Hummingbirds, traditions and luxury hotels

I was looking for information about hummingirds in different regions of the country when a friend told me that in a small region in Cusco there were 18 varieties at least.

I guess my face was like one of those cartoon characters with the eyes popping out, because he started laughing... He said he saw only 13 and all within the land of the hotel he has staying at!

He used the services of Inkaterra, a local company that manages luxury hotels and unique experiences.

As I will never be able to afford staying there, I decided to 'travel' around the web and find out more about it. I checked the online brochures, with info of every hotel and I must say they look BEAUTIFUL!! Maybe when I win the lottery I'll invite my friends from all over ;)

I found a small picture gallery that I thought would be nice to share with you so you could learn more about my country, the only problem is that the pictures don't have captions, so, you won't know exactly where or what it is or represents :(

I love the fact that they have a Wish List, but not just any... At every location of their hotels they do some kind of service for the community: Educational materials, conservation projects, seeds for native communities, conservation of traditions, even teaching English to locals!!
Those of you who know me better will know without a doubt that it is my favourite part of that website ;)

They also promote visits to local families, to learn about their traditions and culture and share experiences beyond the regular parametres.


In the Machu Picchu location, the birdwatching activities they promote are within the hotel area!... "Along the hotel's pathways, be on the lookout for the cock-of-the-rock, the golden-headed quetzal and many of the 18 different hummingbirds identified on the grounds, including the booted racket-tail and the green-and-white hummingbirds, which are native to the area."

YESSSS!!! Found the 18 hummingbirds part!!! So, it was true!!

Turns out that they also have the world's record of the largest number of orchids in natural state!! They have registered 372, and discovered 6 new species in their grounds.


The Amazon location has pretty cool excursions, one of them marked as a 1/4 day excursion reminded me of dear Sherry at Q's Corner and her love for butterflies: the Butterfly House!!

The twilight river one made me dream and of course the full day birding experience NOT for begginers like me :(


Anyway, what started as a quest for information on hummingbirds ended up with a lot of dream travels for me!

I hope you enjoyed the cyber-trip as much as I did, hopefully I'll be able to travel there soon, to dream places in my country, so close and so far away at the same time...

Please note: All pictures taken from Inkaterra's website.