Colombia Andes Cloud Forest Photography Tour With Hummingbirds

Arrival in Cali leads to a warm reception at the airport with your guide, Tristan, before the transfer from San Felipe Birding Ecolodge to Cali Airport with Wild Expedition. After hotel check-in and time to settle in, a tour orientation covers the itinerary and initial tips. Dinner is included in the package, followed by San Felipe Lodge. Birding & Wellness, a must-visit spot near Cali where lush trails in Valle del Cauca’s cloud forests teem with endemic species.

Leaving San Felipe Ecolodge for La Florida, the morning starts before sunrise at the feeders, where hummingbirds, tanagers and flowerpiercers gather and the resident Chestnut Wood-Quail may appear. After breakfast at La Florida Lodge, further feeder watching brings mixed flocks and toucanets into view. A natural flower setup offers hummingbird photography, followed by lunch and an afternoon session watching for the elusive Little Tinamou and forest hummingbirds. The transfer back to San Felipe Ecolodge ends with dinner and birding and wellness at San Felipe Lodge.

Leaving San Felipe Birding Ecolodge, the route heads into La Elvira's protected cloud forests for birdwatching at Bosque de Niebla, where a garden lookout and balcony draw hummingbirds and tanagers, plus a 360° observation hide and handmade forest hide along trails. After lunch, the journey continues to Finca Alejandría, a hummingbird paradise with orchids, bromeliads, and Andean biodiversity, before returning to San Felipe Lodge for dinner.

Travel from San Felipe to Doña Dora, a tropical garden at 1,200 m between the Western Andes and the Pacific, alive with hummingbirds and exotic species. A short, demanding 700 m trail leads to a lek where male Andean Cock of the Rock display and call, observed from a rustic hide for photography. Lunch and birdwatching at the Doña Dora farmhouse follow, with fresh juice or coffee. Return to San Felipe, then dinner and birding and wellness at San Felipe Lodge amid cloud forest trails.

A pre-breakfast birding session in San Felipe opens the morning before checking out and transferring to Laguna de Sonso, Colombia's largest remaining natural wetland in the Cauca Valley. With a local guide, trails and observation points reveal lagoons, reedbeds and gallery forest, where the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird stands out among herons, jacanas, kingfishers, ibises and raptors. After lunch on the road, the journey continues to Reserva Natural Rio Blanco near Manizales. Following check-in and a short break, an afternoon birdwatching session around the cloud forest trails and feeders, if time allows, introduces mountain tanagers, hummingbirds and toucanets before dinner.

At Reserva Natural Rio Blanco near Manizales, breakfast is followed by morning birdwatching at the Antpitta Feeding Stations, where a local guide leads visits to managed sites for Bicolored, Chestnut-crowned, Slate-crowned and Brown-banded Antpittas, plus mixed flocks of mountain tanagers, brushfinches, fruiteaters and tapaculos. After lunch, Rio Blanco afternoon birding continues around hummingbird and fruit feeders and forest trails, with chances for Long-tailed Sylph, Collared Inca, Bronzy Inca, Tourmaline Sunangel, woodcreepers, Masked Saltator, Rusty-faced Parrot and Andean Motmot, before dinner.

After an included breakfast and checking out, transfer from Reserva Natural Río Blanco to Hacienda El Bosque, then continue to Hotel Termales Del Ruiz for check-in and a short break. In the gardens, spend time at the hummingbird feeders observing and photographing high-altitude species such as Great Sapphirewing, Shining Sunbeam, Golden-breasted Puffleg and Buff-winged Starfrontlet at close range, refining compositions and close-up images. A generic lunch and dinner are included before overnighting at Hotel Termales Del Ruiz.

Breakfast precedes birdwatching in Los Nevados National Park from Termales del Ruiz, exploring high-altitude páramo for Buffy Helmetcrest, Rainbow-bearded Thornbill and Rufous-fronted Parakeet amid volcanic scenery. After checking out, lunch and a transfer bring you to Tinamu Birding Nature Reserve for check-in. Late afternoon feeder watching at Tinamu Lodge may reveal tanagers, euphonias, aracaris and hummingbirds. Following dinner, nocturnal birding in the reserve searches for owls, Common Pauraques and potoos along forest trails.

At Tinamú Birding Nature Reserve, an included breakfast precedes a guided morning along dry forest and woodland trails, when mixed flocks and regional specialties are searched for. Feeders and fruiting trees draw steady bird traffic. A generic lunch is available, then the afternoon shifts to patient photography around positioned feeders and forest paths, adapting to recent sightings and light. An evening backup and image review follows, closing with a generic farewell dinner.

After an included breakfast, check out of the hotel and gather your belongings. Depending on your preference, spend a free morning on souvenirs, a quiet moment at the hotel, or a photo review and photoshop session with Tristan. Later, transfer from Tinamu Birding Nature Reserve to Manizales Airport for your departure flight home, closing out the adventure.