Antisana - A great place for wildlife - What an excellent trip to Antisana. A national park rich in wildlife. We were incredibly grateful to have Santiago as our guide. He has an unmatched level of bird knowledge and was so passionate about the abundant and diverse bird life not only on Ecuador, but throughout South America. He had an incredible spotting scope that allowed us to observe birds as if they were right in front of us but he knew what birds were around simply from a quick flash in the sky. He really was a pro!! Thanks to him, we saw so many humming birds. These are such SPECTACULAR birds and we managed to get really wonderful photos. Santiago really does have telescopes for eyes, because as we were driving he managed to spot an Andean Bear, across the other side of a ridge on the mountain. How he managed to spot it I will never know! But we were privileged enough to see the bear settling down for a nap. To top it off, we saw 2 pairs of condors in flight and then saw a condor nesting and a juvenile fledgling from the balcony at Tambor Lodge. It was an exceptional visit and he is an exceptional guide! Just on a side note, the food at Tambor Lodge was wonderful and I had the BEST Locro here, it was DELICIOUS!

Amazing Antisana - Our birdwatching tour through the Antisana highlands and park was the perfect finale to our Ecuador vacation. Santiago Salazar has an expert level of knowledge of all of the local avian species both by eye and ear which enabled us to ultimately view many bird species that we would have otherwise passed by. We were able to see a pair of Andean Condors to finish the tour, and recommend this tour to any wildlife, bird, or park enthusiast coming through Quito with a day to spare. A truly wonderful day!

Fun birdwatching experience - What a great experience. This was a really fun excursion. I’ve never did bird watching or animal observations before. It turned out to be very fun. We had the pleasure to have Santiago as our guide. He was so nice and is really experienced in this field. His educational background really shined through which allowed us to learn a lot about the animals throughout our joirney. What I liked about the company as well is that they contact you prior to find out what was your interest is to customize your experience. I will definitely be using them again for their tours in other areas besides Ecuador. Money well spent.

Great full day out with local experience. - Santiago was a great guide providing lots of info about local life as well as the animas and nature of the area. Great for helping spot those small special animals trying to get pictures of. He had sounds of different animals he can play to try to attract birds to come near by to photograph. Lunch stop was delicious and local cuisine. Overall had a great day out and he does other tours as well. Definitely will be booking another trip with him in the future.

The Antisana Reserve in Intimate Detail - Our excellent guide Santiago of Neotropical Nature & Birding gave us a grand tour of the Antisana that included a stop for a good sighting of the Andean Condor, Andean Lapwings, Ibis and Caracaras. A Giant Hummingbird was a highlight at our lunch stop, which included Tyrian metaltail, Shining Sunbeams, Sapphirewings, Hillstars and Violetears. He knew exactly where to find the Red-crested Cotinga. His deep knowledge of the natural history of this beautiful country gave a rich dimension to our tour. I can’t recommend Neotropical and Santiago highly enough.

Wonderful birding experience! - This was a wonderful day-trip out of Quito! Santiago was our guide for the trip and we had an amazing day of birding. Santiago was very knowledgeable about the bird species we saw along the way and made sure we had plenty of opportunities to stop for photos. He also shared his knowledge of the various volcanos we saw during our journey and answered all of our questions about the area. The included lunch was tasty and provided an additional opportunity to try to spot more birds. We did the trip on a Tuesday and we saw hardly anyone else during the day. All-in-all it was an incredible day and I would definitely recommend this tour!

A Great Day Chasing Birds! - Santiago Salazar of Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips opened our eyes to the beauty and biodiversity that Antisana national Park holds! After two years of no travel due to COVID, my husband and I took the leap and embarked on our long-planned, bucket-list trip to mainland Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in April. Our first stop took us to Quito and the Antisana National Park—in search of the Andean Condor. Throughout our entire tour Santiago’s innate and extensive knowledge of the micro-Andean ecosystems allowed us to understand why certain birds flocked to specific areas, leading us to observe more than 35 species in a few short hours, including 7 distinct types of amazing hummingbirds! On our very first stop at Chakana Reserve, Santiago explained that the white guano stains on the cliffs indicated where the Condors nested, we spotted our first adult and juvenile condor on the wing. Then, entirely unexpectedly, on our drive to the Mica Lagoon in Antisana, off to the side of the road a deer had died in a field. Bad for the deer, but good for us as we watched for quite a while as 15 or more Condors came to feed—about a third of the condor population in this region. And soon after, we were awed by the subtle beauty of half a dozen Andean Ibis and several other species we would never have seen without Santiago knowing their favorite flora. Santiago’s lunch plan at was perfect. There we caught our breath, refueled, and saw/photographed several species of shimmering hummingbirds up close. We rounded out the day with a few stops where Santiago knew to stop and coax out a Paramo Pipit and a Red-crested Cotinga. Santiago proved the perfect guide for us. He listened to understand what we hoped to see and did everything in his power to make sure we did, all the while keeping our tour on schedule. His in-depth knowledge of the unique ecosystems left none of our questions unanswered. Because neither my husband nor I speak Spanish, we really appreciated Santiago’s command of English. Even after the tour, he provided us the complete list of birds we’d seen, so we didn’t forget a single one and could look them up in greater detail at our leisure. Santiago’s love for the Ecuadorian landscape was infectious—we would take another tour with him in a heartbeat!

Great way to see condors - Great way to discover Andes. Saw about 25 condors, some very close by. Many deers too. Altitude is tough but the guides were wonderful!

Take this tour! - If you enjoy the natural world, Ecuador should be at the top of your “must see” list and Neotropical your tour guides. Communication with Maria Zambrano, Operations Manager, as we tried to decide what full day-tours to take was prompt, friendly, helpful and ever-courteous. We had intended to do a single day of touring, but after one day with Santiago Salazar, we quickly booked a second. Santiago, a guide with a great wealth of knowledge, is both a passionate nature enthusiast and patient teacher. He answered every question we had on birds (he knows them all!), the native vegetation, history and culture of the area. His attention to our needs and hopes in exploring the area never waned. We couldn’t have felt more fortunate and well taken care of! Within several hours of Quito, a busy city of 2 million people, are a surprising number of nature reserves. Driving into the spectacular Andes mountains and these reserves is like moving onto another planet, or planets, the vegetation associated with the numerous microclimates providing an ever-shifting palette of texture and color. At the Antisana Ecological Reserve, we had the heart-stopping experience of seeing condors, the largest bird on the planet. We lingered at length watching not only the condors (both adults and a chick), but variable hawks and carunculated caracara, as they floated over the stunning cliffs of the reserve. It was absolutely magical and Santiago was very patient with our desire to stay and watch, pointing out various smaller birds as they flitted around our lookout point, as well as the movement of the raptors. The condor, as most folks know, is an endangered species, and Neotropical is committed to working in tandem with locals to promote ecotourism as a livelihood that can be both financially profitable (indeed, more profitable than clearing ground to raise cattle) and valuable to the country and planet as a whole. Their goals include preserving the vital ecosystems that support not only condors, but over 1600 species of birds, many of them with the colorful plumage that makes this subtropical area a spectacular place to bird and/or photograph. Our goal on this trip was to see birds, (although Ecuador boasts over 350 species of mammals as well as the illusive jaguar). And after 20 years of guiding, Santiago had IDed particular areas within each of the reserves and access roads where various bird species have been found. With Santiago’s guidance, we saw 45 species on our first day into the reserve including a red-crested continga, spectacled redstart, and the giant hummingbird, a miracle of avian engineering! In every way, our two days with Neotropical was satisfying. Next time we head for Ecuador, we hope to take part in a ten-day tour in search of wildlife and into the Amazon. I highly recommend these folks. They are the whole package: competent, professional, knowledgeable, and with an excellent command of the English language. Tour with Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips and discover the beautiful and fascinating world of Ecuadorian nature. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Neotropical is the very best! - We spent two days with Santiago. What an amazing experience! What an amazing guide (and now friend!). We saw condors several times on our trip, an astonishing variety of hummingbirds, other bird species too numerous to mention (Santiago knew them all) and even saw a Spectacled Bear. Santiago is patient, knowledgable, and best of all, has a great sense of humor. You will have fun, laugh, learn a lot, and see wildlife that will alter your consciousness. Now we're planning an Amazon trip with Neotropical. Neotropical is the best! And Santiago, gracias por todo, amigo! Hasta pronto.