Five multi-day circuits to start — from a five-day cloud forest trip to a complete fifteen-day west-to-east traverse. Each one is personally guided and adjustable for pace, target species and experience level. Looking for something shorter? See day & half-day trips, or ask about a fully custom trip if you don't see what you're after.
Ecuador holds over 1,600 bird species across its four regions — and the Chocó cloud forest, a recognized biodiversity and endemism hotspot, is one of the very best places to work through a serious list.
Yanacocha's remnant Andean forest and its hummingbird diversity, then on to Bellavista Lodge with birding stops along the roughly two-hour drive. Night mammal-feeder check for Olinguito. Meals & accommodation included.
A full day across Bellavista's trail network — birding by road is often as productive as the trails themselves. Meals & accommodation included.
The Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek at dawn, hand-trained antpittas with reserve caretaker Angel, then check-in and lunch in Mindo, with an afternoon of trail or town birding. Meals & accommodation included.
A full day birding around Mindo, including the road to the Nambillo waterfalls, before continuing to other nearby reserves in the afternoon. Meals & accommodation included.
Río Silanche Reserve — 100 ha of Chocó lowland forest with a 15-meter canopy tower — for lowland species not found higher up, then lunch and the return to Quito.
A second route through the same Chocó bioregion, this one working the remote reserves around Mashpi and Sachatamia rather than the classic Mindo circuit — a comfortable, easy-paced alternative for a different mix of lodges and trails through equally serious habitat.
Morning cloud forest birding at Zuroloma — antpitta feeders (Chestnut-naped, Equatorial) and hummingbirds (Sword-billed, Buff-tailed Coronet, Collared Inca, Empress Brilliant) — then a nearby lek to watch male Cock-of-the-Rock displaying at dusk. Overnight near Mashpi.
A full day across two of the top sites in the Mashpi area for uncommon Chocó species: Glistening-green, Flame-faced, Golden, Golden-naped, Moss-backed and Rufous-throated Tanager, plus Golden-headed Quetzal, Toucan Barbet, Crimson-rumped Toucanet and Red-faced Spinetail. Overnight near Mashpi.
Continued birding through the Mashpi area toward Mindo — a strong spot for Velvet-purple Coronet at the feeders, Green-crowned Brilliant, Booted Racket-tail and Violet-tailed Sylph, plus canopy specialties like Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan and Beautiful Jay. Overnight in Mindo.
A drop to lower elevation for a real change of habitat: Scarlet-breasted Dacnis, Orange-fronted Barbet, Purple-chested Hummingbird, Blue-necked Tanager, Silver-throated Tanager and Scarlet-backed Woodpecker at the Río Silanche tower and reserve. Overnight back in Mindo.
A final morning around the lodge and Mindo to catch up on anything missed, then the return to Quito after lunch.
From high-Andean páramo above 4,000 meters down into the Amazon foothills, this route passes through some of the most productive birding lodges on Ecuador's eastern slope — a completely different landscape and set of birds almost every day.
A full day in the high páramo at around 4,000 m — Andean Condor, Carunculated Caracara and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle overhead, Tawny Antpitta and Paramo Ground-Tyrant underfoot, and La Mica Lake for Andean Duck, Silvery Grebe, Andean Gull and more.
Morning páramo hummingbirds at Papallacta — Rainbow-bearded and Blue-mantled Thornbill, Giant Conebill — then on to Guango Lodge's feeders for Sword-billed Hummingbird, Chestnut-breasted Coronet and Tourmaline Sunangel, plus Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan and Torrent Duck on the river. Overnight at Guango Lodge.
A morning at Guango before continuing to San Isidro, one of Ecuador's classic birding lodges — a daily Cock-of-the-Rock display just down the trail, Golden-headed and Crested Quetzal, Black-billed Mountain-Toucan and Slate-crowned Antpitta. After dark, keep an eye out for San Isidro's famous unidentified "mystery owl" around the porch lights.
A travel day with birding along the way as the route drops from temperate forest into lush subtropical and foothill forest on the eastern slope, watching for our first foothill species and mixed flocks.
A full day on Wild Sumaco's trails and feeders, one of the best lodges in Ecuador for Amazon foothill species — Wire-crested Thorntail, Gould's Jewelfront, Golden-tailed Sapphire and the near-endemic Coppery-chested Jacamar at the feeders, Ochre-breasted Antpitta on the trails.
A final morning of birding before lunch and the return drive to Quito.
A continuous west-to-east traverse without the deep Amazon lowlands extension — Chocó cloud forest, high Andean páramo and temperate forest, and Amazon foothill birding at Wild Sumaco, all in 11 days. A middle ground between the shorter circuits and the full 15-day signature trip.
Morning cloud forest birding at Zuroloma — Chestnut-naped and Equatorial Antpitta at the feeders, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Buff-tailed Coronet, Collared Inca and Empress Brilliant — then an afternoon lek visit to watch male Andean Cock-of-the-Rock display. Overnight near Mashpi.
A full day at two of the Mashpi area's top sites for Chocó specialties — Glistening-green, Flame-faced, Golden, Golden-naped, Moss-backed and Rufous-throated Tanager, Golden-headed Quetzal, Toucan Barbet, Crimson-rumped Toucanet and Red-faced Spinetail. Overnight near Mashpi.
Continuing through Mashpi toward Sachatamia — Velvet-purple Coronet at the feeders, Green-crowned Brilliant, Booted Racket-tail, Violet-tailed Sylph, Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan and Beautiful Jay. Overnight in the Mindo area.
A drop to lower elevation for the Long-wattled Umbrellabird lek at Milpe, plus Chocó specialties such as Rose-faced Parrot, Chocó Trogon, Chocó Toucan, Glistening-green Tanager and Esmeraldas Antbird, and the Club-winged Manakin display lek. Overnight in the Mindo area.
An early morning of birding near the lodge, then a travel day climbing out of the cloud forest and up into the high Andean páramo — a dramatic shift in habitat and elevation, with warm clothing recommended.
A full day in the high páramo around 4,000 m — Andean Condor, Carunculated Caracara and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle overhead, Tawny Antpitta and Paramo Ground-Tyrant underfoot, and La Mica Lake for Andean Duck, Andean Teal, Silvery Grebe, Yellow-billed Pintail, Andean Gull, Andean Lapwing, Black-faced Ibis and Stout-billed Cinclodes. Overnight in Papallacta.
Morning páramo hummingbirds — Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, Blue-mantled Thornbill, Giant Conebill and mountain-tanagers — then on to Guango Lodge's feeders for Sword-billed Hummingbird, Chestnut-breasted Coronet and Tourmaline Sunangel, plus Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan and Torrent Duck on the river. Overnight at Guango Lodge.
A full morning around Guango, then on to the Cosanga area for the night — Black-eared Hemispingus, Andean Motmot, Saffron-crowned Tanager and Long-tailed Sylph among the day's highlights.
A travel day descending from temperate forest into subtropical and foothill forest on the eastern slope, with stops for mixed flocks and first foothill species — keeping an eye out for Cliff Flycatcher and Coppery-chested Jacamar along the way.
A full day on Wild Sumaco's trails and feeders — the eastern-slope orange form of the Cock-of-the-Rock, Chestnut-headed Crake, Undulated Tinamou, and hummingbird feeders buzzing with Wire-crested Thorntail, Gould's Jewelfront, Golden-tailed Sapphire, White-necked Jacobin, Black-throated Brilliant and the near-endemic Coppery-chested Jacamar. Ochre-breasted Antpitta on the trails, plus Many-banded Aracari, Yellow-throated Toucan and Magpie Tanager. Overnight in the Sumaco area.
A final morning of foothill forest birding before the drive back to Quito, arriving at your hotel or the airport in the afternoon or evening.
The full traverse: western Chocó cloud forest, the eastern Andean slope, and the Amazon lowlands — the most complete birding itinerary, and the clearest example of what "one guide, three ecosystems" actually looks like on the ground.
Yanacocha, Bellavista's trails, the Paz de las Aves Cock-of-the-Rock lek and trained antpittas, a full day around Mindo, and Río Silanche's canopy tower before returning to Quito.
Antisana's Andean Condor search, Guango's hummingbirds, Cabañas San Isidro (330+ species, including the orange eastern-slope form of the Cock-of-the-Rock), and a full day at Wild Sumaco.
A journey by motorized boat and paddle canoe along the Napo River to a Yasuní-area lodge, with an observation tower on a Kapok tree, canoe rides on Garzacocha and Mandi lakes, parrot clay licks, river-island birding, and a Yasuní National Park excursion.
Transfer out to Coca and the return flight to Quito.
These circuits are starting points, not fixed packages. Tell us your target species, dates and pace, and your guide will adjust any of them — or draft something fully custom — around what you want to see.