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TRAVELLING TO Wildlife

Did you know that Peru is home to more than 1,800 species of birds? That dolphins live in the Amazon River and are pink? That the largest rodents in the world live in South America and are eaten by the locals? That sixty percent of the world’s seal population resides in Antarctica? That certain birds in the Galapagos are called boobies and have blue feet? Or that the rarely seen two-toed sloth lives in Costa Rica? Well, you do now.

From the driest desert to the lushest rainforest, mountains, wetlands, farmlands, glaciers and icebergs, Latin America and Antarctica are the perfect breeding grounds for a compilation of some of the world’s most enigmatic species of wildlife. Whether you want to get a hero shot of a butterfly the size of a bird, a brightly coloured Macaw, Llama or Penguin, or want to get up close and personal with an Armadillo or a jumping spider - you won’t be disappointed!

Chimu Adventures can help you release your inner David Attenborough. See below our suggested itineraries designed by our specialist team. Choose one of these or alter to design your own journey.

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Did you know that Peru is home to more than 1,800 species of birds? That dolphins live in the Amazon River and are pink? That the largest rodents in the world live in South America and are eaten by the locals? That sixty percent of the world’s seal population resides in Antarctica? That certain birds in the Galapagos are called boobies and have blue feet? Or that the rarely seen two-toed sloth lives in Costa Rica? Well, you do now.

From the driest desert to the lushest rainforest, mountains, wetlands, farmlands, glaciers and icebergs, Latin America and Antarctica are the perfect breeding grounds for a compilation of some of the world’s most enigmatic species of wildlife. Whether you want to get a hero shot of a butterfly the size of a bird, a brightly coloured Macaw, Llama or Penguin, or want to get up close and personal with an Armadillo or a jumping spider - you won’t be disappointed!

Chimu Adventures can help you release your inner David Attenborough. See below our suggested itineraries designed by our specialist team. Choose one of these or alter to design your own journey.

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FEATURED Wildlife TRIPS & DEALS

Wildlife TOURS

Wildlife REVIEWS

All Chimu Adventures' clients are given the opportunity to review their trip once they return home. These reviews are administered by a third party and as such are unfiltered by Chimu Adventures.

BLOGS ON Wildlife

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Yes all of our cruises to the Antarctic include naturalist guides who accompany you on shore excursions and offer lectures whilst on board. 

Yes we offer an extensive range of wildlife focus tours. Obviously the main focus of tours to the Galapagos, Pantanal and Amazon is wildlife viewing and it is a major focus of Antarctic cruises. In Torres del Paine National Park we offer a Patagonia Wildlife Safari and a Patagonia Puma Tracking Photo Adventure and in the Pantanal we offer a Pantanal Jaguar Photographic Expedition. In Central America there is a Tortuguero Escape in Costa Rica and a Belize Wildlife tour.

Wherever you go in the Amazon, you are likely to see a good range of wildlife, especially birds, but the deeper you venture into the Amazon, the more likely you are to see mammals. Tambopata Research Centre in Peru is one of the most remote lodges in the Amazon, its location in uninhabited wilderness resulting in excellent opportunities for wildlife spotting.

  • Andes to Amazon: A Guide to Wild South America by Michael Bright
  • Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America by Adrian Forsyth & Ken Miyata
  • The Mammals of Costa Rica: A Natural History and Field Guide by Mark Wainwright
  • Jaguar: One Man's Struggle to Establish the World's First Jaguar Preserve by Alan Rabinowitz
  • Galapagos: A Natural History by Michael H. Jackson
  • Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica by Martin R. de la Pena
  • The Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife by Hadoram Shirihai
  • Antarctica: A Guide to the Wildlife (Bradt Guides) by Tony Soper
  • Snarl for the Camera: Memoirs of a Wildlife Cameraman by James Gray

The best places to see wildlife are the Pantanal, Amazon, Ibera Wetlands and of course the Galapagos Islands. The Pantanal has the highest concentration of wildlife in Latin America and encompasses the largest tropical wetland area in the world. The Galapagos Islands are home to vast numbers and varieties of wildlife, both land and marine, with many of the species being unique to the archipelago. There are also good opportunities to view wildlife in Patagonia, in particular in Torres del Paine National Park, and within Central America, Costa Rica offers some good wildlife spots - for example Manual Antonio National Park and Tortuguero.

There is a vast array of wildlife in Latin America, ranging from capybaras, sloths, monkeys, giant anteaters, pumas, jaguars, armadillos, tapirs, whales and dolphins to llamas, alpacas, vicunas, guanacos, marsh deer and maned wolves. Reptiles include caimans, turtles, iguanas and anacondas. Bird life is also prolific with hummingbirds, toucans, parrots, macaws, waterfowl, flamingos and rheas as well as penguins, boobies, frigatebirds and Andean condors. 

Although all Antarctic cruises offer exceptional wildlife viewing, the best cruise to see wildlife is a South Georgia and Falklands Islands Cruise.

The Antarctic abounds with wildlife including 10 species of whales, 7 species of seals, 8 species of penguins and a vast array of seabirds including albatrosses. Penguin species include emperor and Adélie that make the Antarctic continent their true home, chinstrap, gentoo and macaroni that breed on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and king penguins only found on the more northerly and warmer subantarctic islands. Whale species that you are likely to encounter include orcas (killer whales), minke and humpback whales. Seal species include Antarctic fur, crabeater, Weddell, leopard, elephant and Ross. The line-up of birds is extensive but includes petrels, prions, shearwaters, skuas, sheathbills, terns, gulls, cormorants, pipits, snow petrels and several species of albatross.

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