COCHAHUASI ANIMAL SANCTUARY

Who we are

The Cochahuasi Animal Sanctuary is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing wildlife.
Many animals arrive from illegal trafficking, the black market, or abuse.
Some cannot return to the wild because they now depend on humans or have permanent injuries.

Our sanctuary is at kilometer 22 on the Cusco–Pisac Road.
We work every day to give each animal a better quality of life.

What we do

We focus on:

Nutrition: species-specific diets.
Hygiene: daily cleaning of enclosures.
Enrichment: activities to reduce stress.
Specialized care: veterinarian, nutritionist, guides, and volunteers.

Mission of the Cochahuasi Animal Sanctuary

We educate every visitor.
Our guides share each animal’s story and promote a culture of conservation and respect—for wildlife and domestic animals alike.

Vision of Cochahuasi Cusco

We give special attention to species at risk, especially the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus, CITES Appendix I), the world’s largest flying bird with a wingspan of up to 3.5 meters.
We run a program for release, rehabilitation, and breeding to help protect this species in Peru.

Where is Cochahuasi?

We are 30 minutes from Cusco’s Plaza de Armas, at km 22 of the Cusco–Pisac Road.
Local buses depart from Puputi Street.
Tell the driver you are going to Cochahuasi, where the condors are.

The vast majority of these animals have been used as pets in many cases they have used them to make public shows or in nightclubs, also many of them have damaged parts for example in the macaws they cut their feathers so that they cannot fly and so they do not escape from the place where they have them, In the case of condors, some of them arrived with broken wings or fractured legs, in the case of turtles that have suffered fractures in the shell.

We have Animals in endangered of Extinction in Peru, for this in the case of the Andean condor we have implemented our program of conservation and preservation of this species, which is disappearing from the Peruvian Andes.

This is how we try to give all our animals the best conditions suitable for their would be in the sanctuary, giving them for example the right temperature so that they do not suffer from cold, large enclosures, the best quality of food all of them first to prevent them from acquiring diseases And be able to have a good immune system,

All diets are species-specific which demand greater food consumption are the 3 Andean bears, one of them from Chanchamayo, the other from Cajamarca and finally from Ayacucho.

Released andean condor

The animal sanctuary of Cochahuasi on 09/29 /2019 released an Andean condor to nature, with its GPS, this is a device that serves to monitor it obtaining Data such as height, flight speed, temperature, nesting among other very important data to carry out research on this species to be able to preserve it in the future.

In our sanctuary we are aware that many people for different reasons are on purpose or because of ignorance that affect our wildlife animals; either by hunting them, injuring them for different marketing purposes or keeping them as pets.

Because a part of humanity puts at risk and in danger of extinction criticizes many species of wildlife, however, there is also another part of humanity that helps to make sanctuaries for animals, wildlife reserves, rescue centers, reproduction centers to save many of them.

Threats to wildlife

Major threats include:

Global warming
Habitat loss from logging and fires
Lack of environmental education
Illegal hunting and wildlife trade

Tourist Attraction

Cochahuasi is also a tourism and education site.
We aim to offer the best possible experience, so visitors leave with a deeper understanding of each species—its habitat, behavior, and even individual names.
You will feel the empathy of some animals and the untamed spirit of others, like the vicuña.