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About this trip
Join us on a getaway to the Sierra Madre Mountains for some of the best bird watching in northwest Mexico! On this adventure you will spend TWO full days exploring the Tufted Jay Preserve, among beautiful pine and oak forests in the heart of the Sierra Madre Mountains of Sinaloa. These forests are the year-round home for the Tufted Jay or “Chara Pinta” and over 100 other species of resident and migratory birds.
Enjoy a fantastic scenery contemplating the sun setting in the Pacific Ocean at over 2,000 m, dinner at the campfire and amazing night sky observation. You will spend the night on cozy wooden lodges right in the heart of the reserve, a real million star hotel! Wake up early to the sound of your favorite birds and prepare to enjoy magnificent mountain views and the freshest air possible.
A unique getaway for every season!
What’s included
- Ground transportationSUV or Van
- All fees and taxesEntrance to preserve and others
- SnacksGranola bars, crackers, fruit etc
- BeveragesCoffee, Tea, Soft drinks and purified water
- Meals2 traditional mountain meal with local family
- Breakfast1 Full breakfast at the lodge
- Dinner1 Dinner at campfire
- Local GuideDon Santos is a real mountain man and expert birder
- Naturalist guideBilingual and knowledgeable
- LodgingOne night at wooden cabin, 2 bedrooms
What’s not included
- Tips and gratuitiesBoth for local and naturalist guide
Available Packages
This is the rate for extra person beyond group of 4 (5th person and beyond)
Extra night at a wooden cabin.
*Additional meals are also included in the price.
Itinerary
As an iconic and endemic species of these forest many visitors expect to see them on their first day, and goes what? you probably will! As this is a very special tour designed mostly for birders, you can send us your "bird list" so we can get on it! Don Santos, our local guide, lives and roams these forests everyday so he knows his birds and whereabouts!
Day 1
6:30 am..... Pickup up at your hotel lobby
8:30 am..... Coffee, pastries and bananas (and leg stretch) at a wonderful lookout by the road near the preserve
9:30 am..... Arrive at the preserve to meet our local guide Don Santos Vazquez. Check in equipment and luggage at lodges.
First hike through Las Liebres Canyon and down to La ventana lookout (2 hrs approx).
*This trail covers different habitats, hence the possibility of seeing a diverse array of birds, Tufted Jays are commonly found on this trail, unless Don Santos knows where they have been in the past days before our trip, we will go on a quest.
12:00 pm... Second hike (1 hour) on trails around the mesa area of the preserve and other amazing lookouts. (snacks included)
13:30 pm.... Back on the SUV and down to the town of El Palmito to have lunch at Don Santos place
Menu: chicken mole, rice, frijoles
3:00 pm...... Back to the lodges to relax and charge batteries for our afternoon hike.
5:00 pm..... Afternoon hike: we will go down by the trails to a westward lookout where we will see the sun set over Mazatlan and the Pacific Ocean. A wonderful sight.
6:30 pm..... Back to camp for dinner at the lodges.
8:00 pm..... Sleep tight.