Mindo rewards depth. A single morning with a good guide is excellent; three to twelve days across the Chocó Andino's altitude bands is a different experience entirely — different birds every day, routes planned around weather and activity, and a lodge that knows your target list. This page explains the birding programs we run from Las Terrazas de Dana.

Why programs instead of day tours

Three reasons we hear back from guests:

1. The guides are ours. They know the property's trails before breakfast, the reserves within an hour, and which lek is performing this week. Rate: A private half-day Mindo birding tour costs $100 total for up to two guests ($120 for three, $135 for four), with guide, scope, binoculars, transport and a pre-breakfast delivered the night before — about three and a half hours, starting at 6 AM. The half-day Chocó tour goes deeper into the hotspot for $240 total for two ($290 for three, $360 for four): 5:20 AM start, five hours, two birding-and-photography points and a full breakfast box included.
2. The altitude strategy needs days. The Chocó Andino delivers its birds in bands — roughly 1,100 m, 1,800 m and 2,500 m — and different species live at each. Doing all three well takes several mornings, not one sprint. More in birding the Chocó Andino.
3. Logistics disappear. Transport to trailheads, entrance timing, early starts — the lodge builds each day, you walk out of your bungalow into it.

The span: 3 to 12 days

We build birding programs from 3 days up to 12, adjusted to your target list and pace:

The 12-day version isn't 12 days of the same trails. It's the reason serious listers come to the region: the hotspot around Mindo has recorded 450+ species in a single site, and Mindo's Christmas Bird Count has topped the world charts with 400+ species. See the Mindo Christmas Bird Count.

What a program includes

• Accommodation at the lodge, meals, and the terrace between sessions
• The lodge's own bilingual guides, one per group
• Transport to each day's sites from the lodge
• Entrance fees for the reserves in the itinerary
• Pre-dawn starts when the birds say so — they usually do

Programs are priced per program because they're built per group. Tell us your dates, your group size, and your target list, and we'll send the itinerary and the price. If you'd rather compare the fixed packages first, the all-inclusive programs ($530 / $820 / $1,130 per person for 2, 3 and 4 days) are the standard versions.

The core sites you'll visit

• The property's trails and feeders: Booted Racket-tail, Violet-tailed Sylph, Brown Violetear, and the rest of the hummingbird crowd, plus forest flocks
• Refugio Paz de las Aves: the antpitta feeding experience — six species coming to worms at close range — about 30 minutes away. Full visit guide here
• The Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek: the 6:00 AM dawn show, year-round. How it works
• Higher altitude reserves for tanagers, toucans and the species that never come down — including the Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, the region's icon

Fitness and pace

Programs ask for fair fitness: walking on uneven, sometimes muddy trails, and pre-dawn starts. Within any program there are gentler days and harder ones; tell us where you sit and we'll shape the itinerary honestly.

Season note

Birding runs year-round; temperature stays around 21°C day / 14°C night, with frequent rain from late October through April and brief showers possible in any month. We don't publish invented monthly rainfall statistics — check current conditions near your dates, or read best time for birdwatching in Mindo.

• Photography tours from the lodge — the camera-focused version
• Hummingbirds of Mindo: 30+ species
• Birding lodges in Mindo — how to choose a base
• Customized programs — if the structure doesn't fit

Facts checked: September 2026