Birding Tour, October 2025
Amazing Choco
@ Ecuador
7 days from $2,360 USD. Enquiry:
A Paradise for Birdwatching
Uncover secret spots & Discover fascinating species.
More than 500 species of Birds
Rare and endemic species like the Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, the Andean Cock-of-the-rock, and the colorful tanagers.
Top Spots of Ecuador
Mindo, Tandayapa, Refugio Paz de las Aves & Chontal, Reserva Amagusa & Mashpi Road, Rio Silanche, Umbrellabird & Milpe reserve, and more.
7 days from $2,360 usd
Spaces Available to visit the most biodiverse place on Earth: the Amazon Rainforest. Small group size limited with a minimum of 4 people to a maximum of 8 people.
home to an extraordinary variety of bird species found nowhere else on Earth.
This biodiversity hotspot is part of a tropical cloud forest. Whether you're an avid birder or a nature enthusiast, our guided tours will take you deep into this pristine ecosystem, where you’ll experience the thrill of spotting elusive species in their natural habitat. Book your tour now and immerse yourself in one of the most captivating birdwatching destinations in the world.
One of the planet’s most delightful birding destinations.
01.
Includes
All accommodation & meals, with transportation between locations during the tour. Enjoy with full time guiding & entry fees into reserves.
02.
Does not include
Flights to and from the trip start/end point (Quito), travel insurance, nor Items of a personal nature.
A great network of birding reserves with excellent infrastructure & unsurpassable scenery.
A wide array of habitats will be birded.
Detailed Itinerary & Facts
02.
Yanacocha Reserve.
Leaving the hotel well before sunrise, the tour starts with a drive to the northwest of Quito. Crossing the western slopes of the Andes mountains towards the first part of the tour will visit Yanacocha then to the Tandayapa Valley, part of an ecoregion known as the Chocó, famous for its endemic biodiversity and phenomenal birding. During the first part of the trip we will visit Yanacocha Reserve just outside of Quito. This high-elevation reserve near tree line was specifically created to protect the rarely encountered and enigmatic Black-breasted Puffleg, a critically endangered hummingbird found in just a few places in northwest Ecuador. Hummingbirds most often seen include Sparkling Violetear, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Shining Sunbeam,Great Sapphirewing, Golden-breasted and Sapphire-vented Puffleg, and Buff-winged Starfrontlet. Rufous and Tawny Antpittas are seen on the trails with luck, as is Barred Fruiteater. Mixed-species flocks often have Bar-bellied Woodpecker, Pearled Treerunner, White-banded Tyrannulet, Rufous Wren, Masked Flowerpiercer, Glossy Flowerpiercer, Spectacled Redstart, and Hooded and Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanagers. These possibilities and many more begin just an hour from the hotel in Quito. After a morning full of non-stop birding, we will have lunch at the reserve then head towards Tandayapa Valley and making selected stops to look for other birds such as Andean Lapwing, Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant, White-capped Dipper, among many others. Late in the afternoon, we’ll arrive in comfy-temperature Mindo in bellavista cloudforest.
05.
Silanche Reserve
We drive to the lowland rainforest Silanche Reserve, where an observation tower can put you eye-to-eye with dazzling mixed flocks of foraging birds. This important site is one of the last remaining accessible forest remnants found in this key bird area. Home to many important Chocó specialties such as Dusky Pigeon, Purple-chested Hummingbird, Chocó Trogon, Stub-tailed Antbird, Slate-throated Gnatcatcher, Scarlet-breasted Dacnis, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Blue-whiskered Tanager, Gray-and-gold Tanager, Rose-faced Parrot, Chocó Toucan, and Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, among many others.
07.
Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek and antpitta party
Early in the morning, after a cup of fresh hot coffee, we will visit the famous Paz de las Aves Refuge where two neotropical icons are the highlight: a lek of Andean Cock-of-the-Rock and antpittas. Giant, Moustached, Ochre-breasted, Chestnut-crowned, and Yellow-breasted Antpitta are five antpittas frequently lured to their favorite food (earthworms) for easy viewing at this mid-elevation cloud forest reserve. We enjoy a later breakfast at a bird feeder that often attracts Black-chinned and Blue-winged Mountain-Tanagers, Toucan Barbet, Olivaceous Piha, Sickle-winged Guan, and Crimsom-rumped Toucanet. Hummingbird feeders often have Purple-throated Woodstar, Violet-tailed Sylph and Empress Brilliant. We will have our last lunch in Mindo and then begin our drive back to Quito to enjoy a restful night in the city or to depart for your international flight.
01.
Arrival.
Amazing Choco tour will begin in Quito on Day 1, and as this is scheduled as an arrival day, you are free to arrive at any time before 17:00.
03.
Tandayapa Bellavista
An early morning at the Bellavista Reserve parking lot is hard to beat: in the cool morning hours, White-winged Brush-Finch, Turquoise Jay, Masked Trogon, Spectacled Redstart, plus Strong-billed and Montane Woodcreepers, are often picking up insects, like beetles and moths, drawn to an overnight light. Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Toucan Barbet, Crested and Golden-headed Quetzal, Gorget Sunangel, Collared Inca, and Grass-green Tanager are often seen at the lunch area which is perched on a scenic mountain ridge top filled with native bamboo. The mid-elevation Andean forest is draped in epiphytes like orchids and ferns. After lunch we continue to explore the nearby Tandayapa for more great birds, like Streaked Tuftedcheek, Dusky Bush-Tanager, Metallic-green Tanager, and Beautiful Jay.
04.
Amagusa Reserve and Oilbird
After breakfast and some morning birding our driver will be waiting to take you to the Mashpi area at Amagusa Reserve. This low foothill cloud forest has a fantastic array of plant species, from ferns and bromeliads to thousands of unique orchid species, some very new to science. Of course, there is a staggering number of birds as well. It is one of the best places for birding outside of Quito and is another famous area in Ecuador for its impressive number of Chocó endemics. Hummingbirds seen year-round include White-whiskered Hermit, Violet-tailed Sylph, Brown Inca, Velvet-purple Coronet, Booted Racket-tail, and Purple-bibbed Whitetip. Banana feeders often have Glistening-green Tanager, Moss-backed Tanager, and Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager. The often misty forest is home to many more, such as Rose-faced Parrot, Black Solitaire, the rarely seen Chocó Vireo, Pacific Tuftedcheek, Indigo Flowerpiercer, and Orange-breasted Fruiteater. The afternoon we drive to a grotto where nocturnal Oilbirds roost.
06.
Long-Wattled Umbreallabird and Club-Winged Manakin
Early in the morning departure to a foothill area to see a highly-sought specialty of the Chocó: Long-wattled Umbrellabird is often at a lek site on a private reserve owned by a local farmer and with the right time of year we may see the males in their lekking best behavior. Many species are often seen in the area, such as Crested Guan, Bronze-winged Parrot, Black-winged Saltator, Ornate Flycatcher, Flame-faced Tanager, and Golden-headed Quetzal. Later in the morning we will visit Milpe Bird Sanctuary. While Club-winged Manakin lek is a main target, high bird diversity will keep us busy: Pale-mandible Araçari, Golden-bellied Warbler, Buff-rumped Warbler, Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Golden Tanager, Orange-billed Sparrow are regularly seen near the parking lot. With some luck and persistence we will track down understory skulkers along forest trails like White-throated Spadebill, Esmeraldas Antbird, and Golden-winged Manakin. Hummingbird feeders attract White-whiskered Hermit, Crowned Woodnymph, White-necked Jacobin, Green-crowned Brilliant, and Green Thorntail.