PRIVATE BIRD WATCHING TOURS 
Click on link for details and pricing

NORTHERN ECUADOR:  EAST & WEST SLOPE TOURS

NORTHERN AMAZON TOURS

SOUTHERN ECUADOR: MARAÑON REGION & CONDOR MOUNTAIN RANGE

COMPLETE SOUTHERN ECUADOR

SOUTHWESTERN ECUADOR: TUMBESIAN REGION AND SEABIRDS TOUR

GALAPAGOS BIRD WATCHING TOUR

NORTHERN HIGHLAND EXTENSIONS

CHOCÓ REGION EXTENSIONS

DAY TOURS

SEE THE BANDED GROUND CUKOO AT THE NEW HOT BIRDING SITE
 UN POCO DEL CHOCO! Watch the video below:

Here is my version of:

 ALL YOU NEED IS ECUADOR BIRDS

Why Our Tours are The BEST!

This page is the fruit of our efforts in exploring Ecuador to bring you the best birding experience possible.  We make sure that your birding experience surpasses your expectations by offering private tours where you dont have to be part of a large group with strangers that may or may not share the same likings.

As part of our commitment to conservation in Ecuador I have been writting every two weeks in the reputable 10000birds blog as Renato and you can see all my articles here: http://10000birds.com/author/renato.

We are in a very unique location.  Exploring inside the Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve is gratifying since we have some very difficult to find birds such as the Rusty-breasted Antpitta only found in Pululahua and in Southern Ecuador, the Ondulated Antpitta, the Ocellated Tapaculo, the Burrowing Owl, the Greentailed Trainbearer, and many others.  Preliminary bird list of Puluahua.

BIRD WATCHING TOURS 
TO CONSERVE THE FOREST AND SAVE MONEY

My wife and I have become very interested in bird watching.  We believe this activity promotes more consciousness needed to save the forest. Most developed countries are working hard on conservation, but in Ecuador, and in general most underdeveloped countries, the conservation of the forest and the environment is just starting to take some meaning.  We have seen one-hundred-and-eighty degree changes in people that used to destroy the forest who are now converted into forest protectors!  This forest saving miracle has happened thanks to bird watchers that come to our country to see the amazing birds that most Ecuadorians have taken for granted.  The real story about this miracle happens every day at “Refugio Paz de las Aves” www.refugiopazdelasaves.com where a humble Ecuadorian family earn their living by showing off some amazing Neotropical birds that have been trained to eat from the hands of their caretakers.

The success of Refugio Paz de las Aves has motivated to help motivate other people so that they too can benefit from the benefits of sustainability and conservation through bird watching.  This motivation is now beeing materialized though a new website in which we are linking Ecuadorian people who have conservation and bird watching related business.  This is an assosiation of lodge owners, forest preservers, birding guides, and birdwatching routes that will help promote the businesses that promote sustainability and conservation in Ecuador. 

If you want your money to support our local people and their efforts in conservation, then visit our Birdwatching For Conservation Association and follow the links to our Eco-tourism associates.

Birds are a very important chain in ecosystems and help immensely in the control of insects and pests.  Our ecolodge is surrounded by a Geobotanical Reserve, and we see these benefits every day in the production of our organic produce.  Here is a very interesting link related to this subject:

 How Birds Keep our World Safe from the Plagues of Insects

Here are some hard facts about deforestation in the northern Andes and how this affects birds:

Migrant Land Birds in the Andes

Please note that I take photos on the tour but only on special occasions without stopping the guiding process.  I am willing and able to provide photography advise if you need any help.

.DAY TOUR PRICING

We offer a single day tour starting from Quito, or Pululahua.

PRICING: FULL BIRD WATCHING TOURS

Some birding locations require good physical condition, so let us know if you wish to stay on easier trails.  Typically we wake up by 4.30 or 5 am and take breakfast and lunch to go.  On some occasions we have breakfast/lunch at restaurants.  Every night we will have dinner at a restaurant or the place of lodging

NORTHERN ECUADOR: 
EAST and WEST SLOPE TOURS

The Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve and it’s surrounding areas like Mindo, Maquipucuna, Bellavista, Tandayapa, Milpe, Silanche, and many others, make an excellent place for bird watching tours.  All of these places are within the IBAS (Important Bird Areas) located on the Northwest Slope of Ecuador.  This area spreads towards the Chocó region, which is one of the top ten biological hotspots in the world.  And that is not all, the East and West slopes along with the Interandean Valleys are now considered the Tropical Andes the new hotspot classified as the richest and most diverse biodiversity in the world!!

We can offer tours to the following reserves (For more details click on each link):

EAST SLOPE TOURS

Papallacta Pass Antenas
Cayambe-Coca Reserve
Guango Lodge
Cabañas San Isidro
Hosteria Hacienda Cumanda
Guacamayo Cordillera
WildSumaco

WEST SLOPE TOURS

Yanachocha Reserve
Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve
Refugio Paz de las Aves
Oil Bird Cave
23 de Junio
Mangaloma Reserve
Mirador Rio Blanco
Yellow House
Mindo Nambillo Reserve
Santa Lucia Cloud Forest
EcoRuta o Paseo del Quinde
Septimo Paraiso Cloud Forest
Mindo Loma Cloud Forest
Pachijal Reserve
Sachatamia Rain Forest
Milpe Bird Sanctuary
Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary
Bellavista Cloud Forest
Maquipucuna Cloud Forest
Mashpi Reserve

We also offer tours to the eastern side at our standard pricing as proposed above.  Here is our latest best sample itinerary:

Day 1: Pululahua, Yanacocha. Sleep in Puluahua
Day 2: Maquipucuna, Pauma. Sleep in Pululahua
Day 3: Bellavista Tandayapa Valley. Sleep in Puluahua
Day 4: Refugio Paz de las Aves, and Oil Bird Cave.  Sleep in Mindo
Day 5: Rio Silanche, Mido Nambillo Reserve.  Sleep in Mindo
Day 6: 23 de Junio, Mirador del Rio Blanco, Milpe.  Sleep in Pululahua
Day 7: Antisana National Park, Guango Lodge.  Sleep near Baeza
Day 8: Sumaco Biosphere Reserve.  Sleep in Pacto Sumaco
Day 9: WildSumaco.  Sleep near Baeza
Day 10: Cabañas San Isidro, Guacamayo Ridge, Cayambe Coca Reserve.
 

If you want to further explore the eastern side, we can price a package upon request.  We can provide pricing for Sani Lodge, Cuyabeno Reserve, and others.

NORTHERN AMAZON TOURS

The Nothern Amazon Tours cover the Tena and Coca areas. Tena is the closest Amazon town and offers very special birding opportunities without difficult travel and at reasonable prices. Coca is further and becomes the door to more special birds which can be found in the deep forest of Parque Nacional Yasuni.  We will be adding a specific tour to this area in the future.

Our tour will visit to the following reserves (for more details click on each link):

Jatun Sacha
Garenolodge

 Here is the proposed itinerary:

Day 1: Drive from Quito to Tena bird late afernoon, lodging in Misahualli.
Day 2: Birding all day Jatun Sacha, lodging in Misahualli.
Day 3: Birding all day Jatun Sacha, lodging in Misahualli.
Day 4: Drive to Garenolodge, birding along the way lodging in Gareno.
Day 5: Birding all day Garenolodge, lodging in Gareno.
Day 6: Birding all day Garenolodge, lodging in Gareno.
Day 7: Half day birding at Gareno, return to Quito.

SEVEN DAY SOUTHERN ECUADOR :
CORDILLERA DEL CONDOR – MARAÑON REGION

The South of Ecuador offers very special birding. Therefore, we have added an unique tour to see some of the endemics in this area like the Jocotoco Antpitta, Orange-throated Tanager, Golden-plumed Parakeet, Tumbes Hummingbird.

Our tour will visit to the following reserves (for more details click on each link):

Cabañas Copalinga
Podocarpus National Park
Cabañas Yankuam
Tapichalaca Reserve

  Here is the proposed itinerary:

Day 1: Flight to Loja from Quito followed by transportation from Loja to Zamora.
Day 2: Birding all day Cabañas Copalinga.
Day 3: Birding half day Podocarpus National Park, travel to Las Orquideas.
Day 4: Birding all day Cabañas Yankuan.
Day 5: Birding half day Yankuan Travel to Vilcabamba.
Day 6: Travel to Jocotoco Foundation and bird all day.
Day 7: Half day birding at Tapichalaca return to Loja and flight to Quito.

For those interested in fully exploring the tumbesian endemics we can extend this tour to include the following Jocotoco reserves: Jorupe, Utuana, Buenaventura, and Yunguilla.  Also we would include an additional visit to the highland entrance of Cajanuma to the Podocarpus National Park and an additional visit to El Cajas. We can easily extend this tour to fourteen days to cover in great detail the south of Ecuador.  Contact us to customize a special tour.

COMPLETE SOUTHERN ECUADOR :

The complete Southern Ecuador tour covers all of the important sites in the south offers a great opportunity to see very special birding. Therefore, we have added an unique tour to see some of the endemics in this area like the Jocotoco Antpitta, Orange-throated Tanager, Golden-plumed Parakeet, Tumbes Hummingbird.

Our tour will visit to the following reserves (for more details click on each link):

Ecuasal 
Cerro Blanco
Manglares de Churute
Buenaventura
Jorupe
Utuana
Tapichalaca Reserve
Podocarpus National Park – Cajanuma Site
Cabañas Copalinga
Podocarpus National Park – Bombuscaro Site
Cabañas Yankuam
Yunguilla Reserve
El Cajas National Park

  Here is the proposed itinerary:

Day 1: Start in Guayaquil and visit Ecuasal and Cerro Blanco.  Sleep in Guayaquil.
Day 2: Birding Manglares Churute and sleep near Piñas.
Day 3: Birding Buenaventura and sleep near Piñas.
Day 4: Birding Buenaventura and sleep in Macara.
Day 5: Birding Jorupe and sleep in Macara.
Day 6: Birding Jorupe and sleep in Macara.
Day 7: Birding Utuana and sleep in Vilcabamba.
Day 8: Birding Tapichalaca and sleep in Vilcabamba.
Day 9: Birding Tapichalaca and sleep in Vilcabamba.
Day 10: Birding Podocarpus (Cajanuma site) and sleep in Zamora.
Day 11: Birding Cabañas Copaling and sleep in Zamora.
Day 12: Biridng Podocarpus (Bombuscaro site) and sleep in Yankuam.
Day 13: Birding all day Cabañas Yankuan and sleep in Yankuam.
Day 14: Birding morning Yankuan Travel to Yunguilla, sleep in Yunguilla.
Day 15: Birding Yuguilla and sleep in Yunguilla.
Day 16: Birding Cajas and return to Guayaquil.

SOUTHWESTERN ECUADOR: 
TUMBESIAN REGION AND AQUATIC  BIRDS TOUR

This tour is for birders interested Tumbesian endemic birds and also in aquatic birds from fresh and saltwater environments.  Whale-watching is possible from July to September.

Our tour will visit to the following reserves (for more details click on each link):

Rio Palenque
Isla de la Plata
Rio Ayampe
Machalilla National Park- Aguas Blancas
Isla Corazon
Segua Marsh
Lalo Loor Reserve
Juananu Marsh
Cojimies Mangroves
Mache-Chindul Reserve
 

Day 1: Travel from Quito to Rio Palenque Reserve, biding in afternoon.
Day 2: Birding morning at Palenque and transport to Puerto Lopez.
Day 3: Birding Machalilla National Park (Aguas Blancas) and Rio Ayampe. 
Day 4: Birding Ayampe Marsh and day tour to Isla de La Plata.
Day 5: Birding Isla Corazon and Segua Marsh, transport Cojimies.
Day 6: Birding Lalor Loor Reserve, Cojimies Mangroves.
Day 7: Birding Juananu Marsh and Mache-chindul reserve, transport to Quito.

GALAPAGOS BIRD WATCHING TOUR

This is land-based tour and includes one 3-hour boat transport from Santa Cruz to Isabela and a 40 minute flight from Isabela to San Cristobal.  You can also find many details on our birding blog Birding Ecuador for Conservation.

Briefly searching the web we found that the birding tours to Galapagos are the most expensive tours offered for Ecuador.  Prices for a 10 day tour range from $450 per day to $630 per day.  For this reason we are presenting tours for $220 – $300 per day with a totally different approach, the land-based approach.

My wife and I went on a self-planned land tour in preparation to this offering and we concluded:

1. There are many places in the Galapagos Islands that offer very comfortable and clean lodging options for very reasonable prices.
2. We found that food on the main islands is abundant, of good quality and inexpensive.
3. That the local people of the islands do not obtain great benefits from tourism since most of the money goes to the tour operators, agencies, and boat owners.
4. It is possible to see many wonderful things about the Galapgos without taking the expensive and sea sickening option of sleeping on crowded boats.

Click below to get more information and photos from Galapagos:

Land-Tour & Darwin’s Finches

Here is a proposed itinerary:

Day 1: Flight from Quito to Baltra.  Half day Birding at Santa Cruz
Day 2: Birding all day Santa Cruz
Day 3: Boat travel to Isabela in the morning and Half day Birding in Isablela.
Day 4: Birding all day Isabela including snorkeling at Tintoreras Bay.
Day 5: Birding all day Isabela with a day tour to Sierra Negra Volcano.
Day 6: Flight to San Cristobal and half day Birding in San Cristobal.
Day 7: Half day birding San Cristobal and return flight to Quito.

Please contact us for alternative custom tours such as adding Floreana to see the Floreana Mocking bird and the Medium Tree Finch–both endemic to Floreana.

NORTHERN HIGHLAND EXTENSIONS

The highlands of Ecuador present a very special ecosystem where the flora, fauna, and the climate give an exhilarating and unique birding experience.  These are day extension if you want to add to any of the existing tours.

Here are the details and pictures of these reserves.

Antisana Reserve
Papallacta Pass Antenas
Cayambe-Coca Reserve
Bosque Jerusalen
Condor Park
Cuicocha Lake