This tour is a great introduction to birding the mighty Andes of South America. We will explore the vast east-slope for its local specialities and visit a wide array of different habitats and elevations. Travelling from snow-capped volcanoes down to pristine cloud forests will be an incredible experience with superb birding and scenery each day! Stunning species that we will be searching forinclude Andean Condor, Carunculated Caracara, Ecuadorian Hillstar, Giant Hummingbird, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Torrent Duck, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan, Inca Jay, White-bellied Antpitta, San Isidro “mystery” Owl, Masked Trogon, Golden-headed and Crested Quetzal just to mention a few! Rare species that we will target include Black-faced Ibis, Andean Potoo, Red-rumped Bush Tyrant, Greater Scythebill, Bicolored Antvireo, Peruvian Antpitta, Crescent-faced Antpitta, White-capped Tanager and Masked Mountain Tanager. A great network of birding reserves together with good infrastructure, unsurpassable scenery and friendly people make the eastern Andes of Ecuador one of the world’s key birding destinations.

Tour Facts

Top Birds

Andean Condor, Carunculated Caracara, Torrent Duck, Andean Teal, Andean Duck, Andean Coot, Silvery Grebe, Black-faced Ibis, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Andean Gull, Andean Lapwing, Black-winged Ground Dove, Ecuadorian Hillstar, Giant Hummingbird, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Viridian Metaltail, Collared Inca, Long-tailed Sylph, Tourmaline Sunangel, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, White-bellied Woodstar, Glowing Puffleg, Shining Sunbeam, Black-tailed Trainbearer, Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, Blue-mantled Thornbill, San Isidro “mystery” Owl, Rufous-bellied Nighthawk, Andean Potoo, White-capped Parrot, Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan, Black-billed Mountain Toucan, Masked Trogon, Golden-headed and Crested Quetzal, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Andean Motmot, Long-tailed Tapaculo, Paramo Tapaculo, Bicolored Antvireo, Tawny Antpitta, White-bellied Antpitta, Peruvian Antpitta, Slate-crowned Antpitta, Crescent-faced Antpitta, Andean Tit-Spinetail, Stout-billed and Bar-winged Cinclodes, Many-striped Canastero, Flammulated Treehunter, Pearled Treerunner, Streaked Tuftedcheek, Olive-backed Woodcreeper, Greater Scythebill, Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant, Paramo Ground Tyrant, Red-rumped Bush Tyrant, Agile Tit-Tyrant, Marbled-faced and Variegated Bristle Tyrants, Sulphur-bellied Tyrannulet, Barred Becard, Handsome Flycatcher, Inca Jay, Paramo Pipit, Black-billed Peppershrike, Russet-crowned Warbler, Black-eared Hemispingus, Black-backed Bush Tanager, Buff-breasted, Masked, Blue-winged and Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanagers, Saffron-crowned, Beryl-spangled, Flame-faced, Black-capped, Grass-green, Golden-crowned and White-capped Tanagers, Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonia, Bluish Flowerpiercer, Golden-collared Honeycreeper, Pale-naped Brushfinch, Subtropical Cacique

Top Mammals

White-tailed Deer, Andean Fox, Mountain Tapir (rare), Spectacled Bear (rare)

Habitats Covered

paramo grasslands and highland lakes, temperate tree line forest & polylepis, temperate cloud-forest, upper and lower subtropical cloud-forest

Expected Climate

chilly at high elevations but pleasant in the subtropics

Max Group Size

8 with 1 Rockjumper leader & local birding leader

Tour Pace & Walking

easy to moderate pace

Accommodation

comfortable lodges

Ease of Birding

easy birding with some tricky skulkers

Number of Species Expected

200 - 250

Photographic Opportunities

excellent, especially at Antisana, San Isidro and Guango

What our clients say about us

JR, Ecuador 2022

The tour was excellent in all regards. And just as expected. The lodges excellent. The food as well and abundant. And of course the birds. Diverse and beautiful. And Ecuador has done such a wonderful job in attracting the birds, from hummingbirds to tanagers and even antpittas.

RK, Ecuador 2022

Another amazing Rockjumper tour with Dusan Brinkhuizen. What a great guide and nice person. The tour was a little more rugged than the description on Rockjumper's website. It is NOT for beginners and this should be discretely mentioned. Nice Eco-lodges, food and friendly staff. Beautiful birds. Would recommend adding one additional night at San Isidro. Only one night doesn't seem fair to see the many birds at that altitude other than requiring birders to take the tour preceding the one I was on. Loved the Amazon Basin.

AG, Ecuador 2019

An excellent tour with an excellent guide. Dušan's knowledge of all the vocalizations is exceptional and he made sure I saw almost all the birds the group managed to see.

RC, Ecuador 2022

Dušan was an outstanding guide, with comprehensive knowledge of Ecuador's birds including their behaviours, habitats, calls, and identification. He is a pleasure to bird with, as he is passionate about all of the birds and has a unique ability to view even difficult situations in a positive light. He worked hard for the entirety of the trip tenaciously pursuing each target bird, and I never saw him take a break in the 30 days I was with him. He ensured that everyone in the group (or as many as possible) saw each bird, and regularly asked if everyone had seen birds that were called out. He also worked hard to ensure everyone's needs and requests were met, including an extra afternoon outing in the Galapagos per some participants' request. He was extraordinarily patient with clients, even when some became frustrated or difficult, and treated everyone as one would a good friend.

DL, Ecuador - Northern: Ultimate Amazon II 2025

I just completed the Ecuador - Northern II: Choco Cloud Forest; Eastern Andes (Paramo and Cloud Forest); and the Ultimate Amazon: Sumaco Foothills & Rio Napo for a total of 21 days. Adam Walleyn was our head guide and he did a fantasic job. He cleary knew all the birds in the region by both sight and sound and worked extremely hard to get everyone on the tours to see every bird. He was very clear in describing what the agenda was for the day, and what we we'd be doing relative to hiking, terrain, hiking difficulties, etc. He was very well organized and very friendly, a perfect guide. Adam also filled out ebird trip reports for every spot we visited over the 21 days and sent them to all tour members every night, so we could easily keep track of the species seen and immediately accept the reports into our individual ebird accounts. Not including birds only heard and not seen, I had 570 species for the trip. I'd also like to praise Rockjumper's local guide on this entire trip, Marcello. He was very friendly, energetic and man did he know the birds of Ecuador and how to find them. His hearing was absolutely acute and very tuned into the birds. Both guides carried scopes and instantly got birds into scope view for everyone. Very happy with the guides and the overall trip.

Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes II 2026

Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes I 2027

Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes II 2027

Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes I 2028

Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes II 2028

Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes I 2029

Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes II 2029