Routes

Junin Grebe and Rail

Lake Junin is the second largest lake in Peru with a surface area of 530 km2. It is part of the upper Mantaro drainage and is home to spectacular numbers of waterbirds including two species found nowhere else.

The Junin Grebe is a flightless species very similar to the Silvery Grebe that is also found here. The Junin Grebes are bigger, longer necked and longer billed with a different head shape. To see the grebe you need to take a boat trip into the open waters of the lake.

The Junin Rail is taxa in the Black Rail complex and whilst some authorities only regard it as a subspecies, others consider it a unique endemic species. It is certainly highly distinctive and the best way to see it is on a clear moonless night when they will come into the open at certain points.