Mindo Cloud Forest birding tour: Hummingbirds and Andean Cock

The Andean Cock of the Rock performs its mating display only in the early morning at a handful of sites in Ecuador.

A private birding tour through Mindo Cloud Forest with an English or Spanish-speaking guide, combining the town's reserves and hummingbird feeders at San Tadeo with optional access to Paz de las Aves, where you watch male Andean Cocks display for females. The tour runs 8 to 10 hours and includes pickup from Quito or airport hotels, transport, guide, coffee or tea, and entrance fees to San Tadeo. The Cock of the Rock and Antpitta viewing requires an additional fee.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Mindo Cloud-Forest and Birding

• Explore Mindo town and cloud forest
• Visit private reserve with bird feeders
• Walk through Mindo-Nambillo forest reserve
• Visit Paz de las aves birding site

The experience

Mindo sits inside one of the world's most biodiverse cloud forests, a biosphere reserve where the Chocó's endemic species live nowhere else. The tour moves through different habitats (the town itself, private reserves with hummingbird feeders, and the giant Mindo-Nambillo forest) each one hosting a different slice of the forest's birds, bromeliads, orchids, ferns, butterflies and amphibians. Your guide leads the birding, looking for species and positioning you for photographs.

San Tadeo's feeder stations let you watch and photograph hummingbirds, tanagers and toucans up close, depending on the season. The reserve also overlooks the forest canopy where prey birds sometimes appear. The Mindo-Nambillo forest itself is a reserve large enough to hold timber trees, ferns and the full tangle of the cloud forest understory. If you book the Paz de las Aves option, the tour begins before dawn at a lek where male Andean Cocks of the Rock gather to display (several males dancing at once for the female), then continues into the forest hunting for Antpitta locations, where you may see the Giant Antpitta, Yellow-breasted Antpitta and Ochre-breasted Antpitta.

The tour includes private transportation from your Quito or airport hotel, a guide who speaks English or Spanish, coffee or tea in San Tadeo, and entrance to the San Tadeo feeders. The Paz de las Aves option and the Antpitta viewings carry a separate fee. Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness. The tour is not recommended for those with spinal injuries, poor cardiovascular health or pregnancy.

What’s included

• Private transportation from your hotel.
• English or Spanish-speaking guide.
• coffee or tea in San Tadeo.
• entrance to the San Tadeo hummingbird feeders.
• birding through Mindo Cloud Forest and its reserves.

Options for this experience

2 options

Pick-up from hotels in QuitoGuide in English or Spanish · 08:00Pickup is included

Pick-up from airport hotelsGuide in English or Spanish · 08:00Pick-up from airport hotels, pickup is included

You pick the guide language when booking.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesMonday to FridayDeparts at 08:00

Book up to2d before

AgesAdult (12 to 70 years) · Under 12: can't be booked

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 3 days ago

Good to know

Moderate physical effortNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problems

Operated by Llamingo Travel

Is this one for you?Book the Paz de las Aves option if the Andean Cock of the Rock display and Antpitta locations are your priority. The early start and additional fee are what make those rarities reachable inside a single day. Without it, the tour focuses on the cloud forest's hummingbirds, tanagers, toucans and the full diversity of the Mindo-Nambillo reserve.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

What birds can I actually photograph on this tour?

Hummingbirds, tanagers and toucans come to the San Tadeo feeders depending on the season. The Mindo-Nambillo forest and surrounding reserves host a large number of bird species across different habitats. If you add the Paz de las Aves option, you'll photograph the Andean Cock of the Rock during its mating display, plus Antpitta species including the Giant Antpitta, Yellow-breasted Antpitta and Ochre-breasted Antpitta.

How long is the tour and what time does it start?

The tour runs 8 to 10 hours. If you choose the Paz de las Aves option, the tour begins before dawn to catch the Andean Cock of the Rock display at the lek.

Do I need to arrange my own transport to Mindo?

No. Private transportation from your Quito or airport hotel is included. You choose your pickup location when you book.

What's included in the price and what costs extra?

The tour includes private transport, your guide, coffee or tea at San Tadeo, and entrance to the San Tadeo feeder reserve. Breakfast and lunch are not included. The Paz de las Aves option and the Cock of the Rock and Antpitta viewing fee are additional.

What is the Mindo-Nambillo forest?

Mindo-Nambillo is a giant reserve inside the Chocó cloud forest and one of the most diverse sites in Ecuador, with timber trees, bromeliads, orchids, ferns, butterflies, amphibians and birds across multiple habitats.