Guided Birding Photography Experience

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Opiniones

Las valoraciones proceden de 51 opiniones recogidas por nuestro socio de reservas. Son palabras de los viajeros, en el orden en que se escribieron — nunca reordenadas para favorecer la experiencia.

Se muestran las opiniones escritas en inglés.

• 5Highly Recommended Bird Guide in Mindo

  Did 2 birding tours with Irman. One full day and one half day. When I say full and half day, I mean it. Full day went for 12 hours and half for 7. Irman really wants you to see all your targets or any local specialties he knows about. Knows the Mindo area and beyond like the back of his hand. We are bird photographers more than birders, so quality over quantity was what we were after. Irman understands the needs of bird photographers. First morning I took over 10,000 images and went through 5 batteries that day. Shout out to the Mindo area which was the best birding area we have been to. Among the different birds, we saw and photographed 25 species of hummingbirds, 14 species of tanagers and 4 out of the 5 species of toucans in the area. For the places you go to with feeders/hides, make sure you check the cost to enter which is above the tour price as it is usually cash on entry. Usually something like US$10-15 dollars per person per place. We booked the tours direct with Irman and only paid after the tours. Highly recommend Irman Arias as a bird guide.

  Reposadoseptiembre de 2026vía Tripadvisor

• 5Great day in Mindo (and on the way)

  I had a tight window after work trip and wanted to get to Mindo and see some birds. Irman customized the tour to the day and a half that I had. He picked me up at a hotel in Quito and we made several stops on the way, seeing different birds at different elevations. Stayed at a one of the very nice affordable hotels in Mindo. Then the next day we saw more than 75 different species at four different locations before he arranged for a driver to take me back to the airport. It was a good mix of feeders and forest walks deeper into reserves. Irman is very knowledgeable and hospitable, and we saw some fantastic animals, including three trogons and a surprise appearance from the waddled umbrella bird.. Even if I was going to stay in a lodge in Mindo, I reconsider having Irman organize my transfer in to see the birds on the way. This was an excellent experience.

  stanfordgibsonjulio de 2026vía Tripadvisor

• 5Mindo - a truly magical place!

  Nice quiet little town. The local people are so warm and friendly. Very reasonable to eat out (except for wine) and food is excellent, particularly seafood. If you are interested in Birdwatching or taking photos of wild birds this is an amazing area to visit although it is advisable to hire a guide and a driver. Our guide was Julia Patino and her driver Paul is a great driver. Roads are little more than pot holed dirt tracks in some remote areas but we always felt 100% safe with Paul driving. The variety of beautiful colourful wild birds, the amazing scenery and the friendly chilled out happy local people make Mindo a magical place to visit. I went with 3 other photographers and we stayed in Yellow House (Hacienda San Vincente) which was nice with lovely gardens and hiking trails. We went in November and it was cloudy and rainy a lot of the time. Summer would probably be better for photography as light is so important to getting properly exposed shots. If I ever visit Mindo again I will not be going in November! I still got some great photos and I loved Mindo and the lovely people I met there. A truly magical place!

  mikehQ3308SGenero de 2026vía Tripadvisor

• 5Fantastic Birdwatching Experience in Mindo's Andean Chocó

  Excellent morning of birdwatching in the Andean Chocó near Mindo with guide Irman. His knowledge of the birds is truly impressive and his kindness makes all the difference: patient, passionate, and always making sure everyone gets great views. We spotted amazing species like Crested Quetzal, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, and several endemic hummingbirds. Highly recommended — we’ll definitely be back!

  Guide28295102957enero de 2026vía Tripadvisor

• 4Good bird watching experience

  I found Irman on TA and booked a private tour with him based on the great reviews (I booked directly via WhatsApp). We had 2 tours (see below) - I'd give 4 stars for the 1st one and 5 for the 2nd (cock of the rock). Advance communication was prompt and clear. Irman has a great eye for the birds and also knows their songs, so he can tell when a particular bird is around before seeing it. His ability to spot the birds is really great, and he can also mimic their songs, so they can come closer. We could look at the birds though the birding scope or binoculars (he gave us a pair each). He took us to the private reserve owned by his brother where the birds are fed and we were able to see tanagers, colibris and toucans. The views from that place are beautiful, and we also were served some snacks and coffee. Other guides also bring their guests there, so we had a little ‘party’ of about 5 or 6 tourists in total. Things to note: Irman’s birding scope is older and a bit ‘wobblier’ – it is fine for looking at the birds but taking pictures/video through it with your phone is not easy. Also, while he mentions when is a good time to take a picture, you have to take a picture yourself, which kind of distracts from the viewing experience and take some fiddling with the scope. Luckily, there were other guides and Irman’s brother who helped us taking pictures through their scopes, so we also ended up with great pictures/videos and had time to enjoy the viewing. He tells you the name of the bird but doesn’t really share any additional information about the birds unless you ask, and then the answers are pretty concise, lol. We also left the viewing platform before other guides, and started walking back towards the village. I understand that the plan was to see some other types of birds (like toucanet) as we were walking but we didn’t see much else (one more toucan and some colibris). The birds of course have their own schedule, but as I really wanted to see toucans, so I wish we stayed at the platform for longer as more toucans came later (one of the other guests told me after). So, if you really want to see a particular type of bird, make it known, lol We also learned that seeing cock of the rock is a separate experience, as you need to go to a particular place, even earlier in the morning, lol. So we took a tour for the next morning with Irman (he picked us up at 5 am, lol) to go to the cock of the rock lek. That was an amazing experience, where we could see quite a few males getting together waiting for a female (who did not show up as it wasn’t mating season). This time Irman shared some interesting facts about the birds. My hubby graciously was taking pictures through the scope, so I could just enjoy the viewing. Thanks to Irman’s keen eye we were also able to see Quetzal (both male and female), which was awesome. We enjoyed both of our bird watching experience but I wanted to also share some additional details, especially if taking pictures is important to you (on all our other tours in Costa Rica or Ecuador guides always helped with pictures) - I find the name of this tour is somewhat misleading. If I were to do it again, I would probably waited until coming to Mindo and then booking a tour on a spot (at least in December it did not seem to be a problem).

  Yafi12345enero de 2026vía Tripadvisor

• 5Full Mindo Birdwatching Experience

  Was such a lovely experience to venture into the cloud forest of Mindo with Irman and his driver! We dropped of in the middle of the jungle, walked upwards and had the chance to see amazing birds like Toucans, Barranqueros and more! Afterwards we visited a famous spot for the cock of the rock - and what can I say! 6 awaited us in full sight and we stayed there to observe them and have a coffee afterwards. Thanks Irman!

  W9357HGmatthiasgnoviembre de 2025vía Tripadvisor

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How it compares in Mindo

• Its from-price is 227% above the median of the 15 experiences we list in Mindo.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 3 of 15.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Mindo

Mindo, a small town in Ecuador's western Andes foothills, is cloud-forest country of hummingbirds, waterfalls, orchids, chocolate farms and river tubing.

Mindo is a small town in the cloud forest on the western slope of the Andes, north-west of Quito, in Pichincha province, at about 1,250 metres. The surrounding Mindo-Nambillo protected forest is a renowned birdwatching area, with hundreds of species, among them toucans, tanagers, hummingbirds and the Andean cock-of-the-rock, whose males gather to display at dawn.

Top-ranked sights in Mindo: Mindo Butterfly Farm (Mariposas de Mindo), Mindo's Cable Car (Tarabita de Mindo), Nambilla Waterfalls (Nambilla Cascadas).

See all 15 experiences in Mindo