ECUADOR: THE WORLD’S GREATEST BIODIVERSITY

Ecuador is considered to be one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world, in fact it is the most biologically diverse country on the planet, relative to its size.
The numbers are truly spectacular and speak for themselves: around 1,600 species of birds, 4,500 species of butterflies, 405 species of reptiles, 440 species of amphibians and 382 species of mammals among others… Ecuadorian flora reach 20,000 species of vascular plants which account for 1.6% of all known species in the planet, over 2,500 species of terrestrial vertebrates which account 11.5% of total worldwide, 11.5% of which are endemic species, meaning that it can only be found in this part of the world. With such a huge wildlife variety, within a small size country, it is not surprising Ecuador has been considered by the United Nations Environment Program, as one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the planet.

The following itinerary will take you to some of the best natural spaces and reserves in Ecuador for wildlife watching, where we’ll try to observe the widest range and number of species.
We’ll head into the countries mist shrouded Cloud Forest’s to observe Toucans, Toucanets, Barbets, Tanagers, Hummingbirds, Trogons, Antpitas, Jacamars, Motmots, Woodpeckers, and much more all… We’ll then explore the Andean mountains and volcanic valleys (with good chances of sighting Andean Condor, the colourful Andean Cock of the rock and more…) and the Amazon Rainforest (Guacamayos, Parrots, Kingfishers, Eagles, Tapir, Monkeys, Giant otter, Ocelot, Puma, Armadillo…)
We hope to see many of these species and much more!!

TOUR DATES
December 2016 – July  2016

ECUADOR ITINERARY AT A GLANCE

DAY 1
Arrive at Mariscal Sucre Airport and transfer to our Hotel in Quito. Hotel Fuente de Piedra. www.ecuahotel.com Quito is a historic and attractive Latin American capital city, located at nearly 3,000 m beneith the Pichincha Volcano. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the old city was built on one the major capitals of the Inca empire.

DAY 2
Sacha Tamia Lodge – Transfer and birding in Alambi Cloud Forest Reserve and Bellavista Reserve (Tandayapa Valley). www.sachatamia.com

DAY 3
Sacha Tamia Lodge – Early in the morning visit to Milpe area. After lunch, visit to the Mindo area. Full day birding.

DAY 4
Cabinas Umbrella bird or Sacha Tamia Lodge, depending on the availability. Early in the morning we’ll go to visit Refugio Paz de las Aves Reserve. In the afternoon we’ll go to visit the Río Blanco riversides. Full day birding.

DAY 5
Accommodation in Hacienda Hostería Guáytara. www.hosteriaguaytara.com Transfer to Antisana National Park. Birding en route. Early in the morning we’ll go to the Yanacocha Reserve to see the magnificent Umbrella bird and other interesting species such as Laughing falcon, Tucanets, Scissor-tailed kite…In the afternoon, we’ll go to the Andean Páramo and the Antisana N. P.

DAY 6
Hacienda Hostería Guáytara – Early morning walk in the Chuquiragua forest to look for species such as the Andean hillstar, Giant hummingbird, Shining sunbeam, Andean condor, Carunculated caracara, Andean gull, and Black-faced Ibis…

DAY 7
Termas Papallacta. Zuleta – Oyacachi – Papallacta – Birding en route and around hotel. Papallacta is well known for it’s termal springs, beautiful valley and diverse mountain environments. www.termaspapallacta.com

DAY 8
Cabinas San Isidro – Transfer, Birding en route. – We’ll visit the Guango Reserve to see many species of Hummingbirds, including the Sword-billed hummingbird. Birding around lodge. www.cabanassanisidro.com

DAY 9
Cabinas San Isidro – Full day Birding

DAY 10
Transfer to Coca to our next destination: The Amazon. Napo Wildlife Center. Ecolodge. Birding en route. www.napowildlifecenter.com

DAY 11
Napo Wildlife Center. Full day Wildlife and Birdwatching

DAY 12
Napo Wildlife Center. Full day Wildlife and Birdwatching

DAY 13
Napo Wildlife Center. Full day Wildlife and Birdwatching

DAY 14
Flight from Coca to Quito. Departure home

You can have a look to some of the Nature Reserves we’ll visit:
Reserva Natural Alambi
http://www.alambicloudforest.com/

Refugio Paz de las aves
http://www.refugiopazdelasaves.com/

Parque Nacional de Yasuní:
http://www.napowildlifecenter.com/

PRICE
€ 3,950 p.p.
€ 460 Single supplement*
Deposit
€ 400 p.p.

INCLUDES
All accommodation, all meals and transport, full-time guiding, nature reserve entrance fees, domestic flight from Coca to Quito, and airport transfers.

EXCLUDES
International Flights, insurance and personal costs. International Departure tax

TOUR PARTY
Minimum 4, maximum 12 persons

Please contact me about your air travel requirements. I’ll be more than happy to help you with the booking of the flight.

CONTACT: jose@sierra-trek.com
PHONE: 00 34 626 700 525