Day 1: The tour begins at 6 pm this evening in Medellín. Night in Medellín.

Day 2: We’ll fly to Bahía Solano on the Pacific coast, hopefully getting great looks at the vast and pristine tropical forest of the Western Cordillera, a habitat we’ll be exploring later in the trip. Once in Bahía Solano, we’ll transfer to the little coastal hamlet of El Valle and our comfortable hotel situated just a few yards from a wonderful white sand beach. During our drive from the airport to El Valle, we have a good chance of finding our first Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Choco Toucan, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Flame-rumped Tanager, Purple-throated Fruitcrow and Variable Seedeater. In the evening, we'll bird the El Valle surroundings, looking for Yellow-throated Toucan, Rose-faced Parrot, Red-lored Amazon and Pacific Antwren. Night in El Valle.

Day 3: We’ll spend the morning along a trail heading from El Valle toward Utria National Park. Birding secondary growth forest along this trail is always exciting, and we have good chance of finding Dusky-faced Tanager, Spotted and Chestnut-backed Antbirds, Dusky Pigeon, Spot-crowned Barbet, Checker-throated Stipplethroat, Bay Wren, Gray-headed Chachalaca, and the pompous Pied Puffbird. The mixed-species flocks here usually include Golden-hooded, Plain-colored and Rufous-winged Tanagers, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Blue and Scarlet-thighed Dacnis and Tawny-crested Tanager. In the late afternoon, after a welcome break during the warmest hours of the day, we’ll bird in the El Valle area or perhaps back on the Utria trail...or you can stay at the hotel and enjoy the lovely beach. Night in El Valle. 

Day 4: After a pre-dawn breakfast, we’ll take a boat to Utria, one of the most beautiful Colombian National Parks. Here, a fabulous and pristine forest covers the coastal hills and dives into the tropical waters with a line of white sand beaches separating the green forest from the emerald water. Even though Utria NP doesn’t offer an extensive trail system, we have a good chance of finding the elusive Brown Wood-Rail, Blue-chested Hummingbird, the very localized Humboldt’s Sapphire, White-tailed Trogon, the beautiful Cinnamon Woodpecker or even the fancy Black-tipped Cotinga. 

As bird activity slows dramatically as the day warms, there will be time in the late morning to snorkel in the magical turquoise waters where the fish species diversity exceeds that of the birds! After returning to El Valle and an afternoon break, we’ll look for more birds including Black-breasted and White-whiskered Puffbird, Pale-mandibled Aracari, Spot-crowned Antvireo, Tawny-faced Gnatwren, and the very cute Orange-billed Sparrow. Night in El Valle.

Day 5: We’ll have time for early morning birding before flying back to Medellín. Depending on when we arrive, we may visit La Romera, a fine forested area of the Central Cordillera, or just relax at our excellent hotel. Night in Medellín.

Day 6: We’ll spend the morning at La Romera where we have a good chance of finding the noisy Colombian endemic Red-bellied Grackle as well as other species of the Central Cordillera such as Stile’s Tapaculo, Colombian Chachalaca, Greenish Puffleg, Bar-crested Antshrike and Metallic-green Tanager.

Later we’ll drive towards the dry Cauca valley, a major biogeographical barrier separating the Western Cordillera from the central Andes. A number of endemics and specialties including Grayish Piculet, Apical Flycatcher, Antioquia Wren (a species only described in 2012), and Black-crowned Antshrike are present and we hope to encounter them during our stops along the Cauca. After birding these two very different locations, we’ll re-enter the Chocó zone at mid-elevation in the Western Cordillera. Night Las Tángaras Lodge.

Day 7-8: We’ll have two full days exploring the Las Tángaras ProAves Reserve and its surroundings. Along a wide track through wonderful montane forest, we’ll search for mixed flocks that can be thrillingly large and often full of specialties such as Pacific Tuftedcheek, Fulvous-dotted Treerunner, Glistening-green and Purplish-mantled Tanagers, Toucan Barbet and Yellow-collared Chlorophonia. We hope to find a key endemic, the Black-and-gold Tanager, usually quite common at this site, as well as Yellow-breasted Antpitta, Choco Vireo, Nariño Tapaculo, Choco Brushfinch, Bronze-olive Pygmy-Tyrant, and with great good luck the elegant Black Solitaire. We’ll have time as well at the reserve’s hummingbird feeders where Violet-tailed Sylph, Velvet-purple Coronet, Brown Inca, Purple-bibbed Whitetip and Rufous-gaped Hillstar are all possible. Nights at Las Tángaras Lodge.

Day 9: We’ll visit the remote La Eme ridge looking particularly for Munchique Wood-Wren, Tanager Finch, Black-billed Mountain-Toucan and Chestnut-crested Cotinga. This spectacular temperate forest often holds mixed-species flocks and we expect to spend much of the morning here.  Botany enthusiasts will be impressed by the orchid richness as dozens of species can be found along the roadside. After lunch at Las Tángaras, we’ll continue towards the picturesque colonial town of Jardín, arriving in time to visit an Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek situated at the edge of the town. The stunning males are often remarkably tame and usually offer good photographic opportunities along with fantastic views. Night Jardín.

Day 10: We’ll need an early start for our dawn visit to the Yellow-eared Parrot roosting area. These endangered macaw-like parrots are now only found in Colombia, having been recently extirpated from Ecuador, and we’ll look for them in one of their few remaining strongholds. After our early morning, we’ll have breakfast at Doña Luisa’s place, enjoying good views of Long-tailed Sylph and Buff-tailed Coronet coming to her feeders, and then visit her famous antpitta feeding station where Chestnut-naped and Chami Antpitta sometimes take worms from visitors’ hands!

We’ll spend the rest of the day birding back down the road to Jardín, hoping to find Black-collared Jay, Montane Woodcreeper, Gray-browed Brushfinch, Golden-headed Quetzal, and large mixed-species flocks usually including Golden-fronted Redstart, Pearled Treerunner, Lacrimose Mountain-tanager, Pink-billed Cnemoscopus, Blue-and-black Tanager. Boreal migrants such as Black-and-white, Blackburnian and Canada Warblers are often present along with many more temperate forest birds. We’ll return to town in the afternoon. Night in Jardín.

Day 11: After morning birding and a visit to the charming town of Jardín, where we can find an excellent cup of coffee on the beautiful main square, we’ll start our drive back to Medellín, arriving in the mid-afternoon. We’ll conclude our tour with a farewell dinner in Medellín. Night Medellín.

Day 12: The tour concludes this morning with transfers to the Medellín airport.

2026 Narrative

In brief: This first Chocó tour was a great success. But it couldn't have been any other way: the Chocó is one of the most diverse regions in the world! By visiting different altitudes in the western cordillera, from sea level near Bahia Solano, to mid-altitude at the ProAves Las Tangaras reserve, to high altitude at La Eme and near Jardin, we maximized our chances of encountering an impressive number of birds! And the final list of birds is indeed impressive, including Black-tipped Cotinga, Black-and-gold Tanager, Indigo Flowerpiercer, Red-bellied Grackle, Chestnut Wood-Quail, Munchique Wood-Wren, Black Solitaire, Olivaceous Piha, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Black-breasted Puffbird, Yellow-eared Parrot and so many more! 

We visited several feeding stations, offering great photographic opportunities for Empress Brilliant, Violet-tailed Sylph, White-Booted Racquet-tail, Purple-throated Woodstar, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Orange-billed Sparrow, Red-headed Barbet, and more! Even a Clouded Tiger-Cat (Oncilla), a rarely seen mammal, has been visiting one of the feeding stations. We also found an amazing number of plants, butterflies, moths, crickets and others. We even took the very first picture in the wild of a blooming Pleurothallis globosa, a very rare orchid described in 1994. 

This introduction to the Chocó, and to Colombia in general, definitely left us wanting more, and eager to return many times to this wonderful and friendly country. 

In Detail:  The group gathered in Medellin for dinner and an introductory meeting at our comfortable hotel. Early the next morning, we headed to Enrique Olaya Airport, just 10 minutes from our hotel, for our flight to Bahia Solano. A birdy airport actually, with Bare-faced Ibis, Saffron Finch and Cattle Tyrant on the airstrip! Only small planes with around 60 seats can land at Bahia Solano, and these flights are often delayed due to regular rainfall on the coast, but our flights were not delayed on either the outward or return journey. 

Upon our arrival in Bahia Solano, we met Julian, our local guide who would accompany us during our stay on the coast. Then we went directly to our hotel by the sea, near the village of El Valle, where we arrived for lunch in front of the bird feeders. What a pleasure it was to eat our meal while watching the regular arrival of Red-legged Honeycreepers, Flame-rumped and Crimson-backed Tanagers, Prothonotary Warblers, Golden-billed Sparrow, Black-cheeked Woodpeckers, and Thick-billed Euphonias! 

After a break for a nap or to take pictures of the birds in the garden, we spent the rest of the afternoon along the access road to El Valle. In just two hours, we observed an impressive list of birds, including Red-lored Amazons, Choco Toucans, at least two pairs of Pacific Antwrens, a few White-tailed Trogons, a pair of Cinnamon Becards, Bay Wrens, our first Pied Puffbird, a few Golden-hooded Tanagers, Double-toothed Kite, Common Black Hawk and more. The best find of the evening being probably the Brown Wood-Rail spotted crossing the main road. What a great evening and wonderful introduction to our tour! 

After an early breakfast, we spent the following morning at the start of the trail that connects El Valle to Utria National Park. This trail passes through beautiful stretches of coastal rainforest and some semi-open pastures. The heavy rains of recent weeks had made the trail particularly muddy, but that didn't stop us from finding a nice selection of species. We encountered, among others, two different groups of Gray-headed Chachalacas, several Black-crowned Antshrikes and Chestnut-backed Antbirds, two male Golden-collared Manakins, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Dusky-faced Tanagers, Scarlet-browed Tanagers, Checker-throated Stipplethroats, Black-headed Tody-Flycatchers and Purple-throated Fruitcrows just to name a few. 

In the afternoon, we returned to the access road between El Valle and Bahia Solano, finding a whole new selection of birds such as Pale-mandibled Aracari, Brown-capped Tyrannulet, Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Dusky Pigeon, Chestnut Woodpecker, Blue Ground-Dove and a few boreal migrants including Bay-breasted Warbler, Summer Tanager, Great-crested Flycatcher and even a Blackpoll Warbler. A few Fork-tailed Flycatchers gave a great show. We also discovered a very close King Vulture, feeding on carrion at the roadside along with a few dozen Black Vultures. We concluded the day with a great sighting of perched Rose-faced Parrots.

For our second full day on the coast, we took a boat to the beautiful Utria National Park. Protecting 130,000 acres of tropical forests and mangroves, this is one of the most beautiful Colombian NPs. Leaving with the first light, we spent most of the morning on a nice boardwalk through the mangroves, and we got great looks at several Blue-chested Hummingbirds, the very restricted-range Humboldt’s Sapphire, the lovely Green Thorntail, Black-breasted and White-whiskered Puffbirds, Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Northern Plain-Xenops and more White-tailed Trogons. 

To cap off a memorable morning, we stopped at an isolated beach surrounded by beautiful pristine tropical forest. There we had time for snorkeling, enjoying the amazing fish diversity just a few meters from the shore! Guineafowl Puffer, King Angelfish, Moorish Idol, Giant Damselfish, Mexican Goatfish and Blue-barred Parrotfish are just a few of the many colorful fishes we observed. After our relaxing swim, we had a great picnic lunch on our white-sand beach. (Life is hard!) 

After a well-deserved break at the hotel, we went back to the El Valle access road for more new  species! This time we added Yellow-throated Toucan, a cooperative Stub-tailed Antbird and a pair of Dusky Antbird, lovely males of Red-breasted Meadowlark, Thick-billed Seed-Finch and several Variable Seedeaters, a pair of Slaty Spinetail and the unique Black-tipped Cotinga! Unfortunately, both White-throated and Gray-breasted Crakes stayed hidden in the dense vegetation. 

With our flight back to Medellin not until 2pm, we birded all morning before boarding our plane. Our first  stop was at the El Valle estuary, where we  enjoyed good views of many waterbirds such as Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night-Heron, Tricolored and Cocoi Heron, Great-tailed Grackle, and various boreal migrants such as Laughing Gulls, Sandwich Terns, Hudsonian Whimbrels, Semipalmated Plovers and a few Willets. On our way back to Bahia Solano, we stopped at some forest patches, adding Spot-crowned Barbet, a White-fronted Nunbird, Spot-crowned Antvireo, Lesser Greenlets, Rufous Motmot and Black-chested Jay to our already long list. After a smooth flight back to Medellin, we had a relaxed evening at our hotel followed by a great meal.  

Leaving Medellin, we stopped at La Romera reserve where, as expected, we encountered Red-bellied Grackle, a beautiful Colombian endemic – we saw at least 20 of them! Less colorful but also endemic, the Colombian Chachalaca was common, too. We had some nice mixed-species flocks including Beryl-spangled, Metallic-green, Black-capped and Golden Tanagers, Blackburnian and Canada Warblers, Black-and-white and Three-striped Warblers, and even a lovely pair of Red-headed Barbet. In the forest understory we also found Andean Motmot, a pair of Chestnut-capped Brushfinch, and even discovered a Greenish Puffleg building her nest under a fern leaf. 

After that great morning birding, we made our way to the charming little town of Jardin, arriving there mid-afternoon, just in time to visit a spectacular Cock-of-the-rock lek! At least 15 males of this spectacular species were displaying, sometimes fighting, very close to us offering amazing views and unique photographic opportunities! We spent an hour there, enjoying the show, but also finding Clay-colored Thrush, and Western Emerald and Green Hermit feeding on the numerous flowers in the garden. 

It was still dark the next morning when we left Jardin for El Roble reserve. As soon as we arrived, we enjoyed the feeders at Doña Lucia’s place, admiring Collared and Bronzy Incas, numerous Buff-tailed Coronets, Fawn-breasted Brilliants, Speckled Hummingbirds, and Mountain Velvetbreasts, as well as Gray-browed Brushfinches, Blue-capped Tanagers, Masked Flowerpiercers and Grass-green Tanagers. But the most amazing visitor to the feeders was none other than a Clouded Tiger-Cat (Oncilla)! This extremely hard to see mammal, officially described only in 2024, sometimes comes by  Doña Lucia’s garden to get a piece of chicken or trout -- amazing! And what a treat to have breakfast here! 

We then birded a trail into the forest and the surroundings of Lucia’s place, having great views of Streak-headed Antbird, Tyrannine Woodcreeper, Spillmann’s Tapaculo, Rufous-crowned Tody-Flycatcher, Northern Slaty Brushfinch, Black-billed Mountain-Toucan and Tourmaline Sunangel. We had no luck with the antpittas usually coming to the worms, but had amazing encounter with a party of Chestnut Wood-Quail coming to the garden for peanuts. 

We did some birding on the way back to Jardin, but rain during the whole afternoon didn’t help. Nevertheless, we found Golden-fronted Redstart, White-sided Flowerpiercer, Pink-billed Cnemoscopus (=the renamed Gray-hooded Bush-Tanager after its recent split), Citrine Warbler, Barred Becard, Pearled Treerunner and even a family group of the very cute Rufous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant. We also found a small flock of Yellow-eared Parrot, a very rare species whose world population is estimated to be fewer than 1,500 birds, and now endemic to Colombia (as it has disappeared from Ecuador). And to conclude this day in high elevation cloud forest, we had a great meal in the picturesque town of Jardin. 

Jardin is located in the Coffee Axis, so we couldn’t leave without stopping for a cup of coffee at a  plantation. We actually had more than just one cup, and enjoyed a full breakfast at Monteser Finca, where we also enjoyed great feeders and an amazing garden. We had no less than 45 species in just two hours birding their garden! Besides some ‘old friends’ found on previous day, we also had great looks at Bronze-winged Parrot, Black-throated Mango, Steely-vented Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Sooty-headed and Golden-faced Tyrannulets, Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Yellow-backed Oriole, Scrub Tanager, White-lined Tanager, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Pale-vented Pigeon (even coming to the feeders!), Acadian Flycatcher and even a pair of White-naped Brushfinch. 

We then spent the rest of the morning in the very dry Cauca valley, birding a peaceful track through dry forest. There, we found two Colombian endemics, specialties  of that habitat, the Antioquia Wren (recently described species) and Grayish Piculet, as well as Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Greenish Elaenia, Rufous-naped Greenlet, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Golden-crowned Warbler, Scrub Tanager and even a lovely pair of Moustached Puffbirds. And after lunch and delicious ice-cream, we also found a pair of Apical Flycatchers (another Colombian endemic) after a quick search in similar habitat. On our way to the village of Atrato, we made one last stop at a known stake-out, finding a beautiful Spectacled Owl at its day roost! 

We had two full days to explore the ProAves reserve Las Tangaras, a fantastic reserve protecting montane rainforest in the Choco ecoregion, from 1,100 to 3,300 meters elevation. Mixed-species flocks were amazing, offering great views of Glistening-green, Purplish-mantled, Rufous-throated and Golden Tanager, Blue-winged and Black-chinned Mountain Tanager, Indigo Flowerpiercer, Handsome Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted and Rufous-rumped Antwren, Scaly-throated, Buff-fronted and Lineated Foliage-Gleaner, Fulvous-dotted Treerunner, Red-faced Spinetail, Marble-faced Bristle-Tyrant, Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonia and even the extremely local Pacific Tuftedcheeck! 

Between flocks we found Nariño and Tatama Tapaculo, Black Solitaire, Rufous-gaped Hillstar, Masked Trogon, Lineated Foliage-gleaner, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, several Ornate Flycatchers, Chestnut-capped and Choco Brushfinch and Uniform Treehunter. We had repeated good looks at one of the emblems of the reserve, the endemic and Vulnerable Black-and-gold Tanager, and after some searching we even saw the elusive Yellow-breasted Antpitta. We also found twice the rare Olivaceous Piha, offering prolonged and great views! 

Both days we ate our packed lunches at the amazing hummingbird feeders, where we also enjoyed numerous Velvet-purple Coronet (definitely one of the most beautiful hummingbirds in the world), Violet-tailed Sylph, White-booted Racquet-tail, Purple-bibbed Whitetip, Empress Brilliant, Purple-throated Woodstar and Greenish Puffleg. 

We also had some time to enjoy the feeders at Las Tangaras lodge, having a drink while watching Red-crowned Woodpecker, Red-headed Barbet, Sickle-winged Guan and Colombian Chachalaca, Silver-throated, Bay-headed and White-lined Tanager, Thick-billed Euphonia and Black-winged Saltator coming to the bananas, while Brown Violetear, Andean Emerald and Steely-vented Hummingbirds were coming to the sugar. 

For our last morning, we birded high elevation cloud forest at La Eme, where we quickly found a pair of the recently described Munchique Wood-Wren, plus Streaked Tuftedcheek, Green-and-black Fruiteater, Smoky Bush-Tyrant, Black-billed Peppershrike and Golden-fronted Redstart. Unfortunately, it rained all morning, and we couldn’t stay much longer at that great spot. At lower elevation, between two showers, we also found Yellow-throated Vireo, Green Jays, Torrent Tyrannulet and a few Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. 

It was now time for final packing and our last lunch at Las Tangaras, during which appeared a Tayra who took quite a few bananas! Before driving back to Medellin for our farewell dinner, we also found a pair of the cute Black-headed Brushfinch in the lodge garden, one more Colombian endemic, a great way to end this fantastic tour!