Your Travel Experience with Galapagos PRO
Day 1
Bird watching at Guango Lodge
In the morning, you will drive to Guango Lodge and on the way, you will pass through a mix of agricultural zones and native chaparral forests before driving up the steep and windy Páramo. Among the many birding possibilities, you should definitely look out for the Andean Condor, Carunculated Caracara, Andean Gull, Black-tailed Trainbearer, Scrub & Blue-and-yellow Tanagers and Southern Yellow-Grosbeak. Today is the day where you should have your camera ready – particularly on clear days, where the scenery is spectacular, with superb views of the snow-capped Volcán Antisana, and seemingly endless high Andean mountain-scapes harboring a backdrop of textures that make for an unforgettable birding setting. You will also pass through some beautiful high-elevation temperate forests where you will have a chance to stop and soak in the breathtaking scenery. Some of the birds found here include the Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Viridian Metaltail, Red-crested Cotinga, Black-backed Bush-Tanager, just to name a few. We will arrive at Guango Lodge in time for a hot, sit-down lunch, where the hummingbird feeders will be crowded with different species such as the Tourmaline Sunangel, Sword-billed Hummingbird and White-bellied Woodstar.
After lunch, we will devote our afternoon to birding along the trails and at spectacular hummingbird feeders at Guango Lodge. Before it gets too late, you will take on a 1 ½ hour drive to San Isidro. You will arrive at the lodge to try and catch sight of the Rufous-bellied Nighthawk at dusk before a delicious dinner.
If the weather permits, you might want to try to go for a short night walk after dinner - right between the cabins and the dining room - in search of the “mystery owl”.
Day 2
Discover the surroundings of Cabañas San Isidro
You will start the morning off with some bird watching right around the lodge, where you often find it hard to pull yourself away from as the birds just sometimes keep coming. Some of the regulars include Montane and Olive-backed Woodcreepers, Golden-crowned Flycatcher, among others. After about an hour, you will visit the Antpitta feeders, where you will very likely get to see the White-bellied Antpitta only a feet away. The rest of the morning will be spent observing birds along with the ample trail system and forested roadside at Cabañas San Isidro, where Long-tailed Antbirds, Plain-tailed Wrens and Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonias await.
After lunch at the lodge (and possibly an afternoon break), you can choose any of the trails that sprawl out from the lodge (or even the roadside) for a second look at the birds.
Day 3
Embark on the Guacamayos ridge trail
Only about 20 minutes from the lodge, the Gacamayos ridge trail is where the Green-and-black Fruiteater, Handsome Flycatcher, Rufous Wren, Turquoise Jay, Grass-green Tanager, a few species of skulking tapaculos can be seen. The forest here is simply enchanting and a place that no birding enthusiast wants to miss while visiting the San Isidro area. Depending on the guide’s plan for the day, you may enjoy one last meal at San Isidro, or choose to bring along a box lunch for the birding drive back to Quito, so that you get a chance to catch a glimpse of the bird species you missed out on the first day.