Cornell University’s Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird app has just reconfirmed that the grounds of the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel are one of the most biodiversity-rich urban hotspots in the world. The app has now registered a record high of 311 species within the property’s grounds.

Recently awarded as one of Travel Leisure magazine’s 500 Favorite Hotels and Resorts in the World, Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel is a pioneering case of regenerative tourism. Its grounds were originally used for grazing and tea. In 1976, Inkaterra began the restoration of the cycle of life in the Machu Picchu cloud forest, through the reforestation of native flora such as ferns, bromeliads, palms and native trees as the queñual and the pisonay.

Restoring the Andean cloud forest has enabled Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel to enhance one of the most biodiversity-rich environments within city limits. Natural pollination is encouraged as a means to entice birds, butterflies and other pollinating agents. For instance, a communal lek where male Andean cock-of-the-rock specimens challenge rivals and mate with females during breeding season, is found at the property.

The golden-headed quetzal (Pharomachrus auriceps), the versicolored barbet (Eubucco versicolor), the Andean motmot (Momotus aequatorialis), the torrent duck (Merganetta armata), and up to 18 hummingbird species, are some of the most representative species found at Inkaterra grounds.

Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel’s lush gardens host 111 butterfly species, as well as the world’s largest native orchid collection according to the American Orchid Society, with 372 recorded species. Additionally, the organic tea produced in the hotel grounds won the gold medal at the 2023 Annual Teas of the World Awards in Paris, as well as two silver medals in the 2024 edition.

eBird is among the world’s largest biodiversity-related science projects, with more than 100 million bird sightings contributed annually by eBirders around the world, documenting bird distribution, abundance, habitat use, and trends through checklist data collected within a simple, scientific framework.

One of the most trustworthy sources of tourism information in the world, Fodor’s has just released its new ‘Essential Peru’ travel guide. The new book features Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba as preferred accommodation for travelers visiting Cusco’s Sacred Valley, commending its “stunning views and setting, high tea and curated breakfast included, and excellent service.”

“Whether you stay in the main house or your own private casita, all the guest quarters at this sprawling, 40-hectare (100-acre), sustainable estate—built to resemble the haciendas of old—have beautiful wood appointments and allow for peaceful dreams thanks to the finest beds and the dramatic views of the Sacred Valley and surrounding mountains,” reads Fodor’s Essential Peru.

Lauded by Travel+Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler, Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba is a contemporary hacienda-style hotel amid the green mountains and harvest fields of Cusco’s Sacred Valley of the Incas. All rooms in the main house and stand-alone luxury casitas feature breathtaking views of the valley, immersing guests in open space, serenity and relaxing solitude. Architecture and interiors are inspired by the area’s cultural history, with colonial furniture, authentic Inca masks and handcrafted woodwork that add to the hacienda’s local charm.

Promoting the new Columbia Pictures/StudioCanal movie, Paddington in Peru, Café Inkaterra recently hosted a Meet & Greet brunch with the beloved bear. Wearing the popular blue raincoat and carrying a marmalade jar, Paddington Bear arrived with the British Ambassador to Peru, The Hon. Gavin Cook, to salute local families and travelers in Machu Picchu Pueblo.

Soon after, a statue of Paddington Bear was unveiled by municipal authorities at Alameda Los Artesanos. Portrayed sitting on a wooden bench, enjoying a sandwich near the Aguas Calientes river – “at the foot of the Wonder of the World,” the new sculpture “represents shared values such as curiosity, friendship, and kindness,” Ambassador Cook remarked. “The story of Paddington is one of two countries united; it is an iconic character not only in the United Kingdom but also worldwide.”

The third installment of the Paddington movie saga traces the bear’s origins, as British author Michael Bond imagined its famous character coming from “darkest Peru” in its first book, A Bear Called Paddington (1958). Now showing in theaters, Paddington’s new sequel follows the bear’s epic quest back to its birthplace, visiting locations in Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu, encouraging moviegoers to explore the many marvels of Peru.

The film also raises awareness of efforts to conserve the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), the only bear species native to South America and the source of inspiration for Paddington, as well as its habitat – the Andean cloud forest.

Paddington in Peru’s director Dougal Wilson has credited an influence from Werner Herzog’s classic films Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (1972) and Fitzcarraldo (1982), both co-produced by Inkaterra founder José Koechlin, as a means to promoting tourism to Peru through film. “Peru has this incredible variety of landscapes, crazy geology, especially the Andes and the mysterious Incan side,” Wilson told Empire Magazine.

Dr. Therese Lamperty (University of Florida) is an ecologist and conservation biologist interested in exploring how current global change patterns – such as wildlife declines and climate change – are directly and indirectly altering ecological and evolutionary processes in tropical forest ecosystems. She recently published a paper on her revealing PhD investigation, ‘Defaunation Increases Clustering and Fine-Scale Spatial Genetic Structure in a Small-Seeded Palm Despite Remaining Small-Bodied Frugivores,” featured in the Wiley Molecular Ecology journal - international journal for research that utilizes molecular genetic techniques to address consequential questions in ecology, evolution, behavior and conservation.

Co-authored by Zoe Diaz-Martin, Varun Swamy, Jordan Karubian, Juanita Choo, and Amy E. Dunham, the new study sheds light on how the ‘defaunation’ phenomenon (localized functional extinction of large and medium-sized fauna in tropical forests), increasingly caused by anthropogenic pressures such as hunting, impacts tropical plant communities. While species of smaller sizes at the same time in these areas benefit from factors such as competitive release and increase in numbers, the research cautions that this transformation of the wildlife community detriments interactions and reduces ecosystem services such as seed dispersal and seed-mediated gene flow with far-reaching consequences.

This research is key to underscoring the relevance of conservation efforts such as the Madre de Dios Sustainable Lanscape (MDSL), an initiative led by Inkaterra Asociación to establish a 252,047-acre conservation corridor aimed at preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. Mitigating illegal activities such as illegal gold mining and deforestation, the MDSL addresses an area devoted to reforestation, ecotourism and other sustainable activities, driving the positive impact on biodiversity and regional economy. Local communities and key stakeholders engage in value-added economic activities that sustain biodiversity, reduce ecosystem fragmentation, maintain and restore ecosystem services. These agents of change lead to reduced poverty; carbon sequestration capacity; resilient natural habitats; sustainable use of food; water and other natural resources; control of climate and disease; and capacity building in ecotourism and other cultural endeavors.

Dr. Lamperty and fellow researchers relied on Inkaterra Asociación’s contribution, providing lodging facilities at Amazon Field Station byInkaterra. Click the button below to read the full article.