Day 1, Arrival/Quito

 

Arrival to Ecuador. Meet our representative at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport and transfer to our hotel in the heart of Quito. If you arrive early this day, make sure to get over to the charming historical section of the city. The architecture and the atmosphere is amazing.

 

Day 2, Amazon Lowlands

 

After breakfast, we depart for the airport to fly to the Amazon city of Coca. We transfer from there to the boat that takes us to our amazing luxury lodge in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon. We arrive late afternoon with time to photograph the sunset over the rainforest.

 

Day 3, Amazon Lowlands

 

After a great breakfast this morning we head to a nearby clay lick that attracts dozens of parrots and parakeets, as well as the occasional macaw. This is one of our Amazon highlights as the clay licks of the western Amazon are one of the planet's true natural wonders. We photograph all morning and return to our lodge in the afternoon. We then gear up and head out on private boats into the nearby lagoons and jungle canals in search of the ancient hoatzin bird, caimans, and giant river otters. We enjoy a fantastic dinner after this busy day. After dinner, we enjoy a presentation from Lucas on macro photography and another from Greg on how to use flash in nature photography.

 

Day 4, Amazon Lowlands

 

Today after breakfast gear up for macro. We'll work with macro setups all day, and our subjects will include colorful poison frogs, amazing tree frogs, snakes, and the super cool caiman iguana. We will teach you our techniques for working with flash for a natural look. We have all meals at the lodge today and are free to explore the grounds for birds and forest photos.

 

Day 5, Amazon Lowlands

 

After breakfast, we have a chance to try a really cool technique – wide angle macro photography – that produces amazing images of small subjects in their habitat. Later in the morning we have a second chance at the clay lick. We may encounter some different species, and it's also a great opportunity to try slow shutter speeds or to correct any mistakes you may have made on the first clay lick visit. After lunch, we have the afternoon free to relax, to explore the lagoon in a private boat, or to visit a nearby canopy tower for a bird's-eye view of the rainforest.

 

Day 6, Pacific Slope Cloud Forest

 

We depart very early this morning for our boat back to Coca and then our plane back to Quito. Be sure to have a camera handy as the dawn light can be inspiring! We enjoy lunch at a local restaurant right and then arrive to our cloud forest lodge in late afternoon with time to relax and photograph hummingbirds right outside the lodge restaurant.

 

Day 7, Pacific Slope Cloud Forest

 

Today we have a full day with the multiple-flash setups for hummingbirds at the lodge. Booted Racket-tail abound, and our highlight is the fantasy-like Violet-tailed Sylph! In addition to hummingbird setups, we will be working our herp setups with subjects such as Executioner Clownfrog, Palm Treefrog, and Babbling Torrenteer, Emerald Glassfrog, Dappled Glassfrog, Gem Anole, Equatorial Anole, and the uber-cool Hippie Anole!

 

Day 8, Quito Interlude

 

After an early breakfast this morning, we visit a nearby lodge situated in a higher cloud forest. It's a great place to photograph colorful birds such as the Toucan Barbet, the Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, Blue-winged Mountain Tanager, and Masked Trogon. We check out late morning and head directly to the Quito Botanical Garden for macro photography. We arrive to our city hotel later this afternoon. Dinner is not included this evening as there are a number of great restaurants within very easy walking distance from our hotel, and this gives you a chance to try out a local restaurant, grab some fast food, or order room service if you prefer to stay in. Since we will be visiting higher elevations at our last stop, this will be a good chance to acclimate. But we have a great surprise for you tomorrow on the outskirts of Quito!

 

Day 9, Quito Interlude

 

After an early breakfast, we head to the misty highlands above Quito to photograph the famed Sword-billed hummingbird. We will set up custom perches to photograph this iconic species as well as the very cool Giant Sapphirewing, Shining Sunbeam, and Buff-winged Starfrontlet. This will be an amazing day! We return to our city hotel in the late afternoon where you can relax, repack, and edit photos before enjoying dinner at one of the many great local restaurants right near our hotel. Dinner is not included this evening so that you relax and eat as much or as little as you'd like.

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Day 10, Cotopaxi Volcano

 

After breakfast, we check out and head to the Cotopaxi National Park. We arrive to our lodge for lunch and then have the afternoon to photograph the Giant Hummingbird (the world's largest!) right on the grounds. In the evening we head out to photograph the snow-covered peak of the Cotopaxi Volcano with stars.

 

Day 11, Cotopaxi Volcano

 

We take the morning for more hummingbird photography. Late morning, we head out into the park in our bus to photograph birds and possibly even the Andean Fox. In late afternoon, we have a special treat. We will photograph the sunset over the Cotopaxi volcano with llamas in the foreground! In the evening we can head out again to photograph the snow-covered peak of the Cotopaxi Volcano with stars.

 

Day 12, Back to Quito

 

After breakfast we have a chance to do some image captioning right in our lodge's charming sitting area. Late morning, we check out and head back to Quito, stopping for lunch at a local restaurant famous among Ecuadorians for its great local food. We arrive to our capital city hotel with time to check-in and relax before enjoying a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

 

Day 13, Airport

 

Private transfer to the airport for your flight home.