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Andean Highlands Tour: Discover Unique Flora and Fauna
5.0
38 Ratings
Quito
Embark on a private tour to Antisana Volcano for a day of birding and natural history exploration. Discover unique flora and fauna, including the Andean Condor, while supporting local development and conservation.
Embark on a private tour to Antisana Volcano for a day of birding and natural history exploration. Discover unique flora and fauna, including the Andean Condor, while supporting local development and conservation.
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Quito - The day begins with an early pick-up from your hotel in Quito or the airport vicinity.
- Mirador Isco - Reserva Chakana - On the way to the Antisana Reserve entrance, the first stop is at Mirador del Isco, a viewpoint within the Chakana Reserve. This is an excellent spot for observing Condors.
- Antisana Ecological Reserve - The…
- Quito - The day begins with an early pick-up from your hotel in Quito or the airport vicinity.
- Mirador Isco - Reserva Chakana - On the way to the Antisana Reserve entrance, the first stop is at Mirador del Isco, a viewpoint within the Chakana Reserve. This is an excellent spot for observing Condors.
- Antisana Ecological Reserve - The journey continues to the western entrance of the Antisana Ecological Reserve. While exploring, there is an opportunity to spot high-altitude and local wildlife such as foxes, deer, and possibly the Spectacled Bear. Additionally, the Ecuadorian Hillstar visiting the Chuquiragua bushes, Tawny Antpitta, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Carunculated Caracaras, and many others may be seen.
- Laguna de Mica - Upon reaching Lake “La Mica,” visitors can scan the shoreline for aquatic species. For those interested, a hike along a trail offers stunning landscapes.
- Tambo Condor - A delightful lunch is provided at Tambo Condor reserve, where guests can enjoy the beautiful property with a prime view of the Andean Condors’ nesting sites and admire hummingbirds around the garden’s flowers and feeders.
- Quito - The tour concludes with an afternoon return to Quito, with drop-off at your hotel.
What's Included
- All National Park fees included
- Lunch and a soft drink provided
- Exclusive private transportation
- Complimentary tea and coffee
- Access to all activities
- Certified bilingual naturalist and birding guide
- Convenient hotel pick-up and drop-off service
- All National Park fees included
- Lunch and a soft drink provided
- Exclusive private transportation
- Complimentary tea and coffee
- Access to all activities
- Certified bilingual naturalist and birding guide
- Convenient hotel pick-up and drop-off service
What's Not Included
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Gratuities
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Gratuities
Additional Information
- Maximize your experience in a distinct habitat, a respite from overpopulated areas, just a brief 90 minutes from Quito.
- Traverse the Andean Highlands with an expert guide at your side, marveling at the magnificent scenery and in quest of distinctive plant and wildlife, such as the iconic Andean Condor.
- Trek around La Mica Lake, uncovering the rich…
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Maximize your experience in a distinct habitat, a respite from overpopulated areas, just a brief 90 minutes from Quito.
-
Traverse the Andean Highlands with an expert guide at your side, marveling at the magnificent scenery and in quest of distinctive plant and wildlife, such as the iconic Andean Condor.
-
Trek around La Mica Lake, uncovering the rich range of life it supports. Venture into the preserve to spot creatures like the Spectacled Bear, Andean Fox, and a variety of high-altitude birds.
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Catch sight of various hummingbird species including the sizable Giant Hummingbird and the striking Ecuadorian Hillstar.
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Contribute to regional growth and ecological preservation by participating in this excursion.
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Should birdwatching be your primary passion, inform us to ensure a tailored tour experience with a dedicated ornithological expert.
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Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
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Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
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A small amount of walking is involved along trails with irregular terrain although if participants require longer hiking trails are available.
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Children must be accompanied by an adult
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Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
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Copy of passport of one of the group members is required for billing purposes (local tax exemption)
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Let us know if you are prone to altitude sickness
Location
Quito
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(38 Ratings)
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1 star
Sandra
Apr 5, 2025
Paradise - Our trip was amazing! Santiago was the best guide. He made sure we saw everything we wanted and so much more. Every day was packed with adventure and opportunities to see the best birds and wildlife. Santiago is very knowledgeable about the area and has a deep connection to nature. Additionally, he made sure we were comfortable throughout the trip and made adjustments for our capabilities as needed. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience. We can’t wait for our next adventure.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Susany163
May 31, 2024
Fabulous! - We had a fabulous day with Santiago on this day tour. We were successful viewing Condors and so much more. The landscape and birding above timberline was unlike any I have seen. It was so beautiful I cried. We enjoyed a tasty lunch. My husband experienced some high altitude sickness and Santiago drove us to lower elevation quickly where he recovered nicely. Thank you, Santiago!! We will join you again in the future.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chris_u
Apr 20, 2024
Antisana - A great place for wildlife - What an excellent trip to Antisana. A national park rich in wildlife. We were incredibly grateful to have Santiago as our guide. He has an unmatched level of bird knowledge and was so passionate about the abundant and diverse bird life not only on Ecuador, but throughout South America. He had an incredible spotting scope that allowed us to observe birds as if they were right in front of us but he knew what birds were around simply from a quick flash in the sky. He really was a pro!! Thanks to him, we saw so many humming birds. These are such SPECTACULAR birds and we managed to get really wonderful photos. Santiago really does have telescopes for eyes, because as we were driving he managed to spot an Andean Bear, across the other side of a ridge on the mountain. How he managed to spot it I will never know! But we were privileged enough to see the bear settling down for a nap. To top it off, we saw 2 pairs of condors in flight and then saw a condor nesting and a juvenile fledgling from the balcony at Tambor Lodge.
It was an exceptional visit and he is an exceptional guide!
Just on a side note, the food at Tambor Lodge was wonderful and I had the BEST Locro here, it was DELICIOUS!
Review provided by Viator
Johncf3899ys
Mar 24, 2024
Amazing Antisana - Our birdwatching tour through the Antisana highlands and park was the perfect finale to our Ecuador vacation. Santiago Salazar has an expert level of knowledge of all of the local avian species both by eye and ear which enabled us to ultimately view many bird species that we would have otherwise passed by. We were able to see a pair of Andean Condors to finish the tour, and recommend this tour to any wildlife, bird, or park enthusiast coming through Quito with a day to spare. A truly wonderful day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Torchh2022
Jan 19, 2024
Fun birdwatching experience - What a great experience. This was a really fun excursion. I’ve never did bird watching or animal observations before. It turned out to be very fun. We had the pleasure to have Santiago as our guide. He was so nice and is really experienced in this field. His educational background really shined through which allowed us to learn a lot about the animals throughout our joirney. What I liked about the company as well is that they contact you prior to find out what was your interest is to customize your experience. I will definitely be using them again for their tours in other areas besides Ecuador. Money well spent.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristen
Apr 2, 2023
Great full day out with local experience. - Santiago was a great guide providing lots of info about local life as well as the animas and nature of the area. Great for helping spot those small special animals trying to get pictures of. He had sounds of different animals he can play to try to attract birds to come near by to photograph.
Lunch stop was delicious and local cuisine.
Overall had a great day out and he does other tours as well.
Definitely will be booking another trip with him in the future.
Review provided by Viator
769abelle
May 25, 2022
The Antisana Reserve in Intimate Detail - Our excellent guide Santiago of Neotropical Nature & Birding gave us a grand tour of the Antisana that included a stop for a good sighting of the Andean Condor, Andean Lapwings, Ibis and Caracaras. A Giant Hummingbird was a highlight at our lunch stop, which included Tyrian metaltail, Shining Sunbeams, Sapphirewings, Hillstars and Violetears. He knew exactly where to find the Red-crested Cotinga. His deep knowledge of the natural history of this beautiful country gave a rich dimension to our tour. I can’t recommend Neotropical and Santiago highly enough.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lmporter1
May 24, 2022
Wonderful birding experience! - This was a wonderful day-trip out of Quito! Santiago was our guide for the trip and we had an amazing day of birding. Santiago was very knowledgeable about the bird species we saw along the way and made sure we had plenty of opportunities to stop for photos. He also shared his knowledge of the various volcanos we saw during our journey and answered all of our questions about the area. The included lunch was tasty and provided an additional opportunity to try to spot more birds. We did the trip on a Tuesday and we saw hardly anyone else during the day. All-in-all it was an incredible day and I would definitely recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Blairs821
May 17, 2022
A Great Day Chasing Birds! - Santiago Salazar of Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips opened our eyes to the beauty and biodiversity that Antisana national Park holds!
After two years of no travel due to COVID, my husband and I took the leap and embarked on our long-planned, bucket-list trip to mainland Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in April. Our first stop took us to Quito and the Antisana National Park—in search of the Andean Condor.
Throughout our entire tour Santiago’s innate and extensive knowledge of the micro-Andean ecosystems allowed us to understand why certain birds flocked to specific areas, leading us to observe more than 35 species in a few short hours, including 7 distinct types of amazing hummingbirds!
On our very first stop at Chakana Reserve, Santiago explained that the white guano stains on the cliffs indicated where the Condors nested, we spotted our first adult and juvenile condor on the wing. Then, entirely unexpectedly, on our drive to the Mica Lagoon in Antisana, off to the side of the road a deer had died in a field. Bad for the deer, but good for us as we watched for quite a while as 15 or more Condors came to feed—about a third of the condor population in this region. And soon after, we were awed by the subtle beauty of half a dozen Andean Ibis and several other species we would never have seen without Santiago knowing their favorite flora.
Santiago’s lunch plan at was perfect. There we caught our breath, refueled, and saw/photographed several species of shimmering hummingbirds up close. We rounded out the day with a few stops where Santiago knew to stop and coax out a Paramo Pipit and a Red-crested Cotinga.
Santiago proved the perfect guide for us. He listened to understand what we hoped to see and did everything in his power to make sure we did, all the while keeping our tour on schedule. His in-depth knowledge of the unique ecosystems left none of our questions unanswered. Because neither my husband nor I speak Spanish, we really appreciated Santiago’s command of English. Even after the tour, he provided us the complete list of birds we’d seen, so we didn’t forget a single one and could look them up in greater detail at our leisure.
Santiago’s love for the Ecuadorian landscape was infectious—we would take another tour with him in a heartbeat!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mmgac
Apr 24, 2022
Great way to see condors - Great way to discover Andes. Saw about 25 condors, some very close by. Many deers too. Altitude is tough but the guides were wonderful!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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