Southern Colombia Birding Trip

Upon arrival in Bogota, our guide will pick you up at the airport and will drive you to the hotel. We will have a welcome dinner and will go through the most relevant information on the trip.

Night in Bogota. 2600 meters. 15°C

Today we get up early and drive to the small town of La Calera. The Elfin forest and Paramo habitat begin ten kilometers from La Calera, as does the birding. Chingaza National Park, one of two high-Andean national parks close to Bogotá, is an excellent place to begin this journey. We’ll spend the morning here looking for Páramo and elfin forest specialists before heading to the airport for our afternoon flight to Pitalito in the Huila department. We’ll be taken to the El Encanto reserve once we arrive.

Night in El Encanto reserve. 1350 meters. 19°C

Target species

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El Encanto is a family reserve that has been in the ecotourism business for over ten years. It eventually became one of the most important birding spots in this part of the country. The area has been specifically designed for birders. There are various tanager and hummingbird feeders where you can see a variety of uncommon species. The trails pass through areas of shade-grown coffee that are also excellent habitats for all of the species mentioned above, giving new meaning to the term “bird-friendly coffee.”

Night in El Encanto reserve. 1350 meters. 19°C

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In the search for a concrete action of conservation and, of course, an additional place for birding, the owners of El Encanto reserve purchased an important portion of forest above their farm and named it “La Drymophila,” which is the scientific genus for a group of montane antbirds like the endemic East-Andean Antbird, an endemic bird with a very limited range, making this reserve the best place to see it.

Not only is the Antbird possible here, but the place also has the only feeders for the rare and enigmatic Schwartz’s Anttrush and the always elusive White-bellied Antpitta.

The very rare Black-chested Fruiteater is another of the birds that are possible in the trail, and passing groups of the endemic race of the Maroon-Tailed Parakeet (and a very possible split, the Huila Parakeet) are common around there.

Other birds at the hummingbird, corn, and banana feeders include:

Night in El Encanto reserve. 1350 meters. 19°C

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This morning, we’ll drive the 115 kilometers from El Encanto reserve to Mocoa, in the Putumayo department. This road passes through a pristine forest in the Amazonian foothills ecoregion. This drive will allow us to see:

Night in Mocoa. 600 meters. 22°C

Mocoa is the capital of the department of Putumayo. It is located in the foothills of the Colombian massif and is one of the entrance gates to Colombia’s Amazonian forest lowlands. From here, we will travel along the famous road that connects the Andean city of Pasto with the Amazonian region.

This road, formerly known as “El Trampolin de la Muerte,” is now well known as one of the best birding routes in the country’s south. Starting at around 3500 meters and descending to around 800 meters, the road passes through important highland ecosystems such as Paramo and High-Anden forests before ending above Mocoa with subtropical forests in the Andes foothills.

On this day, we’ll visit the most important spots along the lower section of the road in search of specialties like:

Night in Mocoa. 600 meters. 22°C

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The Campucana trail (also known as the Sacha Mates trail) or Schultes’ Trail connects Mocoa to the Sibundoy Valley in the mountains. The trail winds through a well-preserved forest and is the best place to see the rare Black Tinamou, which can be found early in the morning on the trail.

This trail is also ideal for locating the range-restricted:

Night in Mocoa. 600 meters. 22°C

El Escondite reserve is another popular birding destination in the Putumayo department. This reserve protects an important area of humid forest and wetlands where rare and interesting birds can be found.

• Plum-throated Cotinga
• Rufous-headed Woodpecker
• Golden-collared Toucanet
• Bare-necked Fruitcrow
• Large-headed Flatbill
• Cream-colored Woodpecker
• Opal-crowned Tanager
• White-chinned Jacamar
• Point-tailed Palm-creeper
• Black-banded and Ash-throated Crakes
• Cinnamon Attila

We'll spend the entire day here before heading to the nearby town of Puerto Asis for our first night there.

Night in Puerto Asis. 250 meters. 25°C

Puerto Asis is a typical Amazonian town, surrounded by patches of forest where wildlife can find refuge. On this day, we’ll go to Playa Rica, a well-organized community where an important community ecotourism process has been taking shape in recent years. We’ll look at semi-open and forested habitats, as well as small wetlands. The following are the house specialties:

Night in Puerto Asis. 250 meters. 25°C

Km 5 in Puerto Asis is a complex of semi-open and forested areas on the outskirts of the town. With very little effort, it is possible to see many of the specialties related to this kind of ecosystem. The place is also a good spot to see the charismatic Pygmy Marmoset, the smallest monkey of the continent. Some of the targets here are:

After lunch, we’ll explore the forested areas in the town for missing species and have a more relaxed afternoon. By the end of the afternoon, we’ll head to the town of Mocoa to prepare for our next morning.

Night in Mocoa. 600 meters. 22°C

Today we will begin our journey through the mountains that the Trampolin road traverses. Long known for the high number of traffic accidents caused by its steep geography, narrow steps, and changing climate, the Trampolin road is now better known as a biodiversity emporium that, at the end of its journey through the jungle, meets the beautiful and peaceful Sibundoy valley, a conglomeration of four villages where we will spend the night and prepare for the next day.

Night in Sibundoy. 2200. 14°C

Targets species this day are:

The Páramo de Bordoncillo is the natural boundary that separates Putumayo from Nario. The road ascends from the Sibundoy valley until it reaches dwarf forests before continuing through the paramo. Not long ago, a population of the extremely rare Chestnut-bellied Cotinga, one of South America’s most sought-after birds, was discovered there.
Crossing this Páramo is Lake Guamuez, also known as Laguna de la Cocha, Colombia’s second-largest Andean lake. El Puerto, a small tourist town on its shores, is built in the best Swiss style, with houses and chalets. We’ll spend the last night of our trip here after a successful day of birding.

Night in El Puerto. 2300. 13°C

Other targets species this day are: