What an excellent trip to Antisana. A national park rich in wildlife. We were incredibly grateful to have Santiago as our guide. He has an unmatched level of bird knowledge and was so passionate about the abundant and diverse bird life not only on Ecuador, but throughout South America. He had an incredible spotting scope that allowed us to observe birds as if they were right in front of us but he knew what birds were around simply from a quick flash in the sky. He really was a pro!! Thanks to him, we saw so many humming birds. These are such SPECTACULAR birds and we managed to get really wonderful photos. Santiago really does have telescopes for eyes, because as we were driving he managed to spot an Andean Bear, across the other side of a ridge on the mountain. How he managed to spot it I will never know! But we were privileged enough to see the bear settling down for a nap. To top it off, we saw 2 pairs of condors in flight and then saw a condor nesting and a juvenile fledgling from the balcony at Tambor Lodge. It was an exceptional visit and he is an exceptional guide! Just on a side note, the food at Tambor Lodge was wonderful and I had the BEST Locro here, it was DELICIOUS!

Our birdwatching tour through the Antisana highlands and park was the perfect finale to our Ecuador vacation. Santiago Salazar has an expert level of knowledge of all of the local avian species both by eye and ear which enabled us to ultimately view many bird species that we would have otherwise passed by. We were able to see a pair of Andean Condors to finish the tour, and recommend this tour to any wildlife, bird, or park enthusiast coming through Quito with a day to spare. A truly wonderful day!

What a great experience. This was a really fun excursion. I’ve never did bird watching or animal observations before. It turned out to be very fun. We had the pleasure to have Santiago as our guide. He was so nice and is really experienced in this field. His educational background really shined through which allowed us to learn a lot about the animals throughout our joirney. What I liked about the company as well is that they contact you prior to find out what was your interest is to customize your experience. I will definitely be using them again for their tours in other areas besides Ecuador. Money well spent.

Santiago was a great guide providing lots of info about local life as well as the animas and nature of the area. Great for helping spot those small special animals trying to get pictures of. He had sounds of different animals he can play to try to attract birds to come near by to photograph. Lunch stop was delicious and local cuisine. Overall had a great day out and he does other tours as well. Definitely will be booking another trip with him in the future.

Our excellent guide Santiago of Neotropical Nature & Birding gave us a grand tour of the Antisana that included a stop for a good sighting of the Andean Condor, Andean Lapwings, Ibis and Caracaras. A Giant Hummingbird was a highlight at our lunch stop, which included Tyrian metaltail, Shining Sunbeams, Sapphirewings, Hillstars and Violetears. He knew exactly where to find the Red-crested Cotinga. His deep knowledge of the natural history of this beautiful country gave a rich dimension to our tour. I can’t recommend Neotropical and Santiago highly enough.

This was a wonderful day-trip out of Quito! Santiago was our guide for the trip and we had an amazing day of birding. Santiago was very knowledgeable about the bird species we saw along the way and made sure we had plenty of opportunities to stop for photos. He also shared his knowledge of the various volcanos we saw during our journey and answered all of our questions about the area. The included lunch was tasty and provided an additional opportunity to try to spot more birds. We did the trip on a Tuesday and we saw hardly anyone else during the day. All-in-all it was an incredible day and I would definitely recommend this tour!

Santiago Salazar of Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips opened our eyes to the beauty and biodiversity that Antisana national Park holds! After two years of no travel due to COVID, my husband and I took the leap and embarked on our long-planned, bucket-list trip to mainland Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in April. Our first stop took us to Quito and the Antisana National Park—in search of the Andean Condor. Throughout our entire tour Santiago’s innate and extensive knowledge of the micro-Andean ecosystems allowed us to understand why certain birds flocked to specific areas, leading us to observe more than 35 species in a few short hours, including 7 distinct types of amazing hummingbirds! On our very first stop at Chakana Reserve, Santiago explained that the white guano stains on the cliffs indicated where the Condors nested, we spotted our first adult and juvenile condor on the wing. Then, entirely unexpectedly, on our drive to the Mica Lagoon in Antisana, off to the side of the road a deer had died in a field. Bad for the deer, but good for us as we watched for quite a while as 15 or more Condors came to feed—about a third of the condor population in this region. And soon after, we were awed by the subtle beauty of half a dozen Andean Ibis and several other species we would never have seen without Santiago knowing their favorite flora. Santiago’s lunch plan at was perfect. There we caught our breath, refueled, and saw/photographed several species of shimmering hummingbirds up close. We rounded out the day with a few stops where Santiago knew to stop and coax out a Paramo Pipit and a Red-crested Cotinga. Santiago proved the perfect guide for us. He listened to understand what we hoped to see and did everything in his power to make sure we did, all the while keeping our tour on schedule. His in-depth knowledge of the unique ecosystems left none of our questions unanswered. Because neither my husband nor I speak Spanish, we really appreciated Santiago’s command of English. Even after the tour, he provided us the complete list of birds we’d seen, so we didn’t forget a single one and could look them up in greater detail at our leisure. Santiago’s love for the Ecuadorian landscape was infectious—we would take another tour with him in a heartbeat!

Great way to discover Andes. Saw about 25 condors, some very close by. Many deers too. Altitude is tough but the guides were wonderful!

If you enjoy the natural world, Ecuador should be at the top of your “must see” list and Neotropical your tour guides. Communication with Maria Zambrano, Operations Manager, as we tried to decide what full day-tours to take was prompt, friendly, helpful and ever-courteous. We had intended to do a single day of touring, but after one day with Santiago Salazar, we quickly booked a second. Santiago, a guide with a great wealth of knowledge, is both a passionate nature enthusiast and patient teacher. He answered every question we had on birds (he knows them all!), the native vegetation, history and culture of the area. His attention to our needs and hopes in exploring the area never waned. We couldn’t have felt more fortunate and well taken care of! Within several hours of Quito, a busy city of 2 million people, are a surprising number of nature reserves. Driving into the spectacular Andes mountains and these reserves is like moving onto another planet, or planets, the vegetation associated with the numerous microclimates providing an ever-shifting palette of texture and color. At the Antisana Ecological Reserve, we had the heart-stopping experience of seeing condors, the largest bird on the planet. We lingered at length watching not only the condors (both adults and a chick), but variable hawks and carunculated caracara, as they floated over the stunning cliffs of the reserve. It was absolutely magical and Santiago was very patient with our desire to stay and watch, pointing out various smaller birds as they flitted around our lookout point, as well as the movement of the raptors. The condor, as most folks know, is an endangered species, and Neotropical is committed to working in tandem with locals to promote ecotourism as a livelihood that can be both financially profitable (indeed, more profitable than clearing ground to raise cattle) and valuable to the country and planet as a whole. Their goals include preserving the vital ecosystems that support not only condors, but over 1600 species of birds, many of them with the colorful plumage that makes this subtropical area a spectacular place to bird and/or photograph. Our goal on this trip was to see birds, (although Ecuador boasts over 350 species of mammals as well as the illusive jaguar). And after 20 years of guiding, Santiago had IDed particular areas within each of the reserves and access roads where various bird species have been found. With Santiago’s guidance, we saw 45 species on our first day into the reserve including a red-crested continga, spectacled redstart, and the giant hummingbird, a miracle of avian engineering! In every way, our two days with Neotropical was satisfying. Next time we head for Ecuador, we hope to take part in a ten-day tour in search of wildlife and into the Amazon. I highly recommend these folks. They are the whole package: competent, professional, knowledgeable, and with an excellent command of the English language. Tour with Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips and discover the beautiful and fascinating world of Ecuadorian nature. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

We spent two days with Santiago. What an amazing experience! What an amazing guide (and now friend!). We saw condors several times on our trip, an astonishing variety of hummingbirds, other bird species too numerous to mention (Santiago knew them all) and even saw a Spectacled Bear. Santiago is patient, knowledgable, and best of all, has a great sense of humor. You will have fun, laugh, learn a lot, and see wildlife that will alter your consciousness. Now we're planning an Amazon trip with Neotropical. Neotropical is the best! And Santiago, gracias por todo, amigo! Hasta pronto.

We had an extra day in Quito before our Amazon trip and decided to venture out to Antisana. Our amazing guide Santiago picked us up at our hotel exactly on time. Santiago is truly a gifted birder with an encyclopedic knowledge of Ecuador’s flora and fauna. In addition, his English is so good, he helped us understand all the challenges facing the park’s threatened bird species. The most exciting part was seeing five endangered Andean Condors perched on a cliff face. We also enjoyed a delicious lunch and hummingbird viewing. We would both love to travel with Neotropical Nature tours in the future!

We loved our trip to Antisana with Natalya! She was a fantastic guide. She really customized the trip for what we wanted and our mobility issue (I had a broken foot!).

We had a wonderful visit to Antisana with Natalia (arranged through Neotropical Nature & Birding). She was both an expert bird and naturalist guide, but also excellent company for the day. We found all of the birds we were interested in finding (e.g. Silvery Grebe, Andean Ibis, Giant Hummingbird, condor) thanks to her knowledge of the area and birds. This was no easy task, because one of us had a broken foot, and she was patient and careful throughout the entire day to make sure we were comfortable and that we saw the birds and animals well. This included gaining access to special access areas with the car to reduce the distance we had to walk. Overall this was one of the highlights of our visit to Ecuador, and we highly recommend this trip and Natalia.

Sebastian is a discerning, perspicacious, well-informed, and attentive guide with an authentic love of nature. He taught me about the flora and fauna of the Antisana area as well as practical tips on bird watching. We had clear views of the glaciers and peaks of both Antisana and Cotopaxi most of the day. We took views from various vantage points abs perspectives, telescope, binoculars, crouching down toward the ground. I especially liked a crevasse on the Antisana glacier, the smell of valerian, the textures of the different vegetation in the paramo, the image of Andean seagulls flying with the volcano peak in the background.

What a trip! I loved everything about it! My guide was amazing, super knowledgeable and nice. The food we ate was fantastic, the people we met were great and the birds we saw all landed on my life list

What an amazing adventure we had visiting Antisana Volcano with Santiago Salazar! He picked us up at our hotel first thing in the morning and we drove to Antisana on a beautiful sunny day. Our hope was to see condors, and within minutes of arrival, Santiago spotted a female perching on the rocks and set up his spotting scope so we could get a closer look. He even used our phones to take photos of her in the scope! We saw countless condors flying overhead throughout the day. We walked down to the lake and saw beautiful ducks and later saw two black ibises. Santiago noticed a hummingbird trapped in a building, and within minutes saved its life, bringing tears to my eyes. The volcano is stunningly beautiful, and Santiago is fighting to protect her and the environment for future generations. We stopped at Tambo Condor for a delicious lunch of fava beans and corn, Ecuadorean potato soup, and fresh trout. The view from lunch was spectacular and hummingbirds flew in and out to entertain us. We were hoping to see the Andean spectacled bear, and Santiago was vigilant about searching, but the bear was not to be seen. The day was perfect, Santiago was passionate about nature and his enthusiasm and knowledge were unparalleled. I would highly recommend Santiago to anyone thinking of taking a tour. Private tours are the way to go, you go at your pace, see what you want to see and have a front row view for observation and photography. Well worth the money. Don't hesitate for a minute, we have high expectations when we travel, and Santiago exceeded them! If you are concerned about COVID, all precautions were in place and we felt 100% comfortable and safe while there.

The entire outing was memorable. Scenery was great; the wildlife, from hummingbirds to condors, was impressive; and the commentary, informative. All in all, would definitely recommend this to anyone that wants to see and experience a lot in a day, with memories forever.

We were picked up by Santiago at our lodge in Pululahua. Travelling to Antisana, Santiago told us many interesting facts about life and nature in Ecuador. We had several stops to watch birds and saw many. Climax was a group of condors eating the corpse of a deer, meanwhile another group was in the sky. From our lodge in Tambo Condor, a very unique and wonderful place to stay, we saw a mother and youngster of spectacle bears. Suffering from height disease, Santiago also appeared to be an excellent nurse, taking care of us very well. The trip was perfect, we enjoyed the landscape, the birds and the people. The Tambo Condor lodge is a very pleasant place to stay, with an exceptional view from our room.

This was a great tour once it got started. The guide and driver were late, which they blamed on horrible traffic accident. We got going 90 minutes after expected. But the rest of the day more than made up for the snafu at the beginning. Santiago was our guide, hugely enthusiastic and knowledgeable. On the ride to Antisana, Santiago regaled us with tales of Quito's troubled water system; the city is dependent on glacial melt for its water and the glacier will almost certainly be gone within a few decades. We had a great weather day with fantastic cloud-free views of Antisana; even Santiago called it a 10 out of 10 day. We also got very lucky as a) Santiago knew the location of a condor nest with a 5-month-old chick; plus, when we first got to the viewing stand, the male condor was flying around but soon came in to land on a cliff near his mate so Santiago was able to get both of them in his spotting scope very quickly. There was ample time for all four in our party to get a good look, either through the spotting scope or through our own binoculars. The lunch spot is great, with a beautiful setting and lots of hummingbirds darting around. (We had stopped there earlier in the day, too, for an altitude-adjustment tea -- very helpful for those of us traveling from sea level in New Jersey, U.S.A.) Santiago's English was exceptional; the best guide we had on our 12-day trip through Ecuador. Highly, highly recommend this trip for the scenery and the infectious enthusiasm Santiago brought to spotting various Andean birds. We agree with other reviewers that you don't have to be a huge bird enthusiast to enjoy this one-day outing from Quito. This would have been a 5-star review except for the late start, which may have been out of anyone's control.

Sebastian was a fantastic tour guide! Great knowledge of nature in general, birds, geology, and the history of the Quito area. He was friendly, helpful, and attentive to our needs and interest. Sandy and I thoroughly enjoyed our day with him and highly recommend his tour.