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Go Slow in Colombia
Tour Code: COL07A relaxed, single-centre 10-day birdwatching holiday in exploration of some of Colombia's most rewarding sites.
£4,295 (Inc flights)
£3,395
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Summary
Although this new tour doesn’t tick all of our ‘Go Slow’ boxes (we have to take an internal flight once in Colombia), in all other respects we are delighted to be able to offer a relaxing, single-centre tour to the most bird-rich country on the planet. This tour is aimed at those who wish to experience some of Colombia’s finest birding spots, all from a comfortable base and while keeping to hours that don’t leave you exhausted and needed a holiday at the end of the holiday to recover!
Our base is a delightful hacienda nestled at 1,350 metres above sea level, with pleasantly warm days and cooler evenings. The hacienda boasts luxuriant bird-filled gardens, well-appointed rooms, an inviting swimming pool and delicious, freshly cooked meals. A number of famous birding sites are within easy reach, including Rio Blanco (antpittas and mixed species flocks comprising a dazzling selection of tanagers, woodpeckers, woodcreepers, and more), and Hacienda Bosque which offers stunning cloudforest and star birds such as Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan and Barred Fruiteater! During one longer day out, for those who wish, we will explore the higher reaches of Colombia’s central Andes at Nevado del Ruiz (Golden-breasted Puffleg, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Great Sapphirewing, and Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, plus a dip in the hot springs!).
Join us too for an optional 2-night pre-tour cultural extension in Bogota and/or a 4-night post-tour extension to Montezuma Cloudforest Lodge and the Tatama National Park!
- In-depth exploration of one of Colombia's most avian-rich regions, with excellent photo opportunities
- 7-night stay in a beautiful coffee hacienda with a delightful climate
- A dazzling suite of iridescent hummingbirds at every turn, with 30+ species possible!
- Spectacular moss-draped cloud forest and paramo habitats at every turn
- Antpitta feeding stations, mixed-species flocks & Torrent Duck at Rio Blanco
- Sword-billed Hummingbird and Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan at Hacienda el Bosque
- Endemic Buffy Helmetcrest in Los Nevados National Park, with a chance of Andean Condor
- Optional Montezuma extension offers more mind-blowing cloud forest birding
- Optional pre-tour cultural extension in Bogota
Colombia has fast established itself as one of the world’s great birding and wildlife destinations. Since 2016 Naturetrek has developed a range of exciting bird watching tours that visit the country’s top birding destinations. However, until now there hasn’t been a Colombian birding tour that offers a more relaxed approach to birding in this mega-diverse country, staying in just one lodge for the duration of the tour…that is, until now!
We are excited to offer a dedicated ‘Go Slow in Colombia’ birding tour, for those birders who wish to enjoy Colombia’s incredible avian diversity, without having to move base every other night or two. On this unique tour we stay in a delightful coffee hacienda, nestled in the verdant slopes of Colombia’s central Andes, just outside the city of Manizales. Perched at 1,350 metres above sea level, the climate is ideal, with warm (but not too hot) days which cool off in the evening. The hacienda boasts luxuriant bird-filled gardens (the house list is approaching 300 species!), well appointed rooms, an inviting swimming pool and an excellent kitchen offering delicious, freshly cooked meals…not to mention as much world-class coffee as you can drink. We will be on the lookout for our first Colombian endemics of the tour here, in the form of Greyish Piculet, Colombian Chachalaca, both Parker’s and Stile’s antbirds and Chestnut Wood-quail, as well as several regional specials such as Scrub Tanager, Bar-crested Antshrike, Spectacled Parrotlet and Moustached Puffbird. From our base we will enjoy daily morning excursions to various reserves in the area, returning for a relaxed afternoon around the hacienda. We’ll visit Rio Blanco, a beautiful cloud forest reserve famed for its antpittas (including the endemic Brown-banded and striking Chestnut-capped varieties) and mixed species flocks comprising a dazzling selection of tanagers, woodpeckers, woodcreepers, and more! Other special targets here include Golden-headed Quetzal, White-capped Tanager, Masked Saltator, Plushcap, Rusty-faced Parrot, and many more besides! A nearby wetland site will offer an excellent selection of waders, waterbirds and kingfishers, while fringing forest and open areas should produce a fine selection of warblers (many of them boreal migrants), flycatchers, seedeaters, orioles, siskins, swallows and raptors. Another morning will be spent in a spot just minutes from our lodge, where a rushing white water river should offer a great chance for the incomparable Torrent Duck, as well as White-capped Dipper, the endemic Turquoise Dacnis and a wealth of other mouth-watering species.
Our days will follow a similar pattern, with an early breakfast, birding during the most productive hours of the morning, before returning to our hacienda for a relaxed afternoon (with the option to enjoy several tours and experiences laid on by the lodge, including a coffee tour, a rum tasting experience and chocolate tasting). However, on one of the days we shall enjoy a full day excursion to the high reaches of Colombia’s central Andes. Here we shall target the charismatic and endemic Buffy Helmetcrest, as well as a host of other high altitude specials such as Many-striped Canastero, Andean Tit-spinetail, Golden-crowned Tanager, Black-thighed Puffleg, Tawny Antpitta, Black-chested Buzzard-eagle, and, if we’re in luck, Andean Condor! Lunch will be enjoyed in a nearby lodge with thermal hot springs which we can bathe in, while nearby hummingbird gardens will delight with close-up views of a multitude of dazzling species such as Golden-breasted Puffleg, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Great Sapphirewing, and Rainbow-bearded Thornbill. Suffices to say that our efforts should we well rewarded with a unique selection of birds in addition to some of the most spectacular scenery in all of Colombia.
Our final morning’s excursion will be in an exciting new reserve called Hacienda el Bosque. Here we’ll again be trying for a couple of special antpittas in the form of Equatorial Antpitta and the striking and rare Crescent-faced Antpitta. In the cloud forest we’ll be on the lookout for Yellow-bellied Chat-tyrant, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Redstart, Pearled Treerunner, Plushcap and Purple-backed Thornbill, to name only a few. The reserve offers a wonderful selection of hummingbirds; indeed hummingbirds will be a daily fixture on this tour and we should see as many as forty species in total. Here the highlights include the jaw-dropping Sword-billed Hummingbird, Mountain Velvetbreast, both Bronzy and Collared Incas and Fawn-breasted Brilliant. We’ll also keep our fingers crossed for close-up encounters with arguably the star birds of the reserve - Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan and Barred Fruiteater!
Having been dazzled by incredible birds, spectacular scenery, delicious food and wonderfully inviting hosts over the past days, the final full day will be spent in our hacienda. Here we can again soak up the avian diversity and perhaps cool off on the inviting swimming pool with a cold glass of wine or a beer!
Extensions
Outline Itinerary
EXTENSION NOTES
This extension can be booked during the online booking process or by calling us on 01962 733051.An extension cannot be booked independently from the tour
Outline Itinerary
EXTENSION NOTES
This extension can be booked during the online booking process or by calling us on 01962 733051.An extension cannot be booked independently from the tour
Dates & Prices
2024
2025
Tour Leader: Laura Rubio
Laura is a biologist with 15 years of experience working with wildlife across various regions of Colombia. As an ornithologist, she has participated in numerous projects focused on migratory birds in the cloud forests of the Western Andes and urban ecology around Medellín. For the past five years, she has been working as a birdwatching guide in the central and western Andes of Colombia. Laura is also the founder of her own NGO, where she oversees environmental education projects around Medellín, including a notable initiative on snake bite prevention. She has a deep passion for outdoor activities, plants, and nature in general.
Tour Leader: Laura Rubio
Laura is a biologist with 15 years of experience working with wildlife across various regions of Colombia. As an ornithologist, she has participated in numerous projects focused on migratory birds in the cloud forests of the Western Andes and urban ecology around Medellín. For the past five years, she has been working as a birdwatching guide in the central and western Andes of Colombia. Laura is also the founder of her own NGO, where she oversees environmental education projects around Medellín, including a notable initiative on snake bite prevention. She has a deep passion for outdoor activities, plants, and nature in general.
Tour Leader: Laura Rubio
Laura is a biologist with 15 years of experience working with wildlife across various regions of Colombia. As an ornithologist, she has participated in numerous projects focused on migratory birds in the cloud forests of the Western Andes and urban ecology around Medellín. For the past five years, she has been working as a birdwatching guide in the central and western Andes of Colombia. Laura is also the founder of her own NGO, where she oversees environmental education projects around Medellín, including a notable initiative on snake bite prevention. She has a deep passion for outdoor activities, plants, and nature in general.
2026
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Our Operations Team are expert naturalists, and are always researching, developing and releasing new tours for our discerning wildlife travellers.
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Relaxed Wildlife Holidays
Our programme of Go Slow wildlife holidays allows guests to enjoy the natural world at a more leisurely pace than on one of our conventional wildlife holidays. There will be more time to relax, more time to potter, excursions will be optional and we hope you will return, not only having enjoyed a fascinating mix of birds, plants and other wildlife, but also feeling refreshed and relaxed!
Our Go Slow tours range from week-long holidays that offer warm spring sunshine and gentle natural history excursions in Portugal, the Camargue and Mallorca, to tours which take on a more cultural air each afternoon, such as Go Slow … in Istria in Autumn and Go Slow … in Southern Spain. Our Go Slow holidays in the Swiss Alps and Cyprus both combine the best of the region’s botany and birdlife, or, if you would like to travel a little further afield, why not join us for a leisurely-paced exploration of India’s Tiger Country, Kenya’s Masai Mara, or South Africa’s Western Cape?
What can I expect on a typical Naturetrek Go Slow holiday?
On each Go Slow holiday we aim to offer as many of the following as possible:
- A single-centre holiday
- Direct flights with sociable timings
- Comfortable hotel of high quality (with swimming pool if possible), serving meals of a high standard
- Leisurely paced walks on gentle terrain
- Expert leaders, as ever, with more time for interpretation & explanation
- A maximum of 6 hours in the field each day (9.30am-3.30pm with picnic lunch or two 3-hour excursions)
- Morning and afternoon toilet/comfort stops
- Minimal long drives
- Back in time for afternoon tea
- All excursions optional
- All-inclusive cost (except bar drinks & laundry)
- Time to relax, read, paint, potter, swim or enjoy anything else that you might wish to do!
Our specialist recommends...
Andy Tucker - Operations Manager
Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
EnquireWhy Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!