No multi-day commitment needed — these full-day trips leave from your Quito hotel in the early morning and have you back by evening. A great option if you're short on time, tacking a birding day onto a longer Ecuador trip, or just want to test the waters before booking a full circuit. Looking for something longer? See multi-day circuits.
Less than two hours from Quito, the private Chakana Reserve and Antisana Ecological Reserve offer dramatic Andean páramo, glacier-fed lakes and one of Ecuador's best chances to watch Andean Condors take flight from the cliffs. Sightings can't ever be guaranteed in the high Andes, but every moment here is a chance to connect with wild, untouched landscape.
An early pick-up — condors fly early, so the early start pays off. We scan the cliffs of the private Chakana Reserve for Andean Condor, plus Carunculated Caracara, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Tawny Antpitta and Paramo Ground-Tyrant.
On to Antisana Ecological Reserve, where La Mica Lake is a real highlight — Andean Duck, Andean Teal, Silvery Grebe, Yellow-billed Pintail and Andean Gull, plus páramo specialties like Andean Lapwing, Black-faced Ibis and Stout-billed Cinclodes.
A well-deserved lunch stop at Tambocondor with time at the hummingbird feeders for Ecuadorian Hillstar, Giant Hummingbird, Sparkling Violetear and Great Sapphirewing, before returning to Quito mid-to-late afternoon.
From the wide-open páramo of Papallacta Pass at 12,000 feet down to the lush cloudforest around Guango Lodge at 8,800 feet — two completely different Andean ecosystems in a single, easy-paced day, just a couple of hours from Quito. No pre-dawn start needed: we can leave right around sunrise.
A pick-up around sunrise and a slow morning working the old Papallacta road for hummingbirds and high-altitude specialties — Rainbow-bearded Thornbill and Blue-mantled Thornbill on the flowering shrubs, Giant Conebill and mountain-tanagers along the páramo edge.
Up to the antennas above Papallacta Pass, one of the best spots in Ecuador for the tricky Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe on the open rocky páramo — it takes patience, but it's always worth it.
Dropping down into Andean cloudforest for lunch at Guango Lodge, with hummingbird feeders buzzing right outside. An afternoon on the trails and forest edge for Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan and a great variety of hummingbirds, plus a check of the river and ponds for Andean Duck before heading back to Quito.
A great fit for birders and photographers ready to explore the western cloud forest at every level — working down through the Andean Chocó from high above Pichincha into the lush, lower Tandayapa Valley, with close antpitta feeders, hummingbird gardens, and a Cock-of-the-Rock lek to finish.
An early pick-up and drive up toward the Pichincha volcano area to one of the region's birding reserves. Feeders here bring in Chestnut-naped Antpitta and Equatorial Antpitta at close range, plus hummingbirds like Sword-billed Hummingbird, Buff-tailed Coronet, Collared Inca and Empress Brilliant.
Down to lower elevation and a hummingbird garden in the Tandayapa Valley, with time to see and photograph Violet-tailed Sylph, Booted Racket-tail and Purple-throated Woodstar, plus tanagers such as Golden Tanager, Flame-faced Tanager and Golden-naped Tanager.
Lunch, then the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek — one of the best spots around for photographing this striking bird as the males display — before returning to Quito in the late afternoon or early evening.
These day trips pair well with a longer circuit, or stand on their own. See the full multi-day itineraries, or tell us what you're after and your guide will adjust any of these — or draft something fully custom.