Day 1: Arrival in Cali
The tour begins this evening in Cali. A transfer will be provided to a nice hotel in the city. There is no photography planned for today.

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Days 2 - 4: Western Andes based out of Araucana Lodge

Araucana is a new and luxurious lodge that makes the perfect base from which to number of superb private reserves. We'll have three full days here, and our exact plan will be based on the latest information about where the best activity is happening. One of the key sites is "Kilometer 18", where the highlight is often the incredible Multicolored Tanager - arguably the most beautiful of a suite of tanagers possible here that also includes Saffron-crowned, Golden, Blue-winged Mountain, Golden-naped, Black-headed, and Flame-rumped. The endemic Chestnut Wood-Quail comes is another great possibility as it often comes into eat corn at a couple of the private reserves at km 18. Another must-visit spot is Doña Dora's rest stop in the Anchicaya Valley. The gaudy Toucan Barbet is the start bird here and it comes in regularly to the banana feeders along with others like Red-headed Barbet, Silver-throated Tanager, and Tricolored and Black-headed Brushfinches. There are several gorgeous hummingbirds here we may not see elsewhere like Empress Brilliant, Purple-bibbed Whitetip, and Velvet-purple Coronet. Araucana Lodge itself boasts excellent feeders for both hummingbirds as well as tanagers, orioles, toucanets, woodpeckers,  honeycreepers and more.

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Day 5: Araucana Lodge to Salento via Parque Nacional de la Uva

After some final time in or around Araucana, we will drive northeast towards Salento. However, we will have one very special stop along the way at Parque Nacional de la Uva (Grape National Park). Famous for its wine, we will be in the park for a very special bird instead, the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird, which we will photograph at the flowering blooms in the gardens there. Other possibilities there include Black-throated Mango and Steely-vented Hummingbird, as well as Saffron Finch and Southern Lapwing. We have a single night in Salento.

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Day 6: La Rivera Reserve
We'll begin the day at La Rivera, a sanctuary nestled in the Andean foothills, where rich tropical forests, clear streams, and vibrant biodiversity create an exceptional setting for photography. The reserve is home to an impressive variety of colorful tanagers, hummingbirds, and several endemic species, offering close encounters and outstanding photographic opportunities. Some of our targets here include "stunners" like Red-ruffed Fruitcrow and Golden-headed Quetzal as well as the endemic Cauca Guan and Chestnut Wood-Quail. In the afternoon, we head to Urapanes del Bosque Lodge for a two night stay. We may also have time for a first visit to Retorno de los Colibríes.​

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Day 7: Retorno de los Colibríes

This private nature reserve is the result of an amazingly successful restoration project by a local family. The name translates to English roughly as "Return of the Hummingbirds", which is exactly what happened after their previously denuded land was reforested. Now it has garnered international attention as a premier location to see and photograph hummingbirds. They will be our main focus here as we aim to get shots of endemics such as Indigo-capped Hummingbird and Tolima Blossomcrown along with more widespread species including White-tipped Sicklebill, Sparkling Violetear, Andean Emerald, and White-vented Plumeleteer. If we can peel our eyes away from the hummers, fruit feeders attract some interesting birds as well, like Southern Emerald-Toucanet, Andean Motmot, Colombian Chachalaca, and many others - possibly even the endemic Tolima Dove if we are lucky. The rare and once critically endangered Yellow-eared Parrot also occurs here. If the local guide know of any actively fruiting trees during our visit, we'll be sure to spend some time trying to get some shots of this huge, macaw-like endemic parrot.

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Day 8: Urapanes del Bosque to Manizales

Today we head north to the city of Manizales. Our plans are somewhat flexible and may depend on recent sightings, but we'll make some stops along the way. One option is the Don Miguel Nature Reserve - they occasionally get a Scaled Antpitta coming to worms, but not all the time. If the bird is coming during our tour, we'll stop in for a visit. We'll spend four nights in an excellent hotel in Manizales, which we'll use as a base to explore the surrounding area.​​

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Day 9: Rio Blanco Natural Reserve

Rio Blanco is famous among birders for its antpitta feeders, which have been maintained for many years now. We have good chances at the handsome Chestnut-crowned Antpitta, the duller (but endemic) Brown-banded Antpitta, the very shy Bicolored Antpitta, and the diminutive Slate-crowned Antpitta. Other birds also come into the antpitta feeding sites including Green-and-black Fruiteater and Gray-browed Brushfinch. Hummer feeders by the lodge are good for multi-flash as well as getting clean shots of perched birds, and possibilities include Long-tailed Sylph, Bronzy and Collared Incas, Tourmaline Sunangel, Lesser (Green) Violetear, Sparkling Violetear, Speckled Hummingbird, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Buff-tailed Coronet, White-bellied Woodstar, and White-booted Racket-tail.

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Day 10: El Color de Mis Reves

Today we will visit a wonderful cloud forest reserve, El Color de Mis Reves, accessed by 4x4 up a rough road into the Andes. Our main reason for visiting is their feeders, which have a regular star attract in the form of Black-billed Mountain-Toucan. This is the best place on Earth to photograph this spectacular Andean species. It's also a great place for the scarce Black-collared Jay, colorful Hooded Mountain Tanager, sharp-looking Northern Slaty Brushfinch, as well as swarms of hummingbirds including the dapper Collared Inca.

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Day 11: Hacienda El Bosque

Hacienda El Bosque has become a world hotspot for it's incredible Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucans, which come in daily to feed on grapes. Nowhere else is it so easy to photograph this stunning bird, and sometimes there are up to seven birds present at any one time! Usually one or two antpittas also visit forest feeders including Equatorial and Crescent-chested Antpittas, and there are other nice targets for our lenses too at these feeders such as Andean Guan, White-throated Quail-Dove, and Gray-browed Brushfinch. The hummingbird feeders should not be missed either, which attract Shining Sunbeam, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Lesser Violetear, Black-thighed Puffleg, and Sword-billed Hummingbird, as well as the deep-blue Masked Flowerpiercer.

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Day 12: Termales del Ruiz and Los Nevados

We'll head high into the montains to Termales del Ruiz, famous for it's natural thermal hot springs that feed right into this scenic resort. They also have hummingbird and fruit feeders on site, and we will get our first taste of these on this afternoon. We will spend one night in this very comfortable resort, with dramatic, high Andean, scenery as a backdrop. Hummingbird photography is the main draw here, and our lodge has a superb garden with numerous feeders, a covered area, and plenty of space for multi-flash setups. At least 12 species are possible to photograph here: Golden-breasted and Black-thighed Pufflegs, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Shining Sunbeam, Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, Great Sapphirewing, Tourmaline Sunangel, Mountain Velvetbreast, Viridian Metaltail, Tyrian Metaltail, and Sparkling Violetear. The fruit feeders offer chances to photograph great birds like Lacrimose and Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanagers, and Pale-naped Brush-Finch. 

 

We’ll also spend a few hours around the entrance to Los Nevados National Park at 13,800 ft. (4200 m.). Buffy Helmetcrest, an impressive endemic hummingbird, often can be photographed on perches or while feeding on Espeletia flowers. Other possible targets here are Tawny Antpitta, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, Sedge Wren, Andean Tit-Spinetail, White-chinned Thistletail, and Andean Siskin. The scenery is also impressive with vast grasslands, otherworldly plants, and ghostly mist that can come and go at any moment. A second night will be spent at Termales del Ruiz.

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Day 13: Termales del Ruiz to Jardín

It's a long drive today, but we'll have a bit of early morning photography before we head out, and the afternoon should prove to be a highlight of the trip. In a ravine right next to the town there is one of the absolute best Andean Cock-of-the-rock display sites in the world. Every afternoon, numerous males scream and dance as they perform their mating rituals at extremely close range. Unlike many other lek sites, they display in broad daylight meaning that getting great shots is a real possibility this afternoon. We'll spend two nights in a hotel in Jardín.

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Day 14: Mirador El Roble
There is good news and bad news today. The bad news first - we have to leave really early and drive up a very rough road. But the rewards should be worth it. Over the last couple of years, a Northern Oncilla has been regularly seen here and even photographed. While this property was originally built as a bird reserve, it is the cat that has been making headlines recently. Let us hope it continues to delight visitors. They also have a worm feeder for the otherwise very difficult Chami Antpitta, and we have good chance to get shots of various other species like Sickle-winged Guan, Masked Flowerpiercer, Rufous-crowned Tody-Flycatcher as well as several tanagers and hummingbirds.

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Day 15: Jardín area, drive to Medellín

Local feeders vary in their levels of activity, but when they are active, they can be tons of fun as they bring in birds like Colombian Chachalaca, Andean Motmot, Yellow-backed Oriole,  Red-headed Barbet, and loads of tanagers like Flame-rumped, Scrub, Blue-necked, Black-capped and Bay-headed. Rufous-tailed and Steely-vented Hummingbirds and Green Hermit are all possible too. There is also a new reserve not far from town where nocturnal Oilbirds can be seen, and we'll stop there to try and get some photos before driving to Medellín in the afternoon. We have two nights at a hotel near the airport.

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Day 16: Finca el Toche

One last day to enjoy the amazing birds of central Colombia! A day trip to Finca el Toche should give us plenty of great shots of several new species as well as some "old friends". Perhaps the most wanted bird here is the endemic and beautiful White-mantled Barbet, which has been visiting the feeders lately. Others we hope to get are Bar-crested Antshrike, Rufous Motmot, Plain-colored Tanager (better than it sounds), Striolated Manakin, Collared Aracari, and Chestnut-headed Oropendola.

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Day 17: Departure from Medellín

The tour ends this morning with transfers to the airport. No activities are planned for today.

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Trip Considerations

PACE: Relaxed to moderate. Breakfast times are typically 6:00-6:30am, though on a few occasions it will be necessary to dpart earlier. Most days will have several hours of downtime to relax or download photos – this is often in the late afternoon when the light may be poor and when it is more likely to rain.

 

PHYSICAL DIFFICULTY: Easy to moderate. Much of the main tour will be spent near feeders which are accessed by short walks on slightly inclined tracks or trails with steps. The worm feeders at Rio Blanco are spread out over about half a mile (0.6 km) of inclined dirt roads, but we may be able to use a vehicle to avoid the steepest part. Our hotel on day 12 is located at 11,500 ft. (3500 m.), however only short, easy walks are done at these altitudes. Two sites we visit involve very rough roads accessed by 4x4 - these could be problematic for someone with major back issues (they are day trips, so they could potentially be skipped if you cannot do them); anyone of reasonable fitness level will be able to join this tour, but if you have any mobility issues, please contact us before signing up. 

 

CLIMATE: Usually very pleasant (mostly 55°-75°F, 13°-24°C), but colder at the high elevations (possibly down into the 40°sF/single digits°C). Some rain can be expected at cloud forest sites in the Andes, where most of this tour is spent. Therefore, rain gear, including protective covers for photo gear is essential.

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ACCOMMODATION: Very good to excellent for most of the tour. All accommodations have full time electricity, hot water, and wi-fi (though it can be quite slow and is sometimes only available in the common areas). All accommodations have private, en-suite, bathrooms. 

  

GEAR: A good 300mm lens (or high-quality zoom that covers 300mm) and a full-frame camera are ideal for hummingbirds. For other birds, especially smaller birds at fruit feeders, a 500mm with a 1.4x or 600mm is the best option, but a 300mm with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters also usually does a great job. A smaller lens can be nice for scenery shots in the high Andes. A flash (where permitted) is also useful since light can be quite low early in the morning and inside forest.

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Other Information

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS: A valid passport is required; the passport must be valid for at least six months past your intended stay. Tourist visas are currently not required for citizens of the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and EU countries. Visas are currently only required of a few nationalities, mostly in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Travel requirements are subject to change; if you are unsure, please check with the nearest embassy or consulate, or ask our office staff for help.

 

WHAT’S INCLUDED?: Tips to drivers, local guides, and lodge staff; accommodation from the night of day 1 to the night of day 16; meals from dinner on day 1 (unless you arrive too late for dinner service) to breakfast on day 17 (if you have a very early departing flight, you may miss the included breakfast on the last day); safe drinking water and/or juice and tea/coffee during meals; safe drinking water only between meals (though some lodges also offer tea and coffee at any time); one of our photo guides with camera and audio playback gear from the morning of day 2 to the evening of day 16; one arrival and one departure airport transfer per person (transfers may be shared with other tour participants if they are on the same flight); ground transport for the group to all sites in the itinerary from day 2 to day 16 in suitable vehicle(s) with local driver(s); entrance fees to sites mentioned in the itinerary; if requested, a printed and bound checklist to help keep track of what you have photographed (given to you at the start of the tour – only electronic copies can be provided in advance).

 

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED?: Optional tips to the tour leader; tips for luggage porters in the city hotels (if you require their services); international flights; snacks; additional drinks apart from those included; alcoholic beverages; travel insurance; excursions not included in the tour itinerary; extras in hotels such as laundry service, minibar, room service, telephone calls, and personal items; medical fees; excess luggage charges; other items or services not specifically mentioned as being included.