Wild Wonders of Colombia
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Cali and overnight in Cali.
Arrival in Cali and stay overnight. Please note that flight costs are not included in the Tour fee, however we would suggest you the flights to be taken.It is better to arrive during the first half of the day so that you aren’t tired and well rested before you start traveling on Day 2.
Days 2 to 4: All-day photography and overnight in Cali.
During the three days around the city of Cali, we will visit multiple photography decks where we will aim to target a variety of species of birds like Tanagers, Hummingbirds, Barbets etc. We would specifically target species like Multicolored Tanager, Chestnut Wood-Quail, Scaled Antpitta, Little Tinamou, Andean Motmot, Inca Jay, Colombian Chachalaca, Sicklewinged Guan, White-throated Quail-Dove, Red-headed Barbet, Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Acorn Woodpecker, Chestnutcapped Brushfinch, White-naped Brushfinch, Flame-rumped Tanager, Blue-winged Mountain- Tanager, Golden-naped Tanager, Black-capped Tanager, Saffroncrowned Tanager, Golden Tanager, Scrub Tanager, Palm Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, Green Honeycreeper, Orangebellied Euphonia, Black-winged Saltator. etc.
Some of the Hummingbird targets for us would be: White-necked Jacobin, Green Hermit, Choco Daggerbill, Brown Violetear, Black-throated Mango, Long-tailed Sylph, Greenish Puffleg, Bronzy Inca, Fawn Breasted Brilliant, Purple-throated Woodstar, Western Emerald, Andean Emerald, Steely-vented Hummingbird, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Tawny-bellied Hermit etc.
From dawn to dusk, we move from one deck and photography hotspot to another during the day. Breakfast and lunch would be around the birding spots while we retire at the night after dinner to move to a new location the next day.
Day 5: Transfer to and overnight in Manizales.
After breakfast, a pleasant drive across the dramatic countryside brings us closer to the city of Manizales to reach Hotel Quo for lunch.This beautiful property is where we spend three nights around Hummingbird feeders, Antpitta stations and forest hides photographing various birds the next couple of days.
Day 6: All-day photography around Rio Blanco and overnight in the hotel.
While we are stationed in Manizales, we visit Rio Blanco where we target more birds like Buff-breasted Mountain Tanager, Green and black Fruiteater, Brown-banded Antpitta, Bicolored Antpitta, Chestnut-naped Antpitta, Slate-crowned Antpitta, Chestnut-crowned Antpitta, Longtailed Sylph, Bronzy Inca, Buff-tailed Coronet, Tourmaline Sunangel, Speckled Hummingbird, Collared Inca, Sparkling Violetear, Lesser Violetear, White-bellied Woodstar, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Andean Emerald, White-throated Daggerbill, Purple-backed Thornbill etc.
We return to Manizales for the night.
Day 7: El Color De Mis Reves.
Leaving Hotel Quo first thing in the morning and heading directly to El Color de mis Reves we have a great day in store for us on this day.
Black-billed Mountain Toucan, Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan, Ocellated Tapaculo, Bicolored Antpitta, Chestnut-naped Antpitta, Slate-crowned Antpitta, Andean Pygmy Owl, Whitecapped Tanager, Slaty Brushfinch, Lacrimose Mountain Tanager, Blue-capped Tanager, Sickle-winged Guan, Andean Guan, Emerald Toucanet, Grey-browed Bruschfinch are some of the birds that we are going to encounter here.
At the end of the day we climb down the mountain through an adventurous drive that brings us to the city of Manizales where we continue our stay.
Day 8: All-day photography around Hacienda El Bosque.
Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan, Hooded Mountain Tanager, Crescent-faced Antpitta, Rufous Antpitta, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Slaty Brushfinch, Grey-browed Bruschfinch, Andean Guan, Sickle-winged Guan, Masked Flowerpiercer, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Tourmaline Sunangel, Buffwinged Starfrontlet, Mountain Velvetbreast, Sparkling Violetear, Shining Sunbeam, Tyrian Metaltail, Buff-tailed Coronet, Lesser Violetear, White-bellied Woodstar, Speckled Hummingbird, Bronzy Inca, Collared Inca are some of the amazing birds we photograph here in the farm at Hacienda el Bosque.
We begin the days looking for Antpittas and then spend the rest of the days photographing other birds around the slopes of the ranch.
Days 9 and 10: Photography around the Termales Del Ruiz Volcano.
These two days are reserved for our beautiful excursion to the Termales del Ruiz, which is an amazing volcano around which we hope to photograph more species of birds and some remarkable hummingbird species. Our target is Rainbow-bearded Thornbill or Buffy Helmetcrest and we hope to get both these jewels while we photograph other birds like, Lacrimose Mountain Tanager, Masked Flowerpiercer, Palenaped Brushfinch, Sickle-winged Guan, Tourmaline Sunangel, Tyrian Metaltail, Golden-breasted Puffleg, Shining Sunbeam, Buffwinged Starfrontlet, Great Sapphirewing, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, Viridian Metaltail, Black-thighed Puffleg, Bronzy Inca, Mountain Velvetbreast, Glowing Puffleg etc.
The lodge where we stay will have amazing hot springs for guests to enjoy a dip in the hot pool in the chilly mountain top which is over 4000m above sea.
Days 11 and 12: Transfer to and overnight in Jardin
After breakfast, we drive for 5 hours to get to Jardin by the afternoon. We spend the rest of the day and the next morning exploring photography opportunities at the Cock of the Rock Lek.
At the end of the day 12 we are transported to Airport Hotel in Rio Negro
Day 13: Transfer to Airport and Departure.
Our delightful tour ends after our breakfast this day as we drop everyone to the airport to catch their respective flights.