Ecuador’s Andean Highlands
DAY ONE – Arrival in Quito
We will arrive in Quito in the evening, where, after clearing customs, we will be transferred to our hotel. Night at the Hotel Dann Carlton.
DAY TWO – Yanacocha
Today we will depart for the forests in the Mindo region, considered to be one of the most productive habitats in the neotropics. Our first stop will be Yanacocha, in the high montane cloud forest on Volcan Pichincha. Here we will spend the day enjoying such wondrous birds as Black-collared Jay, Barred Fuiteater, Hooded and Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, and numerous hummingbirds such as Green-tailed Trainbearer, Shining Sunbeam, Tyrian Metaltail, Sword-billed hummingbird, and Buff-winged Starfrontlet.
We will arrive at our lodge for the next four days, Septimo Paraiso Cloud Forest Lodge, located in the pre-montane cloud forest. This is a wonderful lodge which serves as a comfortable base to bird the exciting Mindo area. It has a spring-fed pool, an observation platform, and a great trail network that will allow us to explore the lodge’s 800 acre preserve. We will also take day trips to explore the whole Choco Endemic Bioregion. Night Septimo Paraiso Cloud Forest Lodge.
DAYS THREE – FOUR – FIVE
Septimo Paraiso Lodge, the Choco Endemic Bioregion and the Tandayapa Valley
During our stay at Septimo Paraiso we will bird the forests around Mindo, a small village nestled in the valley of the Rio Mindo, one of the best known birding localities in Ecuador with an impressive birdlist of over 360 species. This cloud forest supports such sought-after species as Maroon-tailed Parakeet, Toucan Barbet, Nariño Tapaculo, Broad-billed Motmot, Golden-headed Quetzal, and Golden and Flame-faced Tanager.
We will bird the trails and lodge grounds for such specialties as Long-wattled Umbrellabird, Giant Antpitta, Scaled Antpitta, Choco Toucan, Scaled Fruiteater and Tanager Finch — and the Club-winged Manakin! Hummingbirds will be plentiful and we should see Sparkling Violetear, Andean Emerald, Booted Racket-tail and Long-tailed Sylph.
On one of the days there we will visit the Pedro Vicente Maldonado area, located at a lower elevation than Mindo, around 4,000 feet. This area has been converted to farming, but it is an important source of food for several species of tanagers like the Golden-hooded and Flame-rumped Tanagers, parrots like the Bronze-winged Parrot, as well as White-tipped Cotinga and Stripe-throated Wren. It has been the only reliable site for the rare Scarlet-breasted Dacnis, but deforestation may make this bird very difficult to see.
One day we will make an early morning visit to the well-known lek of the Andean-Cock-of-the-Rock. In addition we will travel to the Tandayapa Valley cloudforest, with some of the highest diversity of epiphytes anywhere in the the world, dominated by canopied forest, with many epiphytic orchids (over 80 species identified to date), bromeliads, tree ferns and moss covered branches. Over 320 bird species have been recorded in the Tandayapa Valley, and this is one of the best places to experience the marvel of the Andean mixed species feeding flocks. You can see Blue-winged Mountain, Golden-naped, Beryl-spangled, White-winged, Yellow-rumped, Black-capped, and Metallic Green Tanagers, feeding with Fruiteaters, Becards, Whitestarts, Flower-piercers, Saltators and a myriad of flycatchers.
The rich forest is also known for Black-and-Chestnut Eagle, Red-billed Parrot, Black-chinned Mountain Tanager, Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, Toucan Barbet, Beautiful Jay and Russet-crowned and Spectacled Redstart. We will also visit several hummingbird feeders for such beauties as Buff-tailed Coronet, Booted Racket-tail, Gorgeted Sunangel, Velvet-Purple Coronet and Empress Brilliant. Nights at Septimo Paraiso Cloud Forest Lodge.
DAY SIX – Papallacta Pass – Guango Lodge – Termas Papallacta
We will depart early in the morning for our next stop, Papallacta Pass, where we have a chance of seeing such specialties as Sword-billed Hummingbird and Black-billed Mountain Toucan. We will search the streams along the road for Torrent Ducks and stop for flocks of tanagers and flower-piercers while watching for Carunculated Caracara, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle and Andean Condors. Other possibilities are Shining Sunbeam, Red-crested Cotinga, and Blue-and-yellow Tanager.
Arriving at the pass we may find Silvery Grebe, Andean Duck, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Tawny Antpitta, Blue-mantled Thornbill, Paramo (Andean) Tapaculo, Many-striped Canastero, Andean Tit-Spinetail, Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant, Giant Conebill, and Black-backed Bush-Tanager.
We will stop for lunch and bird the trails at Guango Lodge at 8,500 ft elevation, whose grounds could produce such specialties as Tourmaline Sunangel, Mountain Velvetbreast, Bar-bellied Woodpecker, Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan, and Mountain Avocetbill. Nearby flocks could reveal Sword-billed Hummingbird, Long-tailed Sylph, Black-headed and Black-eared Hemispingus, Fawn-breasted Tanager, Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager, Gray-hooded Bush-Tanager, and Slaty Brush-Finch. We will spend the night at a very comfortable, nearby lodge which offers the option of thermal baths, quite welcome at this high elevation. Please note, for health considerations, we will be at 14,350 feet as we travel through Papallacta Pass. Night at Termas de Papallacta Lodge.
DAYS SEVEN – EIGHT – NINE – San Isidro
Leaving the high elevation paramo we will descend to the subtropical cloud forests of the eastern slope of the Andes to our next stop, the exceptional San Isidro Lodge, bastion of Wattled Guans, found at an altitude of 6,900 feet. Many of the most sought after and breathtaking Neotropical species reside here. Of all of the known sites where Andean Cock-of-the-Rock is found in Ecuador, the congregation of brilliant, screaming individuals at San Isidro’s mating lek is by far the most easily accessible, being only a twenty-minute walk from the cabins down an easy-to-walk trail.
One can hear Rufous-banded Owls and Andean Potoos from the lodge, and we’ll look for Crested and Golden-headed Quetzals, Rufescent Screech Owl, Bicolored Antvireo, Slate-crowned Antpitta, Barred Antthrush, Grass-green Tanager, many colorful Tangara tanagers, Long-tailed Sylph, and a veritable fireworks display of hummingbirds. Black-and-Chestnut Eagle, Powerful Woodpecker, fruiteaters of several species, White-capped Tanager, and more, are all very real possibilities, and we will spend our days enjoying this place, its fine cuisine, and wonderful hospitality. There is always a remote chance that we may see the elusive Spectacled Bear on or near our hotel grounds. Nights at San Isidro Lodge.
DAY TEN – San Isidro / Quito
After some morning birding we will return to Quito for a special farewell dinner and our final night in Ecuador. Night at the Hotel Dann Carlton.
DAY ELEVEN – Departure
Following breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for your flight home.
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