250
The lodge

Tour Packages

General Interests and Birding tours

Tours

28 Nov,2013

Many folks arriving on their own to Cabañas San Isidro can find it helpful to hire a generalist or specialized birding guide for a more enriching and complete experience. BIRDECUADOR has many years of experience and works with the most experienced guides and drivers in Ecuador. Setting up and running high quality birding and general interest tours to Cabañas San Isidro and Guango Lodge, as well as many other popular and off-the-beaten-track destinations in Ecuador, is Birdecuador forte. If you have the Galapagos Islands in your sights, contact us for reasonable rates on a variety of well-run and comfortable vessels.

 

Birdecuador can help you to create any combination of destinations throughout Ecuador for your personalized trip. Birdecuador has designed and suggests the itineraries below for a well-rounded visit to some of the favorite spots chock-full of birds and other natural wonders within easy reach of the capital city, Quito. Please contact us directly for more information about these and other trips.

 

  • Cabañas San Isidro & Guango Lodge: Birds of the High Paramo and Lush Cloud Forests of Ecuador 's East Slope.


    A week long emersion in to the heart of the richest and most accessible highland Andean cloud forest habitats on Ecuador 's NE slope, which form the upper headwaters of the Napo River.
    For those with less time on their hands, this itinerary is the perfect way to dive right into a fabulous and diverse avifauna while based at two comfortable lodges in the subtropical (San Isidro) and temperate (Guango) zones.
    Cabañas San Isidro and Guango Lodge also offer the best access to nearby birding in the higher paramo and lower foot hill zones, and can easily be worked as day and half-daytrips.


    Day 1 - Quito to Guango Lodge. 
    Day 2 - Guango Lodge and vicinity. 
    Day 3 - To Cabañas San Isidro. 
    Days 4, 5 & 6 - Cabañas San Isidro . 
    Day 7 – Return to Quito.

  • Cabañas San Isidro, Guango Lodge & Tandayapa Lodge: Birding in the Andes (at its best) along a transect of the fabled 'Highway of the Volcanoes'


    The ideal cross-section of habitats for birds seeking a fine and vast selection of birds occurring on both the west and east slopes. No ten day trip has such potential for mind-boggling numbers and quality views of hummingbirds, tanagers and other Andean highlights.


    Day 1 – To Tandayapa Lodge. 
    Day 2 - Full day birding the Tandayapa area. 
    Day 3 - Full day exploring the slopes of the west slope based out of Tandayapa Lodge. 
    Day 4 – Return to Quito. 
    Day 5 - To Guango Lodge. 
    Day 6 - To Cabañas San Isidro. 
    Day 7, 8 & 9 - Three full days to bird the Cabañas San Isidro and nearby areas. 
    Day 10 – Return to Quito.

  • Cabañas San Isidro , Guango Lodge & Amazonian Lowlands: Mountain Peaked Highlands, Cloud Forest-Blanketed Hills and Vast Amazonian Lowlands


    From seed snipes to tanagers, sensational birding awaits on Ecuador's NE slope & down into the Amazonian Low lands while following in the footsteps of Spanish conquistador, Francisco Orellana.
    This impressive trek follows the same route that Orellana took 400 years ago, when he made his way to Ecuador's Amazon from Quito. Althought he spectacular birds and their pristine habitat are still there, Orellana's arduous route through the jungle has been eased significantly by paved roads that stretch all the way to Coca. From here a motorized canoe ride whisks visitors up the impressive Napo River and into the dense forest lowlands of the Amazon. If only Orellana's journey had been this comfortable!


    Day 1 - Quito to Guango Lodge. 
    Day 2 - To Cabañas San Isidro . 
    Days 3, 4 & 5 - Three full days to bird the Cabañas San Isidro and nearby areas.
    Day 6 - To Coca. 
    Days 7, 8 & 9 - Three full days at the Amazon Lodge of your preference.
    Day 10 – Return to Quito.

  • EAST SLOPE BIRDING TOUR:

    Day 1: Quito
    Day 2 & 3: Antisana & Guango
    Day 4 to 7: San Isidro
    Day 8 & 9: Wildsumaco
    Day 10 to 13: Lowland lodge (Sacha, La Selva, Napo Wildlife Center, Sanior Tapir Lodge)
    Day 14: Quito

    SOUTH ECUADOR TOUR

    Day 1: Guayaquil
    Day 2, 3, 4: Buenaventura (Umbrella Bird Lodge)
    Day 5, 6: Jorupe (Urraca Lodge)
    Day 7: Loja
    Day 8, 9: Tapichalaca
    Day 10, 11: Copalinga
    Day 12: Cuenca
    Day 13: Guayaquil.

Getting here

25 Mar,2013

  • Reaching Guango Lodge from Quito is easy, especially with much of the road now recently paved.

     

    From Quito, takes the Via Interoceanica east past the towns of Cumbaya, Tumbaco, and then Pifo in the central valley. You will notice that the road starts to climb toward the continental divide, or what is also known as the Papallacta Pass, and then afterwards continues as downward slope passing through the small town of Papallacta. Guango is located 10 kilometers past the town of Papallacta town. You will see a sign on the right side of the road.


    Guango is at 1 hour drive from the new airport, so why drive to Quito with intense traffic, when you can be in the middle of nature in just one hour?



  • mapa san isidro

    Guango Lodge, located at 2,700 meters above sea level, is a charming tourist facility on the eastern slope of the Andes, surrounded by a 300-hectare reserve in an area classified as humid temperate forest, a habitat characterized by its more stunted trees, cooler climate, and stunning orchid diversity.

    Guango is only a short drive from the tree-line forests and treeless paramo zones above, where an almost entirely group of bird and plant species await you. Only 11 kilometers down the paved Interoceanica Highway from the town of Papallacta, Guango is easily reached from Quito in about 1 ½ hours, and serves as a Gateway of sorts to Ecuador’s Amazon region. Why fly to the lowlands directly when you can start here and travel down the slopes of the Andes while enjoying the magnificent scenery, wildlife and culture?

     

    Our now famous hummingbird feeders adorn the gardens of the great stone lodge house, attracting some exciting hummers such as the Sword-billed Hummingbird, Tourmaline Sunangel, and Mountain Avocetbill among many other species.

     

    Trails that radiate out from the lodge, which is surrounded by our orchid garden, dazzling flocks of temperate forest birds, and comfortable accommodations make Guango a strategic starting point from which to begin your Amazonian adventure. The lodge’s location also means you have the opportunity to spot a Spectacled Bear, Mountain Tapir, or Andean Fox, all of which are seen with increasing frequency thanks to the newly established national park and the images captured by our trap cameras in the forest. Guango Lodge guarantees that another large area of ecologically important land is both productive and protected, allowing guests to appreciate Ecuador's natural beauty.