February 8 - Arrival at Bogota International Airport

Upon arrival in Bogota, our local tour guide will pick you up at the airport and take you to the Lucitania Boutique Hotel in the exciting & artsy Chapinero neighborhood of Bogota. In the evening we will meet for dinner and go through introductions, a tour presentation, rules & and expectations Q&A, and logistics for the tour.

Night at Lucitania Boutique Hotel.

February 9 - We will have an early breakfast and drive up into the pine woodlands of Chingaza National Park and the Hummingbird Observatory.

Chingaza National Park is located just outside of Bogotá (1.5 hours drive); it includes vast areas of high Andean forest, subparamo, and paramo ecosystems and provides access to some key specialties such as the uncommon & endemic (E) Brown-Breasted Parakeet, (E) Green-bearded Helmetcrest, and (E) Silvery-throated Spinetail.

Hummingbird Observatory is located 40 mins from Chingaza, at an altitude of 9,800ft in a High Andean forest. The weather can vary magically from sunny to rainy many times a day, and it is no surprise to see the fog coming down the mountain as well. A total of 118 bird species have been reported here including some 18 hummingbird species!

Specialties include near-endemic (NE) Blue-throated Starfrontlet, (NE) Coppery-bellied Puffleg, Shining Sunbeam, Green and Sparkling Violetear, Speckled and Sword-billed Hummingbird, Long-tailed Sylph, Black-tailed Trainbearer, and Purple-backed Thornbill. This is a great place for bird photography!

Night at Lucitania Boutique Hotel.

February 10 - Enchanted Garden, and Tabacal Lagoon

Early in the morning, we will visit Tabacal Lagoon, a really nice wetland located just 1.5 hours away from Bogota at an altitude of 4,100ft.

Birds of interest right in the parking lot include Black-bellied Wren, Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, and Red-billed Scythebill. The main entrance is also a good site for the tricky Rosy Thrush-Tanager. Beyond the gate, we may be able to find (E) Velvet-fronted Euphonia, White-throated Crake and Black Hawk-Eagle, White-bellied Antbird, Rusty-breasted Antpitta, Grey-throated Warbler, and a lek of displaying White-bearded Manakins.

Birding Tabacal is a really wonderful introduction to the spectacular humid lowland forests of the Magdalena Valley.

Enchanted Garden is a private residence located about an hour and a half west of Bogota at an altitude of 4,990ft. Some 300 hummingbird individuals can be seen at any moment coming to the 40-plus feeders present in the garden. 40 (!) hummingbird species have been recorded here including the unique and highly sought-after (E) Indigo-capped Hummingbird, (NE) Red-billed and Short-tailed Emerald, and Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird - This is a great place for bird photography!

Night at Hotel Posada las Trampas in Honda.

February 11 - Bellavista Natural Reserve in La Victoria, Caldas

The La Victoria municipality is an amazing birding hotspot in the Magdalena Valley that divides the Eastern and Central Andes Cordillera, with over 200 species recorded. Some specialties in Victoria include Black-faced Dacnis (E), Sooty Ant-Tanager, and (E) White-mantled Barbet, Beautiful Woodpecker, and the spectacular (E) White-bibbed Manakin. This area is also ideal to see snakes, tarantulas, monkeys, and sloths!

In the afternoon, we will drive for about 3.5 hours to our headquarters in the coffee area of Colombia - the beautiful and strategically located Recinto del Pensamiento hotel.

Dinner & night at Recinto del Pensamiento.

February 12 - Río Blanco Reserve

After driving for just 30mins, we find the Rio Blanco Reserve, the go-to spot for three very attractive and hard-to-find species: (NE) Masked Saltator, Bicolored Antpitta, and (E) Brown-banded Antpitta. The two Antpittas are commonly heard and both are seen readily at feeding stations. The Saltator is regular, but certainly not guaranteed.

We can have a cup of the best coffee in the world while enjoying the spectacular hummingbird show at the feeders including visits by Tourmaline Sunangel, Buff-tailed Coronet, Speckled Hummingbird, Bronzy and Collared Inca, Mountain Velvet-breast, the tiny White-bellied Woodstar, and the spectacular Long-tailed Sylph.

Then, we’ll be led by a local guide to special Antpitta feeding stations where we hope to enjoy close-up views of the endemic Brown-banded Antpitta, Slate-crowned Antpitta, and the impressive Chestnut-crowned Antpitta. We will spend much of the rest of the day exploring the excellent network of trails.

Along with the endemic and rare species, this area boasts many sought-after species that include: Tyrannine Woodcreeper, Stygian Owl, Golden-faced Redstart, Dusky Piha, Black-billed and Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanagers, Grass-green and White-capped Tanager, Powerful Woodpecker, and the hard to see Ocellated, Blackish, and Spillman’s Tapaculos.

From Río Blanco we will drive back to Recinto del Pensamiento in the late afternoon.

Dinner & night at Recinto del Pensamiento.

February 13 - Páramo del Ruiz and Termales del Ruiz

Páramo del Ruiz is at the highest altitude of our tour, looming at 13,400ft. This is the place in Colombia to go in search of the dazzling and very localized (E) Buffy Helmetcrest, a plump little hummingbird with a punk crest, and the marvelous (E) Rufous-fronted Parakeet. Other birds of interest include Andean Condor, Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager, Tawny Antpitta, White-chinned Thistletail, Stout-billed Cinclodes, Black-chested Buzzard-eagle, Many-striped Canastero, Paramo Seedeater, Noble Snipe, Black Flowerpiercer, and Plain-capped Ground-tyrant.

We will spend the afternoon at Termales del Ruiz, a really nice hotel and hot springs at a high altitude with a set of gardens that normally attract 10 species of hummingbirds including the highly sought-after (NE) Black-thighed Puffleg, (NE) Golden-breasted Puffleg, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Tourmaline Sunangel, Viridian Metaltail, Shining Sunbeam, Great Sapphirewing, Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, and Purple-backed Thornbill. This is a great place for bird photography!

Termales del Ruiz has a volcanic thermal pool for which the hotel is named. The steaming, hot, sulfurous delightful waters are ideal for a truly relaxing experience after a day of birding, so make sure to bring your bathing suit! In the late afternoon, we will head back to our hotel.

Dinner & night at Recinto del Pensamiento.

February 14 - Valentine’s Day at Hacienda el Bosque and sub-paramo locations

A quick 35min drive from our hotel we will arrive at the fantastic Hacienda El Bosque, the newest addition to top birding hotspots in Colombia located in high Andean Forest and Sub-paramo ecosystems between 9,180 to 12,700ft and home to two fantastic bird species that are difficult to find elsewhere: the absolutely gorgeous Crescent-faced Antpitta and stunning Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan!

The Antpitta is a regular visitor to a successful feeding station where it comes to eat worms. Other birds of interest include Rufous Antpitta, Golden-fronted Redstart, Pearled Treerunner, Mountain Velvet-breast, and Barred Fruiteater. This is a great location for bird photography.

After exploring hotspots in the sub-paramo ecosystem looking for high-altitude specialties we will head south for just over two hours to our last birding location, the magnificent Otun Quimbaya Natural reserve.

Night at the Kumanday Hotel Lodge.

February 15 - Otun Quimbaya and Pereira Airport

The birding in Otun Quimbaya is along fairly flat trails and a quiet road. The understory is pretty navigable and open, making this a great place to actually look for Antpittas and the shy Chestnut Wood-Quail. Otun Quimbaya is home to 2 coveted species, endemic and endangered Cauca Guan and the Red-ruffed Fruitcrow.

Other birds of particular interest include (E) Golden-plumed Parakeet, (NE) Mustached Antpitta, and Hooded Antpitta, Torrent Duck, and (E) Stiles’s Tapaculo.

In the afternoon, we will drive for 1.5 hours to the Pereira airport for an hour's flight back to Bogota. Your hotel is conveniently located at a short 20-min shuttle ride from the airport.

Night at Hotel Hilton Garden Inn Bogota.

February 16 - Bogota Historic District sightseeing, Gold Museum and departure.

Depending on flight arrangements, and after a good ‘Santafereno’ breakfast (traditional in Bogota), we can take a city tour to explore some of the most iconic sites that have made Bogota a world-class tourist destination. Highlights of the day include the ‘La Candelaria’ neighborhood, Gold Museum, Monserrate Mountain, and Plaza de Bolivar - We will make sure to drive you to the airport with plenty of time for your international flight back home.

Optionally, you could also stay a few extra days if you want to explore more.