BIRDING TOURS TO BELIZE: CHAN CHICH LODGE, LAMANAI OUTPOST, HIDDEN VALLEY INN

THANKSGIVING IN BELIZE: LAMANAI OUTPOST & CHAN CHICH LODGE

Extension to: HIDDEN VALLEY INN, MOUNTAIN PINE RIDGE & CARACOL

DATES

November 21 - 30, 2008

Extension to Hidden Valley: Nov 30 - Dec 3, 2008

COST (PER PERSON)

DOUBLE: $3575 per person double occupancy

WITH EXTENSION: $4775

SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $650; $900 including extension

DEPOSIT: $500

PARTICIPANTS: 10

GUIDES: 2

INCLUDES

From Belize City, including 8 nights lodging, all meals from dinner on 1^st day to breakfast on last day, guides, excursions, taxes, most tips..

Extension: From Belize City, including 11 nights lodging, all meals from dinner on 1^st day to breakfast on last day, guides, excursions, taxes, most tips..

Not included: Alcohol, personal calls, departure tax (about $35 US though some airlines include this) other items of a personal nature.

Tour difficulty

Easy. Some early mornings and one or two walks on rough ground. The average amount of walking will be approximately two miles per day. There are some strenuous climbs if you choose to take them, but they are optional.

OVERVIEW

Belize has a very large number of first-rate eco-lodges, and we have stayed in most of them. For this trip, we wanted to share some our favorite, upscale destinations. Belize is an English-speaking country with an enormous diversity of birds, plants and wildlife. It has some of the most beautiful reefs in the world, vast rainforests, meandering tropical rivers and ancient Mayan ruins. You'll experience all of these wonders of Belize in the greatest comfort.

This trip will emphasize tropical birds and the natural history of the tropical forests. In addition, we will spend some time exploring the lost culture of the Maya. In additional to our guide, we will utilize licensed native guides, locate the flora, fauna and cultural sites that abound.

We have decided to feature two lodges in Belize for this trip: Lamanai Outpost and Chan Chich Lodge as well as Hidden Valley Inn for our extenstion.

To get to Lamanai Outpost, located on the banks of the New River Lagoon, we'll take boats up the river. Lamanai is a relaxing and very comfortable inn with first-rate research programs in archeaology, ornithology and other natural history areas. It offers the most diversity of habitat in Belize. On our river trip, we should have good views of some of the five kingfishers common to this area. Hawks (Black-collared Hawk, etc) and kites (Snail Kite, etc) should be abundant. During our Lamanai stay, we'll also get up close looks at Jabiru. On our night safari, we should see Boat-billed Heron, Yucatan Nightjar, Northern Potoo and roosting Ringed and American Pygmy-Kingfishers as well as crocodiles. On our last trip to Lamanai, we had 200 species of birds in the general area in a two-day period. Most of the Yucatan Peninsula endemic species can be seen on the savanna across the New River Lagoon where we'll spend a morning

Chan Chich Lodge is located on the Belize/Guatamala border in a 250,000-acre private reserve with some of the best wildlife and bird viewing opportunities in Central American. The beautiful thatched huts with two queen-sized beds, screened in porch and private bath are located in the lower plaza of an ancient Mayan city. Chan Chich's fine food and luxurious ambiance have made it Belize's premier eco-lodge. Daybreak at Chan Chich will bring a spectacular array of tropical birds. Ocelated Turkey, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Lovely Cotinga, Keel-billed Toucan, Collared Aracari, Spectacled Owl, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Violaceous Trogon, Long-tailed Hermit, & Blue-crowned Motmot are among the more than 300 species that have been recorded in the Chan Chich environs. We'll spend our day birding and hiking in the surrounding preserve. We'll take a night jungle walk in hopes of seeing some of the nocturnal creatures and, especially, the Jaguar. We'll also take a night drive that should increase our chances of seeing nocturnal wildlife.

For our extension, we will spend three nights at the luxurious Hidden Valley Inn in the Mountain Pine Ridge. This is a prime bird watching destination and the Mountain Pine Ridge, Chiquibul and Caracol area is very rich in bird life, much of it different from that seen in the lowlands of Chan Chich and Lamanai. The varying habitat is home to a broad range of birds, many of which are unique to the area.

Highlights include nesting sites for the rare Orange-breasted Falcon and Stygian Owl. Caracol is a newly excavated Maya ruin that was believed to be more extensive than Tikal at it's height. It's a great raptor viewing area. The rare Keel-billed Motmot is sometimes found here as well as many other rainforest species.

We’ll spend a day at the recently excavated Mayan ruins of Caracol. These ruins are believed are thought to be comparable to Tikal, though much excavation remains. The jungle around the Mayan Site of Caracol provides regular views of the exquisite and very rare Keel-Billed Motmot. Emerald Toucanets next on the grounds. The most productive raptor viewing we have experience anywhere has been from the acropolis at Caraocol.

ITINERARY

Note: We typically offer participants the opportunity to arrive a day early and visit the unique Belize Zoo, operated by Belize Audubon. It is home to virtually every native mammal in Belize including Jaguar as well as the most notable bird species (Harpy Eagle, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Scarlet Macaw, etc.). If time permits, we'll also drive to Crooked Tree where we can see many water birds. Cost is usually about $200 per person which includes additional night's lodging, meals, all entry fees, transport, & guide.

DAY ONE:

Arrive at Belize International Airport. I’ll meet everyone at 4:00 PM there, and we’ll take a van to the Belize Biltmore. Overnight at the Biltmore.

DAY TWO – FOUR

Pick up by Lamanai. We’ll drive up to the New River and board boats for a beautiful ride down the river to New River Lagoon. We should see several species of kingfishers, hawks, & kites on our ride. We’ll spend four nights at Lamanai. We’ll have time to explore the ruins and do some first-birding for many of the tropical species. A trip to the savannah by boat should yield many of the Yucatan Peninsula endemics.

DAY FIVE – EIGHT

We fly to Chan Chich about 9:30. We’ll have lunch there and start birding afterwards. There are a number of habitats that we will cover and a wealth of birds. We’ll do some night birding as well.

Depart Chan Chich by air at about noon after lunch. You should schedule flights in the afternoon.

EXTENSION TO HIDDEN VALLEY INN:

DAY EIGHT: After returning from Chan Chich, pickup by Hidden Valley staff and drive to Hidden Valley Inn.

DAY NINE: Birding in Hidden Valley area. Night birding after dinner

DAY TEN: Trip to the Mayan ruins of Caracol for the day, and some fabulous birding while we’re there.