“Birds, Indian tribes, culture, nature, and food”
10 Day Birding Tour in Copper Canyon and Meeting the Tarahumara Nation in Mexico
Los Cabos Municipality, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Birding Experience in Mexico
Join Birding Los Cabos in an exciting safari in Los Cabos and Copper Canyon. You will depart on a safari that explores endemic, migrant, and vagrant birds in the area. You will also enjoy a Copper Canyon train ride and immerse yourself in the culture by visiting Indian communities of Tarahumara. Make memorable moments in Mexico!
Key information
- Group safari
- Group size: 2 - 10 participants
- Starts and ends in Baja California Sur (SJD) but can be tailored to start in (LMM)
- English speaking leader 24/7 for you in coordination with local guides
- All park fees are included
Meet the guides
Maria Elena
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Highlights
- Visiting lookout points for birdwatching
- A visit to an estuary and desert environment to see three endemic birds
- Copper Canyon train ride and visiting Indian communities of Tarahumara culture
- Use of scope and appropriate bird books for identification
- Services of a certified naturalist guide with local experts
- 9 nights' accommodation with eight breakfasts, eight lunches, and nine dinners
- All park fees are included
Styles
9 activity days in English
The organizer also speaks: Spanish
Group size: Maximum of 10 participants
Accommodation
Due to the nature of the safari, you will stay in the best hotels available in each area. Normally three to four-star, all hotels will be comfortable and with ensuite bathroom, one or two beds, Mexican style room, hot water shower, and air conditioning or heater, depending on your need.
Program
During the safari, you will find many interesting bird species such as Mexican jay, eared quetzal, mountain trogon, endemic gray thrasher, Belding's Yellowthroat, and Xantus hummingbird.
Proposed agenda
Day 1: Arrivals
Spread your wings, receive a welcome briefing, and have dinner.
- Meals: Dinner
Day 2: Birding endemics and desert specialties
You will visit an estuary and desert environment in search of three endemics to begin your journey. Enjoy breakfast hosted by a ranchero family, then get transferred to your next site across the Sea of Cortes or Gulf of California. Spend the night at an old historical house.
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 3: Most dramatic train ride in the Western hemisphere and enjoyable birding
Enjoy beautiful landscape as you cross tunnels and bridges, a marvel of engineering of early times. Keep your eyes open to enjoy wildlife such as deer, bighorn sheep, Mexican wolf, and numerous wildlife. The highlight will be the violet crowned hummingbird and golden eagle, quetzal, and trogon. On this day you will ascend from 400 to 1,800m.
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 4: Canyons and hawks along with other surprises
You will visit a lookout point in search of raptors such as the zone-tailed hawk, common black hawk, golden eagle, and many more birds. If possible, you will also visit some vineyards where wine has been made since the early 1700s. Target birds will be the military macaw and solitary eagle.
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 5: Morning with hummingbirds and other surprises
Sit down, relax, and get your binoculars ready to enjoy a variety of targeted birds: Rivoli's, blue throated, broad billed violet crown, and white eared, among other hummingbirds.
Then, make a loop of 360 degrees and visit an Indian market. At night, there will be a surprise for you. You will enjoy a walking tour of the town, visit a museum, and buy handmade souvenirs to help the community. Most times, it is the only income they have.
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 6: Birding in the land of Tarahumara's cave and cliff dwellers -Part 1
You will enjoy breakfast and spend the day birding, devoted to enjoy hummingbirds and at least 50 more species of birds. Admire the beautiful landscape offered by wilderness. Targeted birds will be Mexican chickadee, Mexican jay, woodpeckers, trogon, painted redstar, quetzal, and others.
You will also visit several cave-homes and indigenous communities as well as have more surprises.
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 7: Birding in the land of Tarahumara's cave and cliff dwellers -Part 2
On this day, in addition to birding for woodpeckers and sap suckers, you will visit the rim of Copper Canyon. Enjoy breathtaking views and much more.
- Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Day 8: Birding and archaeology
You will go on a birding trip and enjoy petroglyphs, visit the Indian communities, and enjoy lunch with hummingbirds. Target birds will include Sinaloa crow, ruffus belied chachalaca, Mexican parrotlet, and more.
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 9: Morning birding and back to the beginning
You will have a surprise prepared by the leader to enjoy the last birding and enlarge your birding list. You will then get back to the beginning and enjoy your farewell dinner.
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and farewell dinner
Day 10
- Departures
- Meals: N/A
Note: the order of days could change but Birding Los Cabos will fulfill all of them.
Guides
Maria Elena Muriel
Maria Elena has a degree in Tourism Administration but made a career in ecotourism and public land administration with a specialty in natural and cultural heritage interpretation. She is a certified tour guide by the Ministry of Tourism and National Park Service (NPS). When she is not leading programs, she trains other guides or teach environmental education to youth in high-school. She will combine her knowledge, skills, experience, and expertise with other local experts to provide you with the best Mexican safari ever.
Location
Los Cabos
The tour will start at Los Cabos airport (SJD), though it can start at Los Mochis (LMM) upon request. Los Cabos is a municipality located at the tip of Baja California Peninsula, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez or Gulf of California.
It is formed by minor and major capes such as Cabo San Lucas where the arch is located, or San Jose where the airport is located and the state capital is La Paz.
Copper Canyon
Copper Canyon is considered as the home of hummingbirds and is located in the middle of the Sierra Madre mountains. It is a 25,000-square mile area of beautiful landscape and breathtaking vistas that is full of hummingbirds, eared quetzal, Mexican chickadee, and more than 200 migrants, resident, and vagrant birds.
In addition, it has beautiful landscapes, flora and fauna, wildlife, lakes, waterfalls, impressive geology, rock formations, and more surprises.
Some of the canyons are 6,136 feet deep, the reason why a geologist said it is bigger and deeper than the grand canyon in the USA. Copper Canyon is the largest and most complex canyon system in the world.
The area contains a vast array of habitats. It is the combination of these habitats that allow for such a diversity of resident, migrating, and wintering bird species, with more than 400 species reported in the area, thus putting it in the bucket list of birders.
Taramura
Furthermore, the beautiful canyon system is home to the Tarahumara or Raramuri culture, an ancestral tribe that has been living there forever. During the Spaniard conquest, they were discovered but they had kept their traditions, culture, and beliefs alive, living in caves and other primitive dwellings.
They only live with the elements that nature provides them. They are also famed for their long-distance running ability.
There are few communities that are still unknown by the “white man” as they call foreigners, but some others had accepted even when they don’t speak Spanish and rather only their own dialect. During this unforgettable adventure, your tour guide will interpret the Tarahumara culture and traditions.
You will visit some cave-homes and admire the vistas of the deep canyons, visit lakes, waterfalls, and enjoy wildlife while birding.
If it is not enough, you will ride the train that since 1961 had connected the Copper Canyon. This railroad is one of the engineering wonders of the world, with 86 tunnels and 37 bridges. The Riders' Digest named it “the most dramatic train ride in the Western hemisphere.”
Food
8 breakfasts, eight lunches, nine dinners, and purified water will be served for you during the trip.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Coffee
- Tea
- Soda
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
What's included
- All included as described in itinerary
- Roundtrip train ride
- Keen Birder certified guide in partnership with local experts and bilingual naturalists
- 15 tours focused on birding and activities to have an immersion in the culture and nature of Copper Canyon combined in 10 days
- 8 breakfasts
- 8 lunches
- 9 dinners
- 9 nights lodging
What's not included
- Airfare from / to your home
- Alcoholic drinks
- Gratuities
- Personal expenses
- Phone calls or expenses of personal nature
- What is not mentioned in the description
- Taxes
How to get there
Recommended Airports
LMM
Fort Valley Federal International Airport
296 km
Transfer not provided
SJD
Los Cabos International Airport
8 km
Transfer not provided
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) or Los Mochis airport (LMM). Just let Birding Los Cabos know. Transfer to this airport is available upon request.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 40% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 7 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookAllSafaris.com. All major credit cards supported.
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