8 Days Ecuador Cloudforest Trip

Our 8 Days Ecuador Cloudforest Trip is based just two hours from Quito amidst the lush, bird-rich cloud forests of the northwestern Andes. We visit all the key birding sites, including Yanacocha, Bellavista, Mindo, Paz de las Aves, Tandayapa, Milpe, Silanche and Mashpi-Chontal.

We start our trip leaving early from your hotel in Quito to travel by private vehicle to Yanacocha Reserve which is the site of the rare Ecuadorian endemic hummingbird, the Black-breasted Puffleg. The morning at Yanacocha shows us the andean forest that forms the watershed of many rivers and also allows us good looks of many hummingbird species, including the amazing Sword-billed Hummingbird, the unforgettable Shining Sunbeam and the elegant Great Sapphirewing, as well as other high elevation species such as Andean Guan, Andean Pygmy-Owl, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Pearled Treerunner, Rufous Antpitta, Tawny Antpitta, Ocellated Tapaculo, Red-crested Cotinga, Barred Fruiteater, Rufous Wren, Blue-backed Conebill, Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager and Hooded Mountain-Tanager.

Ancient plants families are living at these unique andean formation, the conditions found in here has increase the success of many species of trees, and many other likes Gunneras, Orchids, Ferns and Grasses.

After Box lunch we continue down the old Nono-Mindo Road, birding en route along the Alambi River, searching especially for river-side specialties such as Torrent Duck and White-capped Dipper. We arrive at our lodge late in the day just in time to watch the late afternoon bird activity and the end-of-the-day gathering of hummingbirds at the feeders. We spend the rest of the tour searching for wildlife among private nature reserves and bird sanctuaries, exploring the entire area, from 7000 ft (2400m) elevation down to 1500 ft (500 m) elevation.

During our trip we might have 300 species of birds seen, many of them rare and endemic species found only in the Chocó biogeographic region. And with luck we may even see some of the mammals in the area such as the endemic Olinguito, Dwarf Red Brocket Deer, Tayra, Mountain Coati, and Two-toed Sloth.

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