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Ecuador - Hummingbirds Adventure (Relaxed)

© Black-throated Brilliant by Adam Riley
Ecuador - Hummingbirds Adventure (Relaxed) 2026

22 Feb 2026 - 07 Mar 2026 (14 days)

USD5,995 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Amanda Guercio

Tour price (Per person): USD5,995 * GBP4,743 * EUR5,725 * AUD9,429

Single Supplement: USD720 * GBP570 * EUR688 * AUD1,132

Ecuador is fortuitously situated within the heart of a fantastically diverse habitat array, ranging from the high Andes to excellent lowland rainforest. Ecuador’s small size, good infrastructure, unsurpassable scenery and friendly people make it one of the planet’s most delightful birding destinations. Our dedicated hummingbird tour seeks to enjoy a vast number of these jewels, most to be comfortably found at the numerous feeders that dot the prime birding locations we visit.

This tour is a great introduction to birding the mighty Andes of South America. We begin the tour in the primary birding sites found north-west of the capital city of Quito. This area is part of the Chocó bioregion that hosts a great number of endemics and specialities that are only shared with neighbouring areas of Colombia to the north. We will be based in the Tandayapa and Mindo valleys from where we will set out to bird the various renowned private reserves, affording us an outstanding opportunity to support local conservation projects for long-term habitat protection. A wide array of habitats will be birded, starting with the mystical elfin forest of the temperate zone, followed by bird-rich subtropical cloud forests. We will also 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! 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.

Top Birds

Ecuadorian, White-tailed & Green-backed Hillstars; Black-tailed Trainbearer; Great Sapphirewing; Purple-backed, Black-mantled, Blue-mantled, Purple-mantled & Rainbow-bearded Thornbills; Shining Sunbeam; Giant, Speckled, Many-spotted, Violet-headed & Sword-billed Hummingbirds; Collared & Bronzy Incas; Long-tailed & Violet-tailed Sylphs; Tourmaline Sunangel; Chestnut-breasted, Velvet-purple & Buff-tailed Coronets; Mountain Avocetbill; Tyrian & Viridian Metaltails; White-bellied, Purple-throated & Gorgeted Woodstars; Glowing, Sapphire-vented, Black-breasted, Hoary & Golden-breasted Pufflegs; Great Sapphirewing; Violet-fronted, Black-throated, Empress, Green-crowned & Fawn-breasted Brilliants; White-booted & Peruvian Racket-tails; Geoffrey’s Wedgebill; Brown Violetear; Bronzy & Brown Incas; Green & Sparkling Violetears; Gould’s Jewelfront; Golden-tailed Sapphire; Napo Sabrewing; Rufous-vented & Purple-bibbed Whitetips; Golden-tailed Sapphire; Blue-fronted Lancebill; Wire-crested & Green Thorntails; Fork-tailed & Crowned Woodnymphs; Green & White-whiskered Hermits; Ecuadorian Piedtail; White-tipped Sicklebill; Buff-winged Starfrontlet; White-necked Jacobin; Andean Emerald.

Top Mammals

White-tailed Deer; Andean Fox; Mountain Tapir (rare); Spectacled Bear (rare); Olingito; Tayra; White-fronted Capuchin.

Habitats Covered

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

UNDEMANDING: This tour is ideal for birders and wildlife enthusiasts of all experience levels. It’s suitable for most mobility levels and offers a relaxed pace, ensuring an enjoyable experience for everyone.

Our Relaxed series of tours are designed to focus on having an enjoyable holiday with a bird and wildlife focus. Where possible; we have reduced or removed long drives, single night stays and poor/rustic accommodation. We have also sought to reduce or remove difficult hikes, narrow/muddy trails and otherwise oppressive environmental conditions. Early starts and night birding are mostly optional, and we will not spend much time searching for difficult and/or skulking species. These tours are not suitable for hardcore birders and listers, or dedicated photographers.

Accommodation

comfortable lodges

Ease of Birding

generally easy, most Hummingbirds attend feeders

Photographic Opportunities

good to very good at dedicated feeders

What our clients say about us

Dušan Brinkhuizen
JR, Ecuador

Dušan is an excellent field ornithologist with an encyclopaedic knowledge of bird song, taxonomy, and field identification marks. Ornithology is Dušan’s passion. He is also excellent with the clients – friendly, courteous, patient, and anxious that everyone sees all the birds and enjoys the tour. It was a great tour!

Dušan Brinkhuizen
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.

Dušan Brinkhuizen
MW, Ecuador 2023

What a tour! We ended up with nearly 700 species seen and heard, and I ended up with almost twice as many lifers than I had anticipated. Dusan was excellent: Attentive to those having difficulties, enthusiastic, energetic, indefatigable, and a complete whiz at the birds. He was as excited about each new sighting as was the rest of the group, right through to the last day. We saw many very special birds, birds that I have missed over three previous trips to Ecuador as well as quite rare birds that, although specialties for this tour, require great effort and skill to unveil (think Buff-fronted Owl). Climate change affected the tour to a certain extent, but Dusan always had a clever plan or an alternative site to try for the bird again. The tour was a bit more strenuous than the itinerary led me to believe, but all at the participants willingly went the extra mile with Dusan every time. We were fortunate to have a pretty good group, a great driver, and good luck with the weather.

Lev Frid
GS, Ecuador 2021

I had a great time on the two Ecuador tours. I have been wanting to bird with Lev Frid since I viewed his webinar on Mexico, and he was every bit as fun and as good a guide as I thought that he would be. Lev's cheerful energy and care for his tour members were always evident, and his bird finding and identifying skills were superb. He worked hard to make sure that everyone was able to see the birds whenever possible, and he dealt with the varying experience levels of the various tour members very well. The list of tour members changed from tour to tour, with a wide range of ages, birding agendas, and personalities. Lev took it all in stride and provided what I considered to be an excellent experience for all. He worked particularly well with the local guides, with whom he shared friendship and respect, and his ability in speaking Spanish was an excellent asset. The local guides were all excellent, and worked hard to give us the best birding experience possible. Our driver kept us safe on the road and got us where we needed to go. The lodges were all great, with comfortable accommodations and excellent food. I picked up several birds that I had missed on an earlier tour through the area, and got a good look at a Mountain Tapir, as a rare bonus mammal. All in all, it was an excellent trip, and I look forward to future trips with Rockjumper.

Dušan Brinkhuizen
MN - Ecuador 2021

"This tour was great and Dusan was fabulous, an incredible birder, guide and person. I don't need to say more because I'm sure you've heard many accolades about him. It was a great tour though harder than I expected but I'm old and age makes a difference. I definitely would go again with Dusan. There was a disparity of physical abilities among the clients and Dusan handled the situation very well, taking care of the one person who could do the least physically and I think keeping her happy under the circumstances. This really speaks to his people skills. The three of us who were the weakest physically were the oldest. I was elated because I saw the oil birds and Sapayoa(s!!) and why I signed up not even considering the difficulty of canopy birding and what hilly jungle trails entailed. I'm so glad I went and would have hated being dissuaded. So thank you..."

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