Ecuador Birding: Amazon & Cloudforest tour

Welcome to Quito! The capital city of Ecuador is beautifully situated in the Andes, squeezed between mountain peaks and volcanoes at an altitude of 2,850 meters (9,350 ft). A city full of traditional Ecuadorian Sierra Culture, bustling markets, relaxing parks, busy commercial streets choked with traffic, and the incredible historical colonial city center. 

Our driver will carry a sign with your name on it and welcome you at the arrivals area. You will be transferred to your hotel in the city. The rest of the day/evening is free to acclimatize and get used to your new surroundings. 

Duration: transfer of 45 min to 1 hour 15 min / Type: private transfer

Depart from Quito International Airport to El Coca. After a brief lunch in Sacha’s private house, you begin a 2-hour journey down river to Sacha Lodge. After a brief rest, take a swim in lake Pilchicocha, a beautiful black water lake home to many species of fish and animals. You will also have the opportunity to see the sunset from the hotel’s observation tower. After dinner your naturalist guide takes you on a night walk through the rainforest, and a canoe ride to view the spectacled black caimans.

Leave the lodge after breakfast to hike on the Lagartococha Trail where you will learn about the native people and the legends of their spirits and ancestors. You can also spot wildlife species such as anaconda, caiman and capibara. Return to the lodge for lunch with free time to relax in the afternoon. Later your native guide will teach you how to fish for the infamous razor-toothed piranha, and you can enjoy a silent canoe ride through the Amazonian forest to spot more amazing wildlife, before arriving at Sacha’s 135 foot wooden tower built around an ancient Kapok tree to enjoy the view of Mount Sumaco and a beautiful sunset. Return to the lodge and dinner.

Leave the lodge after breakfast to hike on the Lagartococha Trail where you will learn about the native people and the legends of their spirits and ancestors. You can also spot wildlife species such as anaconda, caiman and capibara. Return to the lodge for lunch with free time to relax in the afternoon. Later your native guide will teach you how to fish for the infamous razor-toothed piranha, and you can enjoy a silent canoe ride through the Amazonian forest to spot more amazing wildlife, before arriving at Sacha’s 135 foot wooden tower built around an ancient Kapok tree to enjoy the view of Mount Sumaco and a beautiful sunset. Return to the lodge and dinner.

Early wakeup call and breakfast. Two hour canoe ride back to Coca city in time for your flight back to Quito. 

At arrival our driver will be waiting for you. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure to rest and prepare for your next adventure in the Chocó Andino. 

Yanacocha, Bellavista: You will be picked up from your hotel in Quito, to be transferred to the first destiny, Yanacocha Reserve, place that boasts excellent montane cloud forest northwest of Quito with lots of montane bird life. If the flocks treat us well, they are frequented by mountain-tanagers (including Golden-crowned Tanager, Hooded, Black-chested, Scarlet-breasted MountainTanagers, fruit-eaters (Barred, Green-and-Black), Brush-Finches (Yellowbellied, White-naped), flowerpiercers (Glossy, Black, Masked, White-sided), etc. We will drive some down the Bellavista Road looking for Platebilled Mountain Toucan, Tanager Finch, Fruiteaters (Barred and Green-andBlack), mixed flocks, etc. in the afternoon.

Silanche, Rancho Suamox & Milpe: Silanche and Rancho Suamox are both lowland Chocoan sites. The first is a 60 hectare fragment of remnant forest (30 years ago there were over 20,000 connected hectares there before heart of palm plantations moved in), which is packed full to the brim with birds. The flocks, if found, may contain over 30 to 40 species easily. Rancho Suamox is very close to the Silanche Reserve, but is a bit different. The Ranch operated as a hotel and the property, like the surrounding properties, was highly manipulated / disturbed. The owners have been reforesting the property and focusing on attracting birds. While many of the birds they attract are “common”, they will be new birds for the trip and some of the birds they attract are quite rare. A walk around the property may yield some surprises as they have resident Spectacled Owls among other delights. We will have lunch in Pedro Vicente Maldonado and continue on towards Milpe. Silanche and Rancho Suamox are below 500 m.a.s.l. and Milpe is around 1000 m.a.s.l. meaning the first two are lowland Choco sites and Milpe is a foothill birding site. There will be some overlap but the differences certainly merit a visit to both! The feeders here are excellent and the hummingbirds will be all different from the morning’s location. The trails are beautiful and may provide mixed flocks, maybe even an umbrellabird, or other surprises. When the weather is nice, we can look for Black-and-White Owl, Cloudforest Pygmy-Owl, and other nocturnal birds.

Birdwatcher’s House (Santa Rosa) & Mindo: A retired guide bought a nice piece of land and made it very bird-friendly in the Birdwatcher’s House. We will get there early in order to take full advantage of the light setup which attracts insectivorous birds, which can be quite difficult to see, out into the relative open. There is also a banana feeder station and hummingbird station. Some of the main targets here are also quality views of Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, Yellow-breasted Antpitta, Gorgeted Woodstar, and Blue-capped Tanager.

Afterwards, transfer back to your hotel in Quito. 

You will be picked up at your hotel for a transfer to Quito airport in time for your international flight out.