September 21-23, 2026
Extend your Ecuador trip for 2 nights to photograph the high elevation Antisana National Park and its unique birds.
We'll seek out high-altitude birds such as Andean Condor, Carunculated Caracara, Andean Lapwing, Tawny Antpitta, and more birds of the high páramo.
We will also photograph some seldom-seen hummingbirds that thrive at these heights. At feeders we should find Giant Hummingbird and Shining Sunbeam. In the orange flowering Chuquiragua shrubs we will search for the beautiful Ecuadorian Hillstar.
Antisana protects the páramo ecosystem that surrounds dormant Antisana Volcano, a massive ice-covered peak (18,700 ft., 5,400 m.) at the Equator. We explore this unique tundra-like environment at an elevation 13,000 feet (4,000 m.) above sea level. It provides protected habitat for the majestic Andean Condor (11-foot wingspan!).
The volcano itself is a dramatic sight as the clouds part and the mists blow across huge glaciers that blanket the upper mountain that towers 6,000 feet above us.