Natural Treasures:

Arrive in Quito for a stay in your hotel, San Jose de Puembo hotel.

Today brings you to the vast grasslands sitting high in the Andes surrounding the enormous Antisana Volcano. The paramo (grasslands), are interspersed by rocky outcrops and scenic high Andean lakes. These natural formations allow you to spot high altitude waterfowl, Carunculated Caracaras, black-faced Ibis, Andean lapwings, and large flocks of Andean gulls. This area gives you the opportunity to encounter the spectacled bear, Andean Condor, and Giant Hummingbird. Lunch at Tambo Condor before a drive to Papallacta for a night stay at Termas de Papallacta.

Guango lodge lies as an altitude of 2,700 meters above sea level, with the surrounding area characterised by stunted trees, a thicker canopy, and a cooler climate, offering an interesting composition of birds and plants.

As we gain altitude and near the continental divide, species like Black-chested BuzzardEagle, Viridian Metaltail, and Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager become possible. Before and after lunch, we’ll have a good crack at Guango’s hummingbird feeders, which can include Tourmaline Sunangel, Sword-billed Hummingbird, and White-bellied Woodstar.

Night at Termas de la Papallacta.

Enjoy a walk into the high Andean paramo grasslands through Papallacta Pass. Here you can spot Comical Cinclodes, Tawny Antpittas, and shier birds such as Canasteros and tit-spinetails. After lunch, enjoy the afternoon to shoot hummingbirds, walk the forest trails behind the lodge, and scan the riverbank to spot Torrent Ducks.

In mid-afternoon, we pack up and return to the San Jose de Puembo hotel.

After leaving Quito, we will enjoy a four-night stay at Sachatamia Lodge, nestled within the lush subtropical forest on the west slope of the Andes, an area renowned for its high diversity of bird species. Some of the fabulous birds we may encounter include the Booted Racket-tail, Violet-tailed Sylph, Purple-bibbed Whitetip, Western Emerald, Purple-throated Woodstar, Velvet-purple Coronet, Red-headed Barbet, Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager, and Toucan Barbet.

Sachatamia Lodge itself is a unique spot for bird photography, and we will spend a good amount of time shooting around the lodge. However, it also serves as an excellent base to explore numerous other private reserves in the region. We will visit spectacular world-class birding and wildlife locations like Tandayapa and Mindo valleys, Alambi, Mashpi Amaguza, Mashpi Wuasi, Fruttitour. These locations grant access to a wide range of habitats to explore. Birding in these reserves also provides the opportunity to support local conservation initiatives focus on long-term habitat protection. The exact places we visit on the tour, and the order, will depend on various factors such as weather, feeder activity, and most importantly, up-to-date local knowledge on which sites have the best bird activity at the moment, and which are best avoided.

Today we begin our first exploration of the upper part of Mashpi Road with a visit to Amagusa, where we’ll observe fascinating bird species such as the rare Indigo Flowerpiercer, Glistening Green Tanager, Moss-backed Tanager, and a wide variety of hummingbirds including the Empress Brilliant, Velvet-purple Coronet, Violet-tailed Sylph, Purple-bibbed Whitetip, and many others. 

We’ll enjoy a box lunch at Mashpi Wuasi while watching hummingbirds at the feeders. In the afternoon, we’ll take a birding drive to the lodge, some of the species buzzing around are the Tawny-bellied Hermit, Green-tailed Trainbearer, Andean Emerald, Gorgeted Sunangel, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Brown and Collared Incas, Hoary Puffleg, Wedge-billed Hummingbird and White-bellied Woodstars. Upon arrival, we’ll have free time to explore the lodge grounds in search of new and diverse bird species. A delicious dinner awaits us, followed by a brief nocturnal birdwatching session.

One morning during our stay at Sachatamia Lodge will entail a very early start for a drive to reach an exciting ecotourism destination, where Marcelo transformed his land into a place for birdwatching, to safeguard flora and fauna. He created the Fruttitour and Birdwatching project where you will learn about various local fruits trees, flowers as well as admire species such as: Brown Wood-Rail, Yellow-throated Toucan, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Blue-gray Tanager, Ecuadorian Thrush, Orange-billed Sparrow, Saffron Finch, Long-billed Starthroat, among others.

We’ll spend the rest of the day exploring around Mashpi Road and the surrounding areas, looking for Chocó birds such as the Rose-faced Parrot, Chocó Toucan, Chocó Warbler, Scarlet-browed Tanager, Indigo-crowned Quail-Dove, Orange-fronted Barbet, Blue-whiskered Tanager, Purple-chested Hummingbird, and many other endemic species. We’ll return to the lodge for dinner and rest, looking forward to the adventures that await us the next day.

Early departure from the lodge to continue birding, our journey takes us along Tandayapa road. Over the years, this forested valley has gained an impressive reputation for the abundance and variety of birds that can be seen along its length including Toucan Barbet, Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Masked Trogon, White-capped Dipper, Cinnamon Flycatcher, many species of tanager and even the rare White-faced Nunbird. Located in the Andean Chocó ecosystem we’ll find the Alambi Reserve which preserves the cloud forest in the famous Tandayapa Valley, you’ll have the opportunity to immerse yourself in nature and marvel with the beauty of species like the Golden-headed Quetzal and Crested Quetzal, Violet-bellied Hummingbird, Andean Emerald, Whitenecked Jacobin, Flame-rumped Tanager, Tropical Parula and others.

An early departure takes us to one of the most significant bird-watching locations in the area, the Paz de las Aves Refuge, which allows us to spot Andean Cock-of-the-rocks, Giant Moustached, Yellowbreasted Antpittas, Ochrebreasted, Chestnutcrowned Antpittas, Dark backed Wood-Quail, Rufousbreasted Antthrush, and White capped Dipper. We travel back to Quito for our final nights stay at San Jose de Puembo hotel.

Transfer to Quito for end of services.