Tingo Maria Map

Tingo Maria / Peru

Tingo María is the capital of Butterflies in Peru. It has a population of 46,191 inhabitants.

Tingo María was considered unreachable until 1936, when the Montaña Road reached the settlement. It was then that the state run Estacion Experimental Agricola was established due to its "comfortable" elevation (2,204 ft). In 1942, the U.S. Government began adding more funding to the station, and by 1960 over 40,000 acres (160 km²) of land were under cultivation, especially along the Huallaga River valley where land was level. Coffee was a particularly valuable crop. The city nickname is "the Door of the Amazonia".

Representative Insect:

Morpho Rhetenor Helena

Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Morphinae
Morpho Rhetenor Helena Dorsal Side
Dorsal Side

VIDEOS

PHOTOS

TRAVEL ITINERARY (Tentative)

Day 1: Arriving to Tingo Maria

Arrival to the city of Tingo María, transfer and lodging to a comfortable accommodation, built following the traditional designs of the area. Immediately later will do a city tour for the main avenues of the city. Visiting the mirador, where you will be able to take pictures with the Beautiful Sleeper´s silhouette that reflects the mountainous chain of the National Park Tingo María. Will be made a quickly training of the collection techniques, installation of traps and preservation of the butterflies, while we walk for a near stream we will have the possibility to meet with the first specimens of your trip. Rest at the lodge.

At 8 in the morning we begin the journey from the lodge, in a four-wheel-traction van for a while , during the itinerary you will be able to appreciate the National Park Tingo María next to the majestic Huallaga River, likewise the great diversity of species of wild flora and the breathtaking landscapes. When arriving, the river up 45-minute stroll begins. In this place we will camp for the day, meeting different butterflies of the family Nymphalidae, Morphidae, Heliconidae, Pieridae among other. The first morpho in appearing is menelaus argentiferus (didius), then, the Morpho intermediate marcus (adonis) that only appreciated from noon to 1 and 45 pm, meanwhile we will have a parade the whole day of morpho helenor theodorus (patroclus), Morpho achiles phokylides and Morpho deidamia diomedes. On the part of the Nymphalidaes is posible to see the very appreciated Agria claudina lugens. This area is the richest in diversity of species inside the County.

At 8:00 am in the morning we go for the road toward huanuco city, and then for a rudimentary trail until the place where begins our adventure of the walk inside of a beautiful gulch where you will also be able to see many colorful butterflies of different families. With luck you will be able to appreciate the Prepona praeneste (red prepona) after you personally install the special traps to see these coveted butterflies. Also you found pretty Lycaenidaes (teclas sp.) without discarding the possibility to see the blue butterflies of the the family Morphidae like the Morpho menelaus argentiferus (didius), Morpho helenor theodorus (patroclus), Morpho achiles phokylides, Morpho deidamia diomedes and the Morpho intermediate marcus (adonis). This place offers a paradisiac place where you could take a refresh swiming into its refreshing waters.

Early in the morning, at 7:00 o´clock we start a journey of one hour and a half for the capricious road that unites Tingo Maria with the city of Huanuco, moving from the 660 msnm until the 2500 msnm and this way to arrive on time to the cloudy forest that Carpish offers us. This place gives us the possibility to see colorful butterflies of the family Pieridae and Riodinidae and also one of the so many beautiful butterflies of the family Morphidae, such it is the case of the butterfly Morpho sulkowskyi selenaris. In the same way in the small saline banks of the streams found pretty Callitheas, Doxocopas, Callicores,among other Nymphalidaes.

Equal to the day before, departure starts early, in a trip of 30 minutes toward the bridge of Imaza, from this place we go on foot for 2 hours by the imaza stream, from this moment we will have a chance of finding, the most wonderful morpho and the most difficult of find, the Morpho rethenor Hellena, whose metallic blue gleams hypnotized us. We can also there see the Morpho telemachus iphiclus commonly well-known as butterfly Boa, also you can appreciate the biggest of this family the commonly call "Cuba" that would come to be the Morpho cisseis gahua. In the same way they are the rest of Morphos but with priority to those mentioned. On the part of the Nymphalidaes there are “the red agria”and “the purple agria”, Agria claudina lugens and Agria beata respectively.

At 6: AM we take the road to Pucallpa city, taking 1 hour with 40 minutes will arrive to a rocky canyon, after a one-hour stroll you will be able to appreciated the butterfly Morpho rhetenor cacica, Morpho menelaus argentiferus (didius), Morpho helenor theodorus (patroclus), Morpho intermediate marcus (adonis), Morpho achiles phokylides, Morpho deidamia diomedes, and Morpho cisseis gahua.

Returning to Lima. End of our services.

ADVISABLE TIME

First season: Since April until the middle of June

Second season: Since the end of October until the end of December

This trip include:

Ground transportation from Lima to Tingo María and back from Tingo María to Lima
All Meals during trip outside Lima
Seven nights or more in a lodge in Tingo Maria
Guides
Paper work for permissions required for goverment
Fees for extraction of 200 butterflies
Entrance fees to parks and indian lands

Not included:

Meals in Lima
Hotel in Lima
Soft drinks and beers
Airfare from your city to Lima
Airfare from Lima to Huanuco (nearest airport to Tingo maria, in case you do not want travel by bus from Lima to Tingo)