TRIP DETAILS

From the city of Havana to Pinar del Rio province.  We will make a quick stop at Las Terrazas Biosphere Reserve. This is one of the most beautiful Reserves.

The Reserve host one of our primary targets for the day: the coloured Cuban Grassquit (Tiaris canorus), you can expect to see the Cuba’s national bird, the Cuban Trogon (Priotelus temnurus), and the beautiful Cuban Tody (Todus multicolor), which sometimes allows an incredibly close approach and amazing photographic opportunities.

Later in the day we visit La Güira Park. This formerly glorious colonial mansion’s expansive manicured grounds offer superb birding.  We also have our first chance at seeing the impressive Fernandina´s Flicker (Colaptes fernandinae).

After breakfast our next port of call will be Cuevas de los Portales. Here we may have more chances to see the beautiful lattice-tailed Cuban Trogon (Trogon clathratus).  

After a morning birding we head east and southward to the famed Zapata Peninsula in the way to Zapata we will notice numerous commemorating the Cuban revolution as well Cuba´s national heroes, including, of course, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.

The Zapata Peninsula is the essence of Cuban Birding. With the help of a superb local birding guide we will visit numerous sites in the search of these localized specialties. The high in our agenda will be the world’s smallest bird the minuscule Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae).

One of our mornings here will require an early start to reach a delicious forest reserve where an incredible 4 species of secretive and beautiful quail-doves (Starnoenas cyanocephala) can been seen.

Another morning will be spent along the edges of the great saw grass Zapata Swamp in the Cienega de Zapata National Park. Here we will also seek the surprisingly attractive and fairly accommodating Zapata Sparrow (Torreornis inexpectata).

Further excursions will take us onto the tidal flats and mangrove islets at Salinas de Brito which are situated along the Southern shore of Zapata Peninsula.

An evening excursion may be taken to search of the Cuban Nightjar (Antrostomus cubanensis) and the impressive Stygian Owl (Asio stygius).

After a morning of searching out any targets we may still need in the Zapata Peninsula we will continue to Najasa. The two main targets species here are the Cuban Palm Crow (Corvus palmarum) and the endangered massive-billed Giant Kingbird (Tyrannus cubensis).

The region also hosts several other endemics and near-endemics species and we will keep a careful look out for the lovely Cuban Amazon (Amazona leucocephala) (also known as Rose-throated Parrot) a flock of Cuban Parakeet (Psittacara euops) screeching overhead.

A morning of culture and history awaits us as we set off early heading to the Manhyia Palace, home of the Asantehene King of the Ashanti´s and ruler of the powerful Asanteman Kingdom. The Palace Museum offers a fascinating excursion through the history of this powerful tribe.

After this morning we head south to the villages of Bonkro and Breku. Our aim is to reach these remote communities in time for lunch which will be prepared in the village by a local chef. We will visit the local school that was built recently thanks to ethical tourism, connecting these remote areas, where children were not starting kindergarten until they were almost 10 years old as their parents felt they were too young and small to walk the 12km each day along remote roads.

Most Ghanaians live in remote communities and work as subsistence farmers with some having larger farms growing cocoa, palm oil, citrus or rubber trees. 

We will meet the local represent of a Fair-Trade organization Cooperative, several farmers and their families and we will also visit one of the local cocoa farms, getting to know the entire harvesting process, hear how the children use the unripe cocoa as their local sweets (not tasting one would be rude) and learn how the locals use the cocoa pods to make soap amongst other uses. After a wonderful day our evening is spent with the community as we relax at our accommodation and enjoy our evening meal whilst experiencing village life in this remote part of Ghana. 

Accommodation: Bonkro

As our Cuban birding adventure begins to wind down we head northwards to explore some of the thousands of small coral islets fringing Cuba. Upon reaching the coast we will drive over a scenic causeway that separates the Island of Cayo Coco from the mainland, and during the journey we should spot a large number of waterbirds.

We will have a full day’s exploration of Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Paredón Grande. These low-lying coral islands support a wide variety of birding habitats.

A short search of the nearby beach may yield the rare Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), the Sanderling (Calidris alba) and even small flocks of Cave Swallow (Petrochelidon fulva).

Departure from Cayo Coco and drive back to Havana. Arriving to Havana we will head out for a short walk through the historical old city.

Havana offers a unique experience that we will have a chance to sample during this concluding evening of our tour.

We will enjoy our final farewell dinner at a typical Cuban restaurant.

After breakfast we will take the transfer to the airport and our tour will be conclude.