Tailormade Holidays in Colombia

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is a beautiful, isolated mountain range, which overlooks the warm tropical waters of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Despite its isolated position the range boasts the tallest peaks in Colombia and offers some of the country’s most scenic vistas. This isolation has led to the evolution of around 20 endemic species of birds, as well as more than 70 sub-species which may well be raised to species level in future. Time in the Sierra Nevada area is usually spent covering all the elevations accessible by road. The higher elevations may offer Santa Marta Parakeet, Yellow-crowned Redstart, Santa Marta Warbler, Brown-rumped Tapaculo and Santa Marta Antpitta, while the lower ranges offer White-tailed Starfrontlet, Streak-capped Spinetail and Black-cheeked Mountain Tanager, amongst many others!

Nestled between the Central and Eastern Andes lies the spectacular Magdalena Valley. This region offers many star birds including White-mantled Barbet and Beautiful Woodpecker, as well as a host of impressive endemic mammals. In Rio Blanco reserve, no fewer than five species of antpitta can be seen in a single morning’s birding! Here too, it’s possible to enjoy a few days in a traditional coffee ‘finca’, enjoying gentle birding, coffee-tasting tours and perhaps a little relaxation by the pool. Reserves such as Bellavista and Rio Claro are home to a wide array of avifauna, and they also harbour strong populations of the mega-endemic Silvery Bare-faced Tamarin. For more adventurous wildlife watchers, a visit to El Paujil Nature Reserve is particularly recommended. This private reserve was set up to conserve the critically endangered Blue-billed Curassow, which is easily seen around the lodge, and now contains some of the last unspoilt lowland forest left in the Magdalena region.

Colombia’s Western Andes provide access to one of South America’s most active Andean Cock-of-the-rock leks, and offer up star species such as Ornate Hawk-eagle, Multicoloured Tanager, Dusky Starfrontlet, Yellow-eared Parrot, Multicolored Tanager and Gold-ringed Tanager, all against a backdrop of magnificent mountain vistas! The western slope descends all the way to the Pacific coast, traversing the special ‘Choco’ habitat of the Cauca Valley, where legendary species such as Scarlet-and-white Tanager, Rose-faced Parrot, Oscellated Antbird, Lita Woodpecker and Long-wattled Umbrellabird are all possible. The herpetofauna is also impressive with many sought-after specialties, including Cauca, Black-legged, and Harlequin Poison Frogs.

From Colombia’s southern border, the Andes fan out creating a unique topography and an incredible diversity of habitats, including high altitude páramo (Andean bogs), sub-páramo, subtropical montane forests, and both dry and humid tropical lowland forests. The wide Eastern Andean range supports its own suite of special birds including Green-bearded Helmetcrest, Turquoise Dacnis, Black Inca and Recurve-billed Bushbirds. In Chingaza National Park, a stunningly beautiful high-altitude region of wildlife habitat awaits. Recently, the reserve has become one of the world’s most reliable locations for sightings of wild Spectacled Bear. While the bear is undoubtedly a highlight, other mammals include White-tailed Deer, the endemic Bogota Tapeti, and such elusive Andean rarities as Little Red Brocket Deer and Mountain Coati. Sought-after birds, such as Rufous-browed Conebill and Silvery-throated Spinetail, often make an appearance, while the beautiful Golden-fronted Whitestart, here in its white-faced form, regularly betrays its location with repeated contact calls. Tawny Antpitta can be surprisingly conspicuous, unlike Rufous Antpitta, which is far more furtive and 'antpitta like'. The transitional zone of the east Andean foothills offers encounters with further specialties, including the recently discovered Cundinamarca Antpitta, the beautiful Brown-bellied (Flame-winged) Parakeet, and the endemic Ornate Titi and Brumback’s Night Monkey. Wildlife exploration in such stunning Andean scenery is a real treat – especially when the weather behaves itself.

It is worth spending a night or two on the Caribbean coast, exploring the tropical dry forests and coastal lagoons, where further exciting species occur, including the striking White-whiskered Spinetail and the dazzling Vermillion Cardinal. A little further along the coast lie the slightly more humid forests of Tayrona National Park where, in addition to the striking endemic Cotton-top Tamarins, more outstanding birds can be found such as Northern Royal Flycatcher, Golden-winged Sparrow and Southern Bentbill. This special region, with its unique and contrasting habitats, is undoubtedly one of the very finest birding locations in Colombia! It is also a perfect location should you want to put your feet up and relax in one of the many excellent beach lodges at the end of your tailormade holiday; or alternatively, a few additional days in the historic port city of Cartagena is highly recommended.

A vast swathe of Amazonian lowland forest covers the entire south-eastern portion of the country, and offers a veritable treasure-trove of natural wonders to the visitor. Several key areas stand out, however, and your choice of destination will depend on your specific interests. The southernmost town of Letica sits on the banks of the Amazon River, and is a gateway to Colombia’s Amazon Rainforest. Here a number of excellent riverside lodges allow guests the opportunity to experience ‘classic’ Amazonas. Both Grey and Pink River Dolphins occur here and are relatively easy to locate, whilst in the forest canopy Two-toed Sloths and several species of monkey are frequently sighted. The birding is also good, with standout species including Wattled Curassow and Amazonian Umbrellabird. However, dedicated birders might well choose the remote town of Mitu as their Amazonian birding base. Here white-sand tropical rainforest habitat holds many sought-after and range-restricted species such as Fiery Topaz, Orinoco Piculet, Bar-bellied and Lineated Woodcreepers, Tawny-tufted Toucanet, and Chestnut-crested Antbird to name but a few. All birding here takes place with friendly local indigenous guides whilst staying in one of the simple lodges in the sleepy town of Mitu itself. Quite simply, this is one of the finest birding locations in the entire Amazon basin!

Cartagena’s geographical position on the Caribbean coast historically facilitated its development as one of the most important commercial ports on the continent. The city offered a key trade link between South America, the West Indies and Europe, and Cartagena ultimately became a crucial player in the Spanish export of Peruvian silver during colonial times. Cartagena is steeped in history and the supremely well-preserved Old Town, with its vibrant restaurants and bars, makes for an unmissable stopover. The city experiences warm weather and sunshine year-round. A blend of its pleasant climate, pristine beaches, vibrant nightlife, historical legacy and fascinating culture, make Cartagena a real Colombian gem.

One of the largest and busiest cities in South America, and indeed the world, Bogota is Colombia’s legislative, judicial and economic capital. It is also one of the highest capital cities on the planet, resting on an expansive plateau that averages out at over 2,600 metres above sea level. The city experiences a maritime climate that mirrors something of an English late-spring, with average daytime temperatures ranging from 9-20°C. As well as blossoming into a rapidly growing financial hub, Bogota is home to several important landmarks and cultural attractions that are well worth visiting. These include La Candelaria (the historic neighbourhood), Monserrate Peak and a host of interesting museums, such as the Gold Museum which houses the largest collection of pre-Columbian gold artifacts in the world. A morning can be spent birding the nearby La Florida wetlands for the endemic Bogota Rail, or perhaps at a nearby hummingbird garden, where such Andean specialities as White-bellied Woodstar, Sparkling Violetear and Amethyst-throated Sunangel can be easily photographed. Bogota’s central location also makes it the country’s key transportation hub, with good connections by road and air to the rest of the country.

The undulating hills surrounding Manizales and Pereira offer some of the world’s finest submontane wildlife habitat. Finca’s like Hacienda el Bosque cater to photographers, providing the opportunity to capture stunning images of more than 140 species of bird, including such sought-after species as Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan, Hooded Mountain Tanager, Crescent-faced Antpitta and Andean Motmot. Further up the Andean slope, dazzling birds such as Buffy Helmetcrest and Rainbow-bearded Thornbill vie for your attention. The cloudforests of Otun Quimbaya hold some of the most elusive mammals on the continent, including the spectacular Mountain Tapir. This attractive animal, known for its thick black woolly coat and bright white lips, is the smallest of the tapir species. It is confined to a narrow band of Andean cloudforest and was rarely seen until recently. Other mammalian targets here include Lemurine Night Monkey, Andean White-eared Opossum, Mountain Coati, Mountain Paca, Northern Oncilla and the near-endemic and recently described Olinguito, whilst further birding highlights include Crested Ant-Tanager, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Torrent Duck and the endemic Cauca Guan.

The Los Llanos region is vast, stretching from eastern Colombia, south of the Andes, across the border into north-central Venezuela. It is a diverse ecozone composed of a mosaic of tropical and subtropical savannah, forest, wetland, and grassland. Precipitation follows a distinct seasonal pattern, with a rainy season lasting from April to November and a dry spell spanning from December to March. This dry season offers the best opportunities to observe the region's large mammals as they gather around water sources and core areas become more accessible. Although far from guaranteed, Jaguar can be spotted during this period, along with other elusive cats including Puma, Ocelot, and Jaguarundi. More commonly encountered mammals include White-tailed Deer, Giant Anteater, Southern Tamandua, Colombian Red Howler, Nine-banded Armadillo, Grey Fox and Capybara. Reptiles, including Orinoco Crocodile, Red-footed Tortoise, and even Green Anaconda, are frequently encountered. In fact, Los Llanos is possibly the best place in the world to find this giant snake! The birding is exceptional, with highlights including the Burrowing Owl, Orinoco Goose, Pale-headed Jacamar, Wire-tailed Manakin, Double-striped Thick-knee, Rufous-vented Chachalaca, and great congregations of waterbirds, containing various ducks, herons, ibises, and storks, among many others.

The Amazon needs no introduction. The largest and best-known tropical rainforest of all, which covers an astonishing five and a half million square kilometres of northern South America, harbours by far the greatest concentrations of biodiversity on Earth. Representing more than half of the planet’s remaining tropical rainforests, the Amazon supports a riotous abundance and variety of life that defies almost all description. Its dark, tangled jungles contain an estimated 390 billion individual trees of over 16,000 species, more than 1,100 of which have been recorded in a single quarter square kilometre; the UK has fewer than 100 native trees in total. Living amongst them are approximately 400 species each of mammal, reptile and amphibian, along with more than 2,000 fish and 1,300 birds. The diversity of some groups is so overwhelming that we may never fully understand it – the number of insect species, for example, could reach well into the millions. All in all, some 10% of Earth’s known species can be found in the Amazon. Remarkably, this extraordinary profusion of life is largely fertilised by phosphorous-rich dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa, 30 million tons of which are carried to the forest each year by transatlantic winds.

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