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From the stunning landscapes of the west highlands of the Pichincha volcano, down through the cloudforests of the Maquipucuna and Mindo valleys, this tour is full of unique cloudforest specialties and Choco endemics. Our exciting itinerary offers the opportunity to combine top-quality birding in a variety of ecosystems with spectacular landscapes, all the while supporting conservation efforts in this important and vulnerable area. Our trip should record a wide variety of great species across a substantial altitudinal range--Ecuador is amazingly rich--and what follows is just a small sample of what we might see.

In the highlands west of Quito, just beside the Pichincha volcano, we will first visit the famous Yanacocha and Zuroloma reserves. Yanacocha holds a great population of hummingbirds, including Great Sapphirewing, Sword-billed Hummingbird, and Sapphire-vented and Golden-breasted pufflegs. We'll seek, among many others, Golden-crowned Tanager and several species of mountain-tanagers, such as Hooded, Scarlet-bellied, Black-chested, and Buff-breasted.

After sampling the birds of the Yanacocha area, we'll leave the highlands and enjoy stunning views of montane tropical forest along the Old Nono-Mindo road in an area well known for its unique birds. Our itinerary has been designed to stay in three strategic lodges, Guaycapi, Maquipucuna, and Sachatamia. These will be our bases from which to explore the biodiverse hotspot areas of Mindo Nambillo Protected Forest (designated an Important Bird Area under the Birdlife IBA Program), Mashpi, and some of the Choco lowlands.

As we explore the cloudforest, we should find the fabulous Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, male Andean Cocks-of-the-rock at their lek, and the elusive White-faced Nunbird.

We have also added the new Guaycapi Lodge, where we will stay for three nights. This lodge is at 2000 m (6550 ft), and it give us an opportunity to see birds that are unique at this altitude. The lodge has an amazing location, delicious food, fantastic feeders, plus an incredible view.

At Guaycapi we will explore nearby locations in the upper Tandayapa ridge for different species of antpittas, have another chance at Cocks-of-the-rock, and see many birds that are unique in this location. From Guaycapi Lodge, we will also take the road to Mashpi, where we'll look for birds such as Moss-backed Tanager, Nariño Tapaculo, Indigo Flowerpiercer, and other specialties of the area. After Guaycapi, we will visit Maquipucuna, which is the biggest private reserve to the northwest of Quito, with around 6000 hectares of pristine cloudforest. The lodge is at an altitude of 1300 m (4265 ft), and the heart of the reserve is home to an incredible combination of cloudforest and rainforest birds such as Lanceolated Monklet, Esmeraldas Antbird, and Scaled Fruiteater. Conservation work being done at Maquipucuna ensures that the landscape here is spectacular. We will then visit Sachatamia Lodge with its stunning tanager and hummingbird feeders. From here, we will do a day visit to Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary in the Choco lowlands, and we will also make a special effort to look for the amazing Long-wattled Umbrellabird at a lek.

We'll spend most of our time birding, in the process seeing many of the birds typical of the middle and upper montane forests as well as the Choco lowlands, while also searching for some of the rarest species, all in the context of enjoying the magnificent western foothills. This tour is not designed to run up a long list of species, yet we can expect to see more than 250. Because we'll see many of them well and repeatedly, this itinerary makes an ideal introduction to the cloudforest or just a nice birding vacation for those wishing to have another immersion in these rich biomes. By staying at three lodges in the habitat, we will also have time to become acquainted with the voices of the forest and then to try to see many of these "voices," in the process fathoming the richness of the forest's avifauna.

Join us for this tour, offering the chance to experience the cloudforest and its many wonders in the best of Northwestern Ecuador!

Select the KEY INFO tab or click here for our itinerary plus space requests, status, fees, limits, and guides for any departure.

Client comment
"This was a very good tour, and I am well pleased. Guide Willy Perez is excellent. Lively, enthusiastic, patient, informative, and generally an outgoing person, making the whole experience most enjoyable." K.B., CLOUDFORESTS OF ECUADOR 2019

Combo Tours
If you would like a longer birding holiday, some departures of this tour may be combined with:
GALAPAGOS: An Intimate Look at Darwin's Islands