Birding Odyssey tour

Welcome to Colombia! This day is reserved for international flight arrivals at Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ) in Barranquilla. Upon arrival, enjoy a seamless private transfer to your hotel. There are no planned birding activities today, allowing you to rest up and be fully prepared for our early morning departure into the Caribbean mangroves tomorrow (Hotel night and pick-up included).

We set off at 6:00 AM toward Isla de Salamanca National Park, a critical coastal wetland complex of mangroves, mudflats, and brackish lagoons. Here, we target key Caribbean endemics and specialties such as the Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird, Chestnut-winged Chachalaca, Northern Screamer, Sapphire-throated Hummingbird, Red-rumped Woodpecker, Bicolored Conebill, and White-headed Marsh-Tyrant. Around midday, we leave the hot coast behind and transfer into the cooler foothills of Minca in the Santa Marta Mountains.

We spend a full day exploring the rich trails, shade-coffee plantations, and secondary sub-tropical forests surrounding Minca. Positioned at a key transitional elevation, this area harbors a fascinating mix of lowland and montane species. Our morning search focuses on the secretive Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Golden-winged Sparrow, Black-headed Tanager, Barred Antshrike, and Blue-ground Dove. After dinner, we head out for an exciting night-birding session to search for nocturnal specialists including the Black-and-white Owl, Tropical Screech-Owl, and Mottled Owl.

we board our private 4WD vehicles to navigate the rugged, winding dirt roads connecting Minca to the mid-elevation ridges of the Santa Marta Mountains. We make strategic roadside stops along key microclimates and cloud forest patches to track down localized range-restricted endemics. Targets include the Santa Marta Blossomcrown, Santa Marta Foliage-gleaner, Santa Marta Antbird, Santa Marta Tapaculo, Santa Marta Woodstar, Santa Marta Brushfinch, and the endemic Santa Marta Screech-Owl.

An early 4:00 AM start via 4WD takes us to San Lorenzo Ridge, the highest accessible point in the massif. We enjoy a packed field breakfast on the mountain ridge to maximize prime morning light for endemic tracking. Here, surrounded by majestic mountain views, we hunt for top endemics including the Santa Marta Parakeet, Santa Marta Warbler, Rusty-headed Spinetail, Santa Marta Bush-Tyrant, Santa Marta Antpitta, and Santa Marta Mountain-Tanager, alongside the Brown-rumped Tapaculo, Hermit Wood-Wren, and Black-backed Thornbill. In the afternoon, we descend the mountain into the warm coastal lowlands bordering Tayrona.

We spend the morning exploring the lush dry-to-humid coastal forests surrounding Tayrona National Park. Our main mission here is locating one of Colombia’s rarest and most critically endangered birds: the Blue-billed Curassow. Other key forest targets include the Lance-tailed Manakin, White-bearded Manakin, White-bellied Antbird, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Greenlet, and Buff-breasted Wren. After lunch, we drive east into the arid Guajira peninsula to Camarones, stopping along the highway to pick up the Caribbean Hornero, Northern Scrub-Flycatcher, and Ochre-lored Flatbill.

We spend a cool early morning exploring the arid, thorny scrub forests of Los Flamencos Sanctuary in search of desert specialists like the stunning Vermilion Cardinal, Tocuyo Sparrow, Orinocan Saltator, Pileated Finch, White-whiskered Spinetail, and Green-rumped Parrotlet. After lunch, we step off the beach and board traditional private sailing boats. We glide across shallow coastal lagoons to scout for aquatic species including the Mangrove Rail, Double-striped Thick-knee, White-cheeked Pintail, and American Oystercatcher. Overnight in Camarones.

We spend the morning sweeping local thorn-scrub patches for any missing regional endemics and specialties, including the Buffy Hummingbird, Rufous-vented Chachalaca, Bare-eyed Pigeon, Northern White-fringed Antwren, Pale-tipped Inezia, Slender-billed Inezia, Glaucous Tanager, and Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant. Following lunch, we drive south through the Cesar River basin toward the city of Valledupar, positioned at the base of the isolated Serranía de Perijá. Overnight in Valledupar.

An early departure brings us to Los Tananeos Reserve, a protected haven of lowland riparian forest. Here, we search for the Military Macaw, Brown Tinamou, Black-backed Antshrike, Scaled Piculet, Rufous-breasted Wren, and Ruby-topaz Hummingbird. Around mid-day, we begin our steep 4WD ascent into the isolated, rugged mountains of the Serranía de Perijá, transitioning through dramatic elevation zones.

A rigorous and deeply rewarding full day dedicated to the high-elevation elfin forests and isolated páramo ecosystems of the Perijá range. We track species found nowhere else on Earth, including the endemic Perija Thistletail, Perija Metaltail, Perija Antpitta, Perija Brushfinch, Perija Tapaculo, and Perija Starfrontlet. We also keep an eye on the sky and canopy for the majestic Andean Condor, Black-and-chestnut Eagle, Golden-headed Quetzal, and Fulvous-headed Tanager.

A flexible day designed to optimize our high-mountain checklist. Depending on our targets, we can either return to the highest summits to clean up missed high-elevation specialists or concentrate deeply on the rich mid-montane cloud forests. This flexible approach ensures we maximize encounters with rare endemic birds and localized target species. Overnight at Perijá mountain lodge.

We spend the day birding our way down the scenic mountain roads of Perijá, stopping at roadside microclimates and forest patches to pick up missed sub-tropical species. In the late afternoon, we transition down into the warm lowlands of La Jagua de Ibirico to position ourselves perfectly for tomorrow’s key morning targets.

An early morning push into the low-to-mid elevation forest trails of the Perijá foothills. Our primary target is the endangered, highly localized Perija Parakeet. While exploring these tropical foothill forests, we also look for the Black-fronted Wood-Quail, Golden-headed Manakin, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Foothill Screech-Owl, King Vulture, and Keel-billed Toucan.

We transfer to Valledupar Airport (VUP) for our internal flight connection to Cali (CLO). Upon landing in the Cauca Valley, we leave the hot lowland plain behind and drive straight up into the mist-shrouded Western Andes to the famous cloud forests of KM18. (Note: Internal domestic airfare is managed separately and excluded from the baseline package).

A spectacular morning exploring the mossy forest trails and world-famous private hummingbird and tanager feeders of KM18. We hunt for Western Andean endemics like the Multicolored Tanager, Colombian Chachalaca, and Chestnut Wood-Quail, alongside the Blue-naped Chlorophonia, White-booted Racket-tail, and Scaled Antpitta. In the afternoon, we shift down the lush Pacific slope toward the famous Doña Dora reserve.

At 5:30 AM, we enter the forest to witness the noisy, colorful courtship display of an active Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek. By 7:30 AM, we move to specialized moth traps and fruit feeders to photograph hyper-diverse Chocó specialties. Targets include the Glistening-green Tanager, Toucan Barbet, Purplish-mantled Tanager, Gray-and-gold Tanager, Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager, Mustached Puffbird, Plain-backed Antpitta, and Purple-bibbed Whitetip.

We descend deep into the lowlands of the Chocó biogeographic region along the famous Anchicayá road. Exploring these hyper-humid foothill forests offers incredible color diversity. We search for rare jewels such as the Golden-chested Tanager, Scarlet-and-white Tanager, Emerald Tanager, Purple Quail-Dove, Barred Puffbird, Chocó Black-throated Trogon, Dot-winged Antwren, and Lita Woodpecker.

Enjoy a relaxed morning session at the Doña Dora feeders for high-quality early morning photography. Afterward, we transfer toward the famous San Cipriano Rainforest Reserve. We access this isolated lowland paradise using unique local motorized rail-carts (known as brujitas), gliding through the jungle on wooden tracks.

A full day dedicated to birding the pristine, flat lowland rainforests of San Cipriano. Using the local rail-cart system to reach deep-forest interior trails, we search for lowland Chocó endemics and rare species. Targets include the Blue-whiskered Tanager, Scarlet-browed Tanager, Bicolored Antbird, Ocellated Antbird, White-fronted Nunbird, Chocó Toucan, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Velvety Manakin, Red-headed Manakin, Tooth-billed Hummingbird, Baudo Oropendola, and Baudo Guan.

An early morning departure takes us out of the Pacific lowlands and into the Cauca River Valley. We spend the morning birding Laguna de Sonso, Colombia’s premier wetland sanctuary. Here, we look for the Jet Antbird, Horned Screamer, Masked Duck, Comb Duck, Anhinga, Snail Kite, Roseate Spoonbill, and Cocoi Heron. In the late afternoon, we drive into the Central Andes to the traditional coffee town of Salento.

We spend our morning among the towering, iconic Wax Palms of the Cocora Valley. We search the high canopy and mountain streams for top targets, including the endemic Yellow-eared Parrot and Cauca Guan, alongside the Andean Condor, Torrent Duck, White-capped Dipper, Wattled Guan, Grass-green Tanager, and Metallic-green Tanager.

A 4:00 AM departure brings us to the high-elevation pastures and cloud forests of Hacienda El Bosque. This location offers an unparalleled experience for antpitta and mountain-toucan tracking. Targets include the elusive Crescent-faced Antpitta, Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan, Barred Fruiteater, Golden-crowned Tanager, Ocellated Tapaculo, Great Sapphirewing, Mountain Velvetbreast, and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle. Overnight near Manizales.

We start early in the high volcanic páramo of Los Nevados National Park, searching for the endemic Buffy Helmetcrest among the Espeletia plants, as well as the Tawny Antpitta and Crowned Chat-Tyrant. Later, we transition down into the humid cloud forests of the famous Río Blanco Reserve to track antpitta feeding stations and mixed-species flocks. Key targets include the endemic Brown-banded Antpitta, Slate-crowned Antpitta, Undulated Antpitta, Masked Saltator, Greater Scythebill, and Red-hooded Tanager.

We transfer to the Western Andes and settle into Montezuma Rainforest Reserve, located inside the pristine wilderness of Tatamá National Park—one of Colombia’s top birding hotspots. We spend our afternoon birding the lower elevations for endemic and species-rich targets like the Gold-winged Tanager, Black-and-gold Tanager, Crested Ant-Tanager, Tanager Finch, Club-winged Manakin, Orange-breasted Fruiteater, and Chestnut-bellied Chlorophonia

We board specialized 4WD vehicles to climb the famous ridge road to the high summit elevations of Tatamá National Park, birding our way down the mountain on foot. We search for rare elevation specialists including the endemic Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer, Indigo Flowerpiercer, Black Solitaire, Pacific Tuftedcheek, Beautiful Jay, Cloud-forest Pygmy-Owl, Olivaceous Piha, and Flame-faced Tanager.

We catch our domestic flight from Pereira (PEI) to Bogotá (BOG). Upon landing, we head straight into the Eastern Andes, riding the funicular or cable car up to Monserrate Mountain. We bird the high-altitude Sendero Paramuno trail and gardens for high-elevation hummingbirds and mountain-tanagers. Targets include the endemic Black-hooded Sunbeam, Blue-throated Starfrontlet, Golden-bellied Starfrontlet, Glowing Puffleg, and Coppery-bellied Puffleg, as well as the magnificent Sword-billed Hummingbird.

A full day dedicated to exploring the specialized cold-climate wetlands of the Bogotá Savanna. We focus entirely on localized and critically endangered high-altitude wetland endemics. Key target species include the Bogotá Rail, Apolinar’s Wren, Spot-flanked Gallinule, Subtropical Doradito, Yellow-hooded Blackbird, Andean Duck, Andean Teal, and Grassland Yellow-Finch.

Enjoy a seamless private transfer from your hotel to El Dorado International Airport (BOG) in Bogotá to connect with your international departure flights back home. End of services.