Day 1: Quito – Bellavista
5:00 AM. Depart from Quito. Pick up at the hotel. We start climbing up the western highlands through mountains of a paramo (moor like) landscape to arrive to Yanacocha, our first forest birding target point, located at around 3500 m (11500 ft). Birding along a flat trail home of a myriad of beautiful hummingbirds and tanagers. Lunch type picnic. In the afternoon, we continue towards the well-known Old Nono-Mindo Road, to try to find the famous Cock of the Rock then we pass by a site where the spectacular Lyre-tailed Nightjar can often be seen. Transfer to the lodge. Dinner.
Day 2: Bellavista -
Enjoy the beautiful trails of the lodge and to look for the most remarkable birds of this zone. Later on we go back to the lodge for some rest and to watch some of the hummingbirds there found. After lunch, we take the Old Nono-Mindo Road again, searching for tanager flocks, White-capped Dipper, Turquoise Jay, and many others species. Possibility to go owling, after dinner. Some of the varieties could be: Andean Screech-Owl, Andean Pigmy-Owl or Mottled Owl
Day 3: Bellavista - Mindo
5h00 Depart from the lodge. Today we descend towards tropical lowlands. In this area we will search for some of the Chocó’s species such as Scarlet-breasted Dacnis, Black-tipped Cotinga, and Chocó Toucan. Lunch type picnic. Birding. Transfer to the lodge in Mindo. Dinner
Day 4: Mindo
6h00 Depart from the lodge. Today we will visit the highlands of Tandayapa reserve where we will try to find the Ocellated Tapaculo, a specie that lives in the thick bamboo near Tandayapa Pass. Also found here is the Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan. We go to the lodge for lunch and continue birding in the afternoon. Dinner.
Day 5: Mindo
5h30 We start birding in the area around the lodge. Lunch. We pass by the Mindo Lindo tree nursery, where we will try to see Club-winged Manakin and later we will head to Los Bancos. In this area it is possible to find Moss-backed Tanager, Glistening-green Tanager, Ochre-breasted Tanager, and Rufous-throated Tanager. Return to the lodge. Dînner.
Day 6: Mindo - Quito
During this day we will go around the Mindo area trying to find some other species that might not been seen yet. After lunch we will to back to Quito. Back to Quito. Arrival to Quito and night at the hotel.
Day 7: Quito - Papallacta
Early morning depart from Quito (6h00) towards east of the Andean Range. We reach 4,200 mts to try to see the Rufus Bailed seedsnipe (only found at this altitude), Andean Condor could also be found an other species. Lunch at Thermas de Papallacta (thermal spa). In the afternoon, birding around the area. Back to Quito at the end of the day.
PRICE:
With a naturalist birding guide $1525 per person
With a high scoring ornithologist $1825 per person
The price will vary depending on the type of hotel you would like in Quito.
The price includes:
Accommodation at lodges and at a hotel in Quito
Private transportation during the journey.
A bilingual naturalist guide for the visits.
Meals according with the board
Does not include:
Meals not specified
Beverages
Airport taxes
Any visit not specified in the itinerary
Personal expenses
| DAYS |
ITINERARY |
MEALS |
ACCOMMODATION |
| 1 |
Quito Bellavista |
BL D |
Bellavista |
| 2 |
Bellavista |
B BL D |
Bellavista |
| 3 |
Bellavista Mindo |
B L D |
Sachatamia |
| 4 |
Mindo |
B L D |
Sachatamia |
| 5 |
Mindo |
B L D |
Sachatamia |
| 6 |
Mindo Quito |
B L |
Mercure |
| 7 |
Quito Papallacta Quito |
B L |
-------- |
| B= breakfast |
BL= box lunch picnic |
D= Dinner |
Some information about the birding areas
Yanacocha
It is an area of temperate cloud forest and paramo. It is located on the Volcán Pichincha slopes. Birding along a wide, flat trail through stunted forest. There are hummingbirds, such as the Sapphire-vented Puffleg, Shining Sunbeam, and Purple-backed Thornbill, besides being outstanding are not hard to see. The Black-breasted Puffleg, which is probably the rarest hummingbird in the world, has its home here. The tanager flocks here include such gems as Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Hooded Mountain-Tanager, and Golden-crowned Tanager.
Mindo and Los Bancos
The Mindo area is only about 1 1/2 hour from Quito and close to the Tandayapa area. Allows the access to the lower subtropics. Birding is mostly from the road with some short trails into the forest. Target species here includes: Sunbittern, Torrent Duck, Club-winged Manakin, and White-capped Dipper. The remnant forests at Los Bancos foothills are home to the rare Moss-backed, Glistening-green, Rufous-throated, and Ochre-breasted Tanagers, as well as the endemic Pale-mandible Aracari.
The Western Lowlands
Only about 90 minutes from Quito, better to depart early to bird at dawn. The forest possesses a big variety of birds. You can find there motmots, trogons and toucans besides a diversity of tanagers, woodcreepers, ovenbirds With an early rise and a 90 minute drive you can be birding lowland rainforest by dawn. The forest is highly fragmented but a good diversity of birds can still be found. From the road you can see trogons, motmots, and toucans as well as mixed species flocks of tanagers, woodcreepers, ovenbirds, and ant-birds. Rarely are there the Scarlet-breasted Dacnis, the Black-tipped Cotinga, and Scarlet-and-white Tanager.
Other custom birding trips can be arranged. Click here to contact us.
