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Baleens on Tour in Peru and Ecuador

The critical Humboldt Current passes closest to the continental coast in its travel to Peru before heading west from Ecuador, bringing a number of migrating baleen species into the coastal waters of these two countries. The humpback is the species that most visitors on Peru tours or Ecuador tours will most likely see. Blues, fins, Bryde’s whales and seis also pass through these waters though less predictably for the purposes of anyone trying to schedule their travel to Peru or Ecuador for whale watching.

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Peru Tours

The eco-business of whale watching in Peru is in its infancy. Though dolphins are more likely to be seen around Lima than are baleens, humpbacks pass by Lima in November and again in July. On the north coast, humpbacks start arriving in June and stay until October or November to breed and give birth. The top spots include Los Organos where they may be seen from land or sea. A great base for your northern region travel to Peru is the nearby Mancora, a popular spot with surfers.

Almost all of Southern Explorations’ Peru tours spend time in Lima. With its year-round sun, on the north coast of Peru, surfing and whale watching are pleasant during the same season. Southern Explorations offers a four-day tour extension to Mancora that may be added to Machu Picchu trekking tours or elsewhere during travel to Peru.

Ecuador Tours

Whether choosing a mainland coastal trip or a Galapagos Islands cruise, visitors who travel to Ecuador may see baleens. Migrating north from Antarctica for the winter, humpbacks come up the Pacific coast on their way to Central America or remain here to breed and give birth. The species arrives in June and leaves in October. The most popular whale watching spot in Ecuador is the vicinity of Machalilla National Park, Ecuador’s only coastal national park.

Humpbacks may also be seen at Salinas on the Santa Elena Peninsula, in the Ensenada de Cayo near the Isla de la Plata, an island often compared to the Galapagos Islands for the abundance and diversity of its wildlife. Other humpback locations include the Bahia de Manta, the Bahia de Caraquez, and furthest north, at Mompiche in the Ensenada de Mompiche on the Esmeraldas coast between June and September.

A number of festivals along the central coast celebrate the arrival of the humpbacks each year. These include the annual Festival Mundial de Las Ballenas Jorobadas held in Puerto Lopez in June. Other coastal villages such as Sua on the Esmeraldas coast also hold humpback whale festivals.

Southern Explorations’ eight-day Andes to the Coast trip spends two days along Ecuador’s Esmeraldas coast at Mompiche. To learn about whale watching in the Galapagos Islands, see our article on this subject.

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