Difficulty: Moderate
This itinerary is designed to be an extremely diverse adventure taking birders through spectacularly beautiful, albeit sometimes rugged terrain, in areas along and near the Columbian border. Many of our sites are not often included in tour itineraries due to their relative remoteness, but are loaded with specialty Choco and northern highland birds not found, or hard to find in the more commonly birded areas – all these, on top of most of the more usual fare. We will cover territory from sea level and lowland Choco, up and over the Continental Divide (4400 masl), all the way down to the Amazon Lowlands. The result? We expect a great list of Choco specialties, a thorough treatment of the covered highlands including both slopes, and a taste of the eastern lowlands. We will follow a cleverly thought-out route designed to minimize travel time and maximize birding time. We anticipate a large and diverse list loaded with specialty birds of the North. We expect this itinerary will appeal to both the seasoned South American birder, as well as first–time Ecuadorian birding adventurers. Join the Northern Ecuador Birding Adventure for a tremendously rewarding unique International Birding experience you and your list will never forget.

observations awaiting them.

Birding the Amazon Foothills & Lowlands – Targeting Rarities while including the common ones

The Amazon lowlands represent some of the most tremendous forests still standing in the world today. Unfortunately, as you will notice as we travel between reserves, much of the remaining high-quality accessible forest lies within reserves. Visiting reserves gives local actors the necessary motivation and means to further conserve these places instead of exploiting them for natural resources in a consumptive manner. The Amazon lowlands are diverse with different major habitat types, and ideally all deserved to be properly birded. So naturally, part of our strategy when thoroughly birding the Amazon lowlands is going to be to visit various places. On top of that, some places can not be properly birded in a brief visit.  This two week birding trip is designed to find a large number of species not obtainable by birding an extended period in just one general location, while minimizing non-birding travel time. Join Birding the Amazon Foothills & Lowlands – Targeting Rarities while including the common ones and you will have very full list of birds ticked or photographed in the Amazon. Seasoned International Birders experienced in South America will find this itinerary just as useful as birders visiting South America for their first time. We also use Community tourism lodging and / or lodging in areas where visitors from ecotourism are crucial to their continued conservation.

Charles Darwin made an archipelago famous. But why? The beauty of Galápagos is exceeded perhaps only by its uniqueness. The islands popped out of the ocean as bare rock that had to be colonized over a long and seemingly impossible process. Species that arrived from the mainland and were able to survive isolated adapted and became new species over the millennia according to Darwin. As we visit different islands, we can see these adaptions and understand how he came to his conclusions. Many people visit Galapagos for this reason alone, or to experience the amazing marine wonders and animals without perceivable fear of humans. Some people wish to swim with the sea lions or marvel over the giant tortoises. Others want to swim with sharks or just experience dessert islands. We will do all of these things. But, our observations will go far beyond those of the normal tourist. The island chain boasts over 30 endemic bird species and is in a prime location for finding pelagic birds! Add in the possibility of migrants and the birding scene is quite rich indeed! We will be going on a special route designed to give us the best opportunities possible without breaking park rules to get all of the endemic bird species possible in this magical place. Join our 8 day Birding experience in Galapagos and see the islands in a most special way your bird list will thank you for!

Ecuador: Megadiversity redefined!
Ecuador is one of the smallest countries in South America but has one of the highest lists of birds species in the world! The country prides itself on being megadiverse and with over 1600 avian species, International Birders will find plenty of reasons to keep visiting the tropical paradise. While birding, it will be impossible not to intake the amazing gamma of habitats and plethora of flora and fauna waiting to be discovered at every turn. This itinerary is set-up to showcase a wide variety of habitats along Ecuador’s more classic birding circuit close to its capital city, Quito. Many of the stops on this itinerary are famous, must-visit places among the International Birding community. The route offers a very nice mixture of opportunities to sit and wait for birds to come to you with actively seeking them out on well-used birding tracts.