We pick you up by bus from your hotel, after your breakfast, and set off for the cloud forest. We pass over two Andean chains of almost 13,100 feet elevation through a steppe-like landscape, or Puna. On the way we pass stone Chullpas, or burial chambers, of the Pre-Inca people and will hope to catch sight of some of the bird species of the high Andes, including the Giant Hummingbird and Mountain Caracara.
We plan on a delicious boxed lunch at the edge of the cloud forest, Ajanaco, which if clear, affords views over the cloud forest and the vast sprawling expanse of the lowland rain forest. From here the road suddenly descends the eastern slope of the Andes. We plunge downwards, past remnant patches of elfin forest, through swirling mist and cloud, to emerge in a forest of stunted, evergreen trees, festooned with mosses, lichens, bromeliads and other epiphytes. Nestled in this forest within a 2-minute walk of the road, and within earshot of a rushing mountain stream, lies the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, if there is time available, we will have a chance to briefly begin our exploration of the surrounding forest before dinner. (Box Lunch,D)