90 mins. We’ll be exploring quiet trails and dirt tracks through the forests, and spending long periods at spots where butterflies mud-puddle beside small streams. At times we’ll have 50 or more species puddling together! At all the sites we visit on this tour, we’ll spray liquid bait onto foliage to attract butterflies for photography.

After our 4 days at Satipo, we head north to Oxapampa, stopping at butterfly habitats along the way. On the following day we’ll continue towards Pozuzo, an attractive modern town with a distinct German influence. Pozuzo will be our base for the next 4 nights. Each day we’ll travel for 30-45 mins to various parts of Yanachaga Chemellin national park, an area of beautiful and almost pristine mid-elevation forest where we’ll see and photograph many exciting new species.

We then return by road to Satipo, and fly to Lima, where we connect to a flight to Puerto Maldonado, in the Amazonian lowlands close to the border with Brazil. The following day we travel by motorised, covered longboat along the meandering Rio Las Piedras to our comfortable rainforest ecolodge, located at the edge of a beautiful ox-bow lake. Here we stay in wooden bungalows that have tented roofs to keep them cool and more comfortable to sleep in. We’ll have delicious meals, wi-fi and 24/7 solar power here, despite being deep in the Amazon rainforest.

On the lake we’ll see river otters and hoatzins, and if we’re lucky we’ll be able to spot stunning orange Julia butterflies drinking from the tears of turtles along the edge of the lake. There is an extensive trail system through the forest, where we can wander freely at our own pace observing and photographing the many metalmarks, hairstreaks, Agrias and other butterflies that descend from the canopy, attracted to the bait which we spray onto foliage.

Finally, after this wonderful trip, we return by longboat to Puerto Maldonado, and onwards to Lima for our homebound flights. The domestic flights Lima-Mazamari-Lima, and Lima-Puerto Maldonado-Lima are NOT included in the tour price, but you’ll be notified of which flights to book in ample time before the tour.

Tour leader & Identification

Your tour leader is Adrian Hoskins, author of “Butterflies of the World”, “1000 Butterflies” and several scientific papers. Adrian has vast experience of neotropical butterflies, having undertaken numerous tours to Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela, as well as over a dozen previous tours of Peru. We’ll also have a local English-speaking butterfly guide in charge of logistics and baiting.

Please note that we don’t shepherd you around in a group pointing out and identifying butterflies on the spot. Instead, we encourage you to explore the habitats at your own pace and take time enjoying your photography. In the evenings Adrian will assist with identifications from your cameras and laptops. There are no Peru field guides available but you can also carry out your own IDs by downloading the pdfs from the link below, or by using the Butterflies of America website, which illustrates most of the 4000 species in Peru.