This extensive photography workshop led by Alex Hyde and Nick Garbutt has been specially designed to maximise time in some of the finest wildlife locations and habitats in Ecuador to create some exciting photographic opportunities.
We begin by travelling into the Amazon Basin, which offers an array of different experiences and photographic potential to start this workshop. Located along the Napo River, our location may give us the chance to observe one of the region's top carnivores, the endearing giant otter, as well as several species of monkey. We will relish the chance to look for poison dart frogs and other captivating smaller subjects, and there will also be an opportunity to visit a renowned parrot clay lick on at least one occasion.
After the Amazon, we venture to the Chocó Rainforests on the western slopes of the Andes based in a secluded valley, where general bird diversity and hummingbird diversity in particular is very high. Within the lodge grounds, over 30 species of hummingbird have been seen, and up to 20 of these visit the lodge feeders on a daily basis. In addition, there are toucans, tanagers, many butterflies and a considerable diversity of frogs, lizards and other reptiles.
Only a short distance away the habitat changes to western slope cloud forest where the species composition is different and therefore a wealth of new and enthralling subjects await. Not only is the cloud forest incredibly rich, it also exhibits extremely high levels of endemism. Our lodge and the surrounding areas are prime places to see numerous new hummingbird species, tanagers, toucanets, mountain toucans and toucan barbets amongst many other birds. There are also glass frogs and a variety of reptiles.
The tour concludes in the higher elevations of the Andes, but on the eastern slope. In the areas close to our lodge, we hope (if lucky) to see Andean or spectacled bears and also track down the utterly amazing sword-billed hummingbird, which in relation to body size, has the longest beak of any bird.
Typical Itinerary
Day1: Fly to Ecuador & arrive Quito
Today we depart the UK on international flights to Ecuador. We arrive in the country’s capital city, Quito, where we are met and transferred to our overnight accommodation nearby.
Accommodation: Airport Hotel, 1-night
Day2: Fly to Coca & transfer to Napo Wildlife Centre
We take a short flight from Quito to Coca, on the banks of the Napo River in the Upper Amazon Basin. From Coca, we continue by covered motorboat down the river for around two hours to Yasuní National Park and then a further two hours by canoe to our accommodation at the Napo Wildlife Centre.
With four full days in the Amazon Basin, we have plenty of time for an immersive photographic experience. As with so many rainforest lodges, there is so much wildlife to see within the immediate vicinity of the lodge and a number of species are habituated and relatively easy to see, including birds like the hoatzin and monkeys like marmosets.
Highlights are likely to include visiting two clay licks where a number of different species of parrots and macaws may visit. There are also canopy towers offering a bird's-eye view of the rainforest tree tops. Early morning visits can serve up furious and bewildering bird and primate watching activity, with species impossible to see from ground level suddenly in plain view and easy to photograph. There is potential to see parrots and macaws, numerous different tanagers, toucans, araçaris as well as spider monkeys and capuchins.
Macro enthusiasts will be in their element, and we spend time looking for poison-dart frogs, other rainforest frogs, reptiles, butterflies and other insects. Here the use of creative-flash techniques is likely to be useful and if this is something you are unsure about, we can take time demonstrating and explaining the required techniques.
Day7: Return to Quito
This morning we return to Coca by boat in time to catch our domestic flight back to Quito.
On arrival back in Quito, we are transferred 90 kilometres to the Chocó Rainforest on the western slopes of the Andes. We check in to our lodge in the Kapari Private Reserve and have some time to start exploring in the afternoon.
Accommodation: Kapari Lodge, 3-nights
Days8-9: Photographic sessions in the Ecuadorian Chocó Rainforest
We are situated in one of the last remnants of Chocó Rainforest, where the biodiversity is breathtaking. With the help of lodge guides, we aim to track down a cross-section of this to help build an impressive portfolio of images. It is likely the emphasis will be on smaller, more accessible subjects like birds at feeders, frogs, lizards and various invertebrates, and we will begin to get to grips with a variety of photography techniques that allow these subjects to be captured to best effect.
Day10: Transfer to Mindo Cloud Forest
Today, we have a short transfer of less than an hour to Mindo located in the heart of the western slope cloud forest. We check in to our next accommodation and have some time to begin exploring this location in the afternoon.
Accommodation: Septimo Paraiso Lodge, 4-nights
Days11-13: Photographic sessions in Mindo Cloud Forest
The cloud forests of Mindo occur between 1,400 and 2,500 metres above sea level, and are one of Ecuador’s top bird and wildlife locations, with a wealth of options in the vicinity. As well as being a world-renowned birding destination, it also supports a vast variety of other species, including reptiles, frogs, butterflies, other insects and invertebrates and orchids. Indeed, within the forest environs of our lodge, diversity includes glass frogs and a variety of reptiles including the rare and recently rediscovered Ecuadorian horned anole or Pinocchio lizard.
During our stay in the Mindo area, we combine photography sessions in the forests within the immediate vicinity of the lodge, with half-day or day trips to nearby forest locations. Many options and choices will be made at the time based on local knowledge.
Day14: Return to Quito
We return to Quito via the high altitude Yanacocha Biological Reserve, where we stop to break the journey and look for species associated with the more lofty Andean elevations. We spend the night in Quito before continuing to Papallacta the following morning.
Accommodation: Airport Hotel, 1-night
Day15: Transfer to Papallacta
This morning we depart Quito and are transferred by road to the town of Papallacta in the Paramo on the eastern slopes of the Andes.
Accommodation: Termas de Papallacta, 3-nights
Days16-17: Explore Papallacta & the surrounding Paramo
We have two days to explore the Paramo (Andean ‘Alpine’ habitat) and high-elevation forests, Cayambe Coca Reserve. Key species we hope to observe include spectacled bear and sword-billed hummingbird, as well as a number of other specialist high-elevation hummingbird species and a variety of unusual and charismatic frog species.
Day18: Departure
We depart Papallacta in time to check in for our return international flights back to the UK, arriving the following morning.
Day19: Arrive UK
Key info
Duration and price including flights from/to UK: 19 daysfrom £10,995 pp
Duration and price excluding international flights: 18 daysfrom £10,295 pp
Single supplement:
On request – please contact us.
Trip type:
Group Tour
Tailor-made can be arranged
Group size: 12
When to go: Nov-Apr
Group Departures: We are currently finalising future dates for this tour. Please contact us for further details.
Tailor-made Departures:
A tailor-made holiday or private departure can be arranged, please contact us to tailor a trip to suit your requirements.
Included in the price/package:
Accommodation
Domestic flight in Ecuador
Most meals
Transfers in Ecuador
Excursions and photographic sessions as described
Photographic tuition from Nick Garbutt and Alex Hyde
An award-winning photographer and author, with a background in zoology, Nick has forged a career by combining these skills with leading tours and lecturing.
Nick has written and photographed several critically acclaimed books, including: ‘100 Animals to See Before They Die’, ‘Mammals of Madagascar: A Complete Guide’, ‘Wild Borneo’, and ‘Chameleons’. He is a regular contributor to international magazines such as National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Africa Geographic and Geographical.
Nick has twice been a winner in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. In 2000, he won the prestigious Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Wildlife. His photographs appear widely in books, calendars and other publications worldwide. He is a Special Lecturer on the MSc course in the Wildlife Photography and Imaging at Nottingham University, where he studied.
Often working with moving creatures smaller than a grain of rice, Alex has established himself as an expert in macro photography.
By understanding the behaviour of his subjects, he is able to capture intimate portraits of spiders, insects and other invertebrates in their natural habitats. Although his photography takes him all around the world, the Austrian Alps are a particularly special place for Alex and he returns annually to these favoured haunts to photograph the incredible insect and plant life.
An experienced tutor, Alex regularly delivers workshops and seminars on macro photography and has taught at venues such as the University of Nottingham and the Wild Photo photography festival in London. Alex supplies major international agencies and his photographs appear worldwide in newspapers, books and magazines including The Times, The Daily Telegraph, BBC Wildlife and New Scientist.
Ecuador’s capital stands at an altitude of 2,850 metres on the slopes of the active volcano of Pichincha. Founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an Inca city, the old town is very atmospheric, and several day tours are available, including the Mitad del Mundo monument on the equator.
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This area of primary forest is considered to be one of the finest birding areas in South America. The varied terrain supports more than 400 species of birds, including the elusive Andean cock-of-the rock. There is a remarkably high number of endemic plants, and orchids, bromeliads and heliconias grow in abundance.
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Where: Pichincha Province
Ideal for viewing: Andean cock-of-the-rock, club-winged manakin, long wattle umbrellabird, puma, torrent duck
This vast rainforest east of the Andes protects more species of plant and mammal than any area of similar size. It is home to an astonishing repertoire of wildlife, including 15% of the world’s bird species. There are over 100 species of mammals, and a network of rivers, steams and lakes to explore by boat or canoe.
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Where: Amazon
Ideal for viewing: blue and yellow macaw, harpy eagle, jaguar, three-toed sloth, capybara
Nestling at the foot of Antisana volcano, Papallacta’s scenery is spectacular with rocky peaks and a vast sweep of bleak páramo above the tree line. At Antisanilla you can see an impressive lava flow and a deep canyon where Andean condor are regularly sighted. Gentians and orchids surround the many lakes.
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Napo Wildlife Centre is the only lodge in Yasunì National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Built and run in conjunction with the local indigenous community, each of its 16 spacious cabanas has a private balcony, and facilities include an observation tower with a 360° view of the surrounding forest and its wildlife.
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