We requested a hiking and birdwatching trip and were charged for this but only did a short walk up a road. Our female guide was more interested in talking to they guy with the worms for the ant pittas and other staff she bumped into along the way and wasn't interested in doing any other bird watching. The guy with the worms was almost an hour late and we were just sat at the hummingbird feeders waiting during that time. Overall, way overpriced and not the great birding experience we were expecting. I get the impression that rich birders simply come here and pay the money to see the four species of ant pitta and go again. A total shame because it could be a great little birdwatching place but it is currently falling way short.
I had heard a lot about this sanctuary before visiting. It was clearly hyped and I was disappointed with my experience, compared to other lodges and parks in Colombia, like Rio Claro Refuge. Rio Blanco is certainly not one of the top spots for birds and nature in Colombia. Rather it felt more like a forestry plantation. Overall to much expense and pre-trip hassle to be worth a visit.
We missed out on the Pittas birds because I didn't realise that there was a 5.30 tour. The walk up through the primary is very good but at 10.00 am we were too late for the birds.Spectacle bear was an easy win, Tanagers and Humming birds.Pleasant English speaking guide.
This is a place for seeing some of Colombias special birds - Antpittas. The warden of the guest house and park, together his charming wife give warm but simple hospitality and he can show up to 5 species of antpitta at close range. Amazingly hard place to find - thank goodness we had a guide who knew the way through the back streets.
The Reserva is a real rain-forest, and the walk to the top is difficult, not easy, with many muddy areas, and walking along large old drains. Bring good shoes. The altitude is high to begin with, and the 800 meter hike to the top is not for the faint of heart or those out of shape. However, when you get to the top, you will get some coffee, and crackers, but the real treat is to see the Andes Bear that has been there for 17 years, i.e., after he was saved as an infant after the death of his mother.
We visited this lodge with our bird tour company Ecoturs. We were on a specialist birding holiday and were visiting here to see the Antpittas being fed with worms. Our room was in a block away from the main building. It was a triple ensuite room, which was fairly basic but clean and with plenty of blankets. The staff were friendly and helpful. Dinner was in the main block and was very tasty, but not lots of it. They were able to cater well for our vegetarian diet and our fussy 11 year old daughter. There were lots of hummingbird feeds around the main building, which brought in a good selection of birds including Swordbilled Hummingbird. The next morning, we went to see 2 Antpitta species (Chestnut -crowned and Brown-banded Antpittas)at 2 separate feeding sites as well as Slaty-backed Nightingale-thrush. We then walked up the road for more birding. There was virtually no traffic on the road and was perfect for birding from. We saw a good variety of new birds in the area above the lodge. The experience at this lodge was fantastic for the Antpittas but also for the birding. if you are not interested in birds, then there is little in point in coming to this lodge and reserve as the landscape is not that beautiful and the reserve is not big enough for hiking.
Que gusto es encontrar sitios tan hermosos cerca a una gran ciudad como Manizales. Su acceso, aunque poco señalizado, se convierte en una aventura hacia esta montaña rodeada de bosques de niebla. Un magnífico lugar para encontrar especies endémicas como chestnut Wood-quail, Rusty-faces parrot, Long-tailed Sylph y uno de mis favoritos, Black-billed Mountain-toucan. Es un precioso lugar donde conservan una gran muestra de aves, con un sitio cómodo para estar y encantador para intentar fotografiar sus cientos de colibríes.
We visited this site wanting to walk in a real colombian forest, and were delighted by it. We booked everything from our hotel and a taxi picked us up. The reserve is managed by an eco organisation, which hires local young guides who lives nearby, and giving them an opportunity to work and share their knowledge of the forest. Our guide, David, was a university student in biology, which was wonderful as he answered enthusiastically all our questions about plants, insects, birds... We saw another group with a younger (teenager) guide, who probably knew less about the forest, so if you are interested in learning more (and speak a little spanish), its probably a good idea to say so when booking the visit.Of course this is a forest and not a zoo, so to see birds it is much better to come quite early in the morning, be silent when walking and hope to be lucky. We saw many, heard many, from tangaras to woodpeckers, as well as countless butterflies, wild orchids and so on. But the walk in the forest by itself is a very rewarding experience.The path was a little difficult at some times (early morning dew made some parts quite slippery, and some trees were down in one part due to a recent thunderstorm), but in most part, very pleasant, even for our 3-year-old who walked some of it and spent the other part in our baby carrier. Bring good shoes, and if possible a small bag of sugar for the hummingbird feeders at the top of the mountain, as the people there do their best to make your stay pleasant with very little money available and appreciate such a gift.The family taking care of the small house at the end of the walk is welcoming and friendly, and we enjoyed sipping a tea there, admiring and taking pictures of the hundreds of hummingbirds and other birds in their feeders and garden.The walk down is easy - 20 min on a dirt path made for vehicles - and some taxis accept to go up if you are unlucky and catch some rain...
La visite du parc ne correspond pas à la publicité qui en est faite. Il s agit tout simplement d un chemin qui monte sur une montagne a travers la forêt tropical mais contrairement à la publicité nous n avons vu aucun oiseau ni papillon nii animal cité dans le guide du petit futé . Cependant c était un bon exercice de marche accompagné d un guide payant.
If you like birds then they have plenty. The feeders at the house attract the hummingbirds. We had a local guide as well as our own and he knows where he has habituated Antpittas to come for the worms he feeds.It is pot luck how many people there are to go with the guide. At first we were with a largish American group of bird watchers but they went so slow that we broke away with our own guide and saw much more being in a small group.Tucked away on the water company site but well worth the visit and a lovely mornings hike over the varied terrain, yes some parts are steepish but nothing too strenuous.