Birdwatching Adventure in Cajas National Park: Discover Ecuador's Unique Ecosystem and Endemic Birds
5.0
31 Ratings
Cuenca
Embark on a thrilling birdwatching adventure in Cajas National Park, Ecuador. Explore diverse ecosystems and spot endemic birds like the Violet Throated Metaltail and Tit Like Dacnis.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- El Cajas National Park - El Cajas National Park has different ecosystems as a moorland, high grassland or paramo, cloudy forest, polylepis forest, which allows us to offer the following program.
Pick up in your hotel or residence in Cuenca to go to the middles part of the park, approx 3800masl (12800 ft). Here we can see birds like:
- Tufted Tit Tyrant
- Variable Hawk
- Red Rumped Bush Tyrant
- Plain Colored Seedeater
- Aandean Rudy Duck
- Tit Like Dacnis
- Stout Billed Cinclodes
- Bar Winged Cilclodes
- Brown Back Chat Tyrant
- Many Striped Canastero
- Aandean Tit Spinetail
- Blue Mantled Thornbill
- Ecuadorian Hillstar
- Giant Conebill
- Violet Throated Metaltail (Endemic)
- Tawny Antpita
After lunch proceed to visit the lowest part, Llaviuco Valley located 3200masl (10500 ft). In this beautiful valley you can see birds like:
- Masked Trogon
- Gray Breasted Mountain Toucan
- Turquoise Jay
- Black Flowerpierced
- Grass Wren
- Black Crested Warbler
- Brown Bellied Swallow
- Tyrian Metaltail
- Rainbow Starfrontlet
- Shining Sunbeam… and more!This tour will end with your hotel drop-off in Cuenca.
What's Included
- Lunch included (box lunch or restaurant meal)
- Convenient pick-up from hotels or apartments
- Binoculars available upon prior request
- Private transport for a comfortable journey
- Comprehensive bird list of the local area
- Expert bilingual birdwatcher as your guide
What's Not Included
- Personal expenses
- Tips
- Gratuities
Additional Information
The park is located only 45 minutes from Cuenca. This lagoon system, with over 230 lakes, invites you to enjoy one of the nicest landscapes in South America. There are different ecosystems such as: Andean Mountain forest, Polylepis forest, paramo or grassland. You will have the chance to spot many interesting birds, even the endemic hummingbird of Cajas - the \
- Minimum age is 12 years
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
Location
El Cajas National Park
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(31 Ratings)
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1 star
Standonzanzibar
Jan 1, 2024
Great birding in Cajas NP - Enjoyed a great first day in Ecuador at the Cajas NP with Eddie. Friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the local flora, fauna, and history, he guided us to see some dream birds such as Sword-billed Hummingbird and Tawny Antpitta and the local endemic Violet-throated Metaltail amongst many others. Great lunch of fried trout in a local restaurant, too. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael
Nov 12, 2023
Great birding day with Eddy at Cajas. - I spent a full day on a birding tour with Eddy in Cajas. I would highly recommend him. He was not only knowledgeable about the birds and the park but spent extra time finding those hard to find birds. Very personable and great English too.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Saldasilva
Oct 25, 2023
Best way to see the birds variety in Cajas NP. - Excellent trip into fabulous Cajas National Park. Visiting both the lower lying parts and the higher altitudes of the park with their spectacular bird species. Including the endemic Violet-throated metaltail.
Over 40 different species of birds observed under guidance of an excellent and very knowledgeable guide.
Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D2838beclairec
Oct 2, 2023
Fantastic tour, would do again in a heartbeat! - Absolutely loved this tour! Edison had everything very well organized. We saw so many species (officially 36), and I know much of that is due to Edison’s local knowledge. Cajas is such a beautiful park with a variety of landscapes that we were able to explore. I would do this tour again and hope to invite my family to accompany me in the future.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dreamer814642
Sep 14, 2023
Great day of birding! - I did a solo birding day tour in the Cajas National Park with Edison. We had a great day of birding and I was able to see and identify (with Edison’s help) 30 species of birds. Edison heard and saw additional species but I only log the birds for which I had a gook look. I am a beginner birder with eyesight that is not great at a distance, so I missed several of the birds.
We saw 4 different species of hummingbird, including the endemic Violet-throated Metaltail. We looked for birds in 3 different areas - Lake Lluvioca, above Lake Toreadora, and on the western slope near Rancho Hermanos Pradas. Each area had different species. Edison is very knowledgeable about the birds and can identify them by their call and then helped me to see them. He also brought a high quality spotting scope.
Edison picked me up promptly at 6:10 am at my apartment and then we drove up to the Cajas National Park. He provided water, bread, fruit, and cold coffee to eat in the morning. Then, we ended the day with a lunch of fried trout before returning the Cuenca at 3 pm. Overall, it was a successful and enjoyable day of birding.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Calilovetotravel
Jun 19, 2023
Beautiful day in nature - This was a lovely way to spend a day. Andres was an amazing guide, knowledgeable about the ecosystems and the birds in the two different locations of the parks we visited. I learned so much from him about El Cajas NP and its importance to Cuenca. He helped me find some birds I was really hoping to see, and even when the birds didn’t cooperate, the scenery is beautiful and interesting. It was for me a perfect balance of birding and hiking. How incredible that this place is so close to Cuenca-an easy and delightful day trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Georgek1961
Jun 18, 2023
A great day in Cajas National Park, Ecuador - Great day in the field. Cajas NP is spectacular. Andres, my guide was excellent and knowledgeable about the ecosystem as well as the birds. I heartily recommend Polylepis Tours!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Johnpo8080lh
May 30, 2023
Highly recommended tour company in Cuenca - A really amazing day treking route1 at Cajas. Our guide Luis was very accommodating and knowledgable about the plants and birds that we encountered. The weather was also on our side, not always the case in Cajas. The service of Polylepis tous both before, during and after the tour was excellent. I would highly recommend them!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
H3116qtmichaelb
Mar 20, 2023
Would do it again - Our trip to Cajas with Edison was a day well spent. Edison knew where to find several of endemic species we were looking for and worked hard to make sure we got good looks at each.Edison is a wonderful guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marichip
Mar 10, 2023
Amazing morning of birding! - Edison was super accommodating from beginning to end! He was early for our 5a pick up from the hotel (as requested by us), his vehicle was more than adequate for our day trip. He provided historical background of Cuenca and Cajas NP on the way. VERY knowledgeable on the birds in the area and super enthusiastic! Brought snacks for us, also made a stop to a local Hostel for a warm breakfast! Had a wonderful time checking off birds! He also completed and shared the bird list on eBird! Highly recommend this valuable guide. A+
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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