Huascarán National Park
🇵🇪 Peru
🦙 Viscacha and Vicuña High AndesHuascarán is high Andean country — puna grassland, glacial lakes and rock above 4,000 m — and its wildlife is the wildlife of open ground. Mountain viscachas sit on the boulder fields on almost every visit, and vicuñas graze the puna on a quarter of them.
-9.345° S 77.371° W
Wildlife
⭐ Iconic Species
★ 
Northern Mountain Viscacha
Lagidium viscacia
★ 
Vicuña
Vicugna vicugna
★ 
Buff-winged Cinclodes
Cinclodes fuscus
★ 
Tit-like Dacnis
Xenodacnis parina
📊 Most Spotted
Rufous-collared Sparrow
Zonotrichia capensis
Chiguanco Thrush
Turdus chiguanco
Southern House Wren
Troglodytes musculus
Peruvian Sierra-Finch
Phrygilus punensis
Hooded Siskin
Spinus magellanicus
Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch
Geospizopsis plebejus
Black Metaltail
Metallura phoebe
Andean Flicker
Colaptes rupicola
Plumbeous Sierra-Finch
Geospizopsis unicolor
Giant Hummingbird
Patagona gigas
Rufous-eared Brush-Finch
Atlapetes rufigenis
Plain-colored Seedeater
Catamenia inornata
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
Andean White-eared Opossum
Didelphis pernigra
Sechuran Fox
Lycalopex sechurae
North Andean Huemul
Hippocamelus antisensis
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
Culpeo
Lycalopex culpaeus
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
Rufous-collared Sparrow
Zonotrichia capensis
Chiguanco Thrush
Turdus chiguanco
Southern House Wren
Troglodytes musculus
Peruvian Sierra-Finch
Phrygilus punensis
Hooded Siskin
Spinus magellanicus
Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch
Geospizopsis plebejus
Black Metaltail
Metallura phoebe
Andean Flicker
Colaptes rupicola
Plumbeous Sierra-Finch
Geospizopsis unicolor
Giant Hummingbird
Patagona gigas
Rufous-eared Brush-Finch
Atlapetes rufigenis
Plain-colored Seedeater
Catamenia inornata
Recent sightings in Huascarán National Park
LIVEiNaturalistAnimal Events
1Viscachas on the Boulder Fields
Mountain viscachas sun themselves on the rock slopes and are recorded on nearly every visit.
2Vicuñas on the Puna
Vicuña family groups graze the open puna, at their most visible of the year.
3Polylepis Birds in the Dry Season
Xenodacnis tanagers work the polylepis stands and bar-winged cinclodes feed along the glacial lakes.
Sighting Calendar
Average chance of spotting the park's most-spotted species, month by month
- 1Viscachas on the Boulder Fields
- 2Vicuñas on the Puna
- 3Polylepis Birds in the Dry Season
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
Essentials
Climate
What visitors saw
The impossibly blue waters of alpine lakes set against pristine glaciers provided a scenic backdrop as we observed scarce birds like White-cheeked Cotinga, Green-headed Hillstar, Plain-tailed Warbling Finch and Tawny Tit-Tyrant.
On the way back down in 2022 I saw two condors and got a couple decent photos, below.
Quick answers
What animals can you see in Huascarán National Park?
The most likely sightings are Rufous-collared Sparrow (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers), Chiguanco Thrush (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers), Northern Mountain Viscacha (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers), Southern House Wren (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers), Peruvian Sierra-Finch (seen by about 50% of wildlife watchers) — among 519 recorded vertebrate species, based on citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to visit Huascarán National Park for wildlife?
May has the highest combined sighting rate for the park's top species in our month-by-month GBIF data. The full sighting calendar on this page shows each species' best months.
Can you see Northern Mountain Viscacha in Huascarán National Park?
Yes — about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Mountain Viscacha sighting in Huascarán National Park, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Vicuña in Huascarán National Park?
Yes — about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Vicuña sighting in Huascarán National Park, based on 2 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Buff-winged Cinclodes in Huascarán National Park?
Yes — about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Buff-winged Cinclodes sighting in Huascarán National Park, based on 474 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Tit-like Dacnis in Huascarán National Park?
Yes — about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Tit-like Dacnis sighting in Huascarán National Park, based on 422 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Where Wildlife Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife?Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
Sighting
GoodHow likely to see animals?
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
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