Wings over Andes Bird Photography in Colombia
- February 10th, 2026 - February 23rd, 2026
- Spaces Left: 4 (Maximum 8 Photographers)
WORKSHOP AT A GLANCE
This bespoke custom-tailored workshop to the Andes region of Colombia is for dedicated and passionate wildlife photographers who want to capture stunning and evocative photographs of Colombia's incredible bird life. We have a small group size and personal, one-on-one tuition for the duration of the workshop. There will be photography from both hides and other locations.
- Dates: 10th February 2026 until 23rd February 2026 (Duration 13 Nights / 14 Days)
- Investment: $11,990 USD (Single Supplement $1,250 USD) Wild Nature Photo Travel Team members pay no single supplement.
- Deposit: The deposit to secure your place is $3,500 USD, with the balance due 120 days before the workshop commences.
- Participants: Maximum 8 Photographers plus leader
- Start and Finish: Cali, Colombia, and finish Medellin, Colombia
- Trip Leaders: Joshua Holko Master Photog II
- Fitness Level: Moderate
- Temperature: Hot
- Experience Level: Advanced to Professional
ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP
Colombia is renowned as the best country on earth for birds, boasting more than 1,950 species, which accounts for almost 20% of the world's total. This remarkable diversity is due to its tropical climate and varied elevation changes thanks to the Andes and its location between the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.
With a wide range of habitats, it's no wonder Colombia is a haven for bird species, with new discoveries and records frequently announced.
The KM 18 and San Antonio Cloud Forest offer an excellent introduction to bird photography in the Colombian Andes. Within an hour of the Araucana Lodge, you'll find some of Colombia's best bird feeder setups, each with unique perches and various birds. This area of the western Andes boasts well-preserved habitats for those who enjoy photographing in natural environments. At feeder sites, this workshop targets species such as the endemics Multicolored Tanager and Colombian Chachalaca, as well as near-endemics like Scrub, Flame-rumped, Golden-naped, Saffron-crowned, and Rufous-throated Tanagers. In terms of hummingbirds, over 20 species frequent the feeders, including Blue-headed Sapphire, Purple-throated Woodstar, Long-tailed Sylph, Black-throated Mango, Green Hermit, Booted Rackettail, and many more.
This photographic workshop then ascends to the central Andean range, visiting the world-renowned Rio Blanco and Tinamu Reserves near Manizales. Here, there are excellent chances for photographing antpittas, tanagers, and hummingbirds at the feeders, along with many other cloud forest and montane birds.
After further ascending, you can relax in hot springs overlooking the scenic Central Andes and look for species adapted to high elevations in Los Nevados National Park, with the beautiful Nevado del Ruiz as a backdrop. A day is spent at Hacienda EL Bosque, where the stars of the show are Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan and Crescent-faced Antpitta. The workshop also visits El Color de Mi Reves, one of the newer sites in the area. You then head to the quaint village of Jardin to experience the world's best bird photography setup at an Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek, where it is common to have more than 10 individuals posing for the cameras. The workshop then concludes in the city of Medellin for outbound flights.
Photographic Credit: Kike Calvo on behalf of Wild Nature Photo Travel
Accommodation: Accommodation for this workshop includes a range of high-quality resort-style accommodations with either shared or private rooms.
Dietary Requirements: If you have special dietary requirements, we will do our best to accommodate you. Please just be sure to let us know when you make your booking.
Travel: We will also utilise private vehicles to transfer between locations on this workshop.
Equipment: Telephoto lenses are recommended. Zoom lenses generally provide more flexibility for fast-moving bird life. Wide-angle lenses are also recommended to capture the bird life in the environment. A tripod is recommended for low light and supporting heavy lenses.
Who is it for? This workshop is for dedicated wildlife and bird photographers looking to capture stunning photographs of Colombia’s incredible bird species. A small group of participants (maximum of 8 plus leader) guarantees a more personal and intimate experience than bigger groups can provide. There will be extensive tuition throughout this workshop on bird photography, birds in flight, camera settings and composition. In addition, there will be post-production sessions and reviews.
If you are excited about travelling to Colombia with a small group of dedicated photographers to photograph Colombia's incredible bird life, then now is the time to secure your place. Places are very limited, and once they are spoken for, that’s it.
WORKSHOP ITINERARY
Day 1 - 10th February: Arrive in Cali, Colombia. You will be picked up at the airport and taken to our hotel, which is two hours away. Please let us know if you require any assistance with arranging flights. Lodging: Araucana Lodge
Day 2 - February 11th: La Florida Birding Reserve and Hummingbird Paradise. Spend the morning capturing images at 2,000 meters (6,000 feet) in elevation at the famed Km 18 area along the road connecting Cali with Buenaventura's port city. Choose from more than six private residences in this area that have set up feeders with bird photographers in mind. At Km 18, the show's star is the spectacular Multicolored Tanager, with other endemics like the elusive Chestnut Wood-quail and Colombian Chachalaca also making an appearance. Each residence you visit is unique and offers its own charm, providing an amazing diversity of hummingbirds and tanagers. Chances are good for capturing Flame-rumped, Golden, Saffron-crowned, Golden-naped, Black-capped, and Blue-winged Mountain-Tanagers. More than sixteen species of hummingbirds can be photographed at feeders, including the beautifully ornate Long-tailed Sylph, Booted Racket-tail, Blue-headed Sapphire, Sparkling Violetear, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Speckled Hummingbird, White-necked Jacobin, and Brown Violetear. Lodging: Araucana Lodge
Day 3 - February 12th: Doña Dora Feeders. The Anchicaya watershed, located in the Farallones National Park, is one of the most biodiverse parks on the planet. Only 50 minutes from Araucana Lodge, the photography begins with a stop at a roadside lamp that attracts a plethora of species feeding on moths. The feeding frenzy is fun to watch, with photographic targets including the endemic Crested Ant-Tanager, Collared Trogon, and several species of Woodcreepers. At Doña Dora’s place, the three-story feeder setup provides subjects such as Toucan Barbet, Rufous-throated Tanager, Silver-throated Tanager, Empress Brilliant, Violet-tailed Sylph, Rufous-gaped Hillstar, and Green Thorntail. Lodging: Araucana Lodge
Day 4 - February 13: Spend a day at the Araucana Lodge feeders, whose visitors include Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Black-winged Saltator, White-lined Tanager, Green Jay, Yellow-backed Oriole, and Lineated Woodpecker. The lodge’s vast acreage of ornamental and vegetable gardens also provides a good habitat for hummingbirds such as Purple-throated Woodstar, Black-throated Mango, Andean Emerald, and Steely-vented Hummingbird. The lighting and background at the feeder kiosk are well thought out, with stands, perches, and a variety of flowers to create amazing images. Lodging: Araucana Lodge
Day 5 - February 14: San Felipe Birding Reserve. Enjoy another day of bird photography in the Km 18 Area at San Felipe Birding, with a second chance to photograph two endemics: Chestnut Wood-quail and Multicolored Tanagers. The site has three different hides for photography, with one regularly visited by Orange-billed Nightingale Thrush. You will also have chances for Chestnut-capped Brush-finch and the colorful tanagers of the Andean cloud forest. Lodging: Araucana Lodge
Day 6 - February 15: Transfer from Araucana Lodge to Manizales – Stop at Grape Park for Ruby Topaz Hummingbird. Travel from the western Andes to the central Andes, crossing the Cauca Valley and making a stop at an aloe plantation at the National Grape Park, in hopes of photographing the dazzling Ruby Topaz Hummingbird. Your first night in the central Andes is spent in the city of Manizales, where you will spend three nights. Lodging: Hotel Quo
Day 7 - February 16: Rio Blanco and Transfer to Jardin. The Rio Blanco Reserve, owned by Aguas de Manizales (the local water company), is situated along an altitudinal gradient, therefore including a wide variety of ecosystems. You could possibly observe five antpitta species at feeders located within a short hike from the lodge, including the endemic and endangered Brown-banded and the elusive Bicolored, Chestnut-crowned, Chestnut-naped, and Slate-crowned Antpittas. Other possible feeder visitors seldom seen include Slaty-backed Nightingale Thrush, Stripe-headed Brush-Finch, and Blue-capped Tanagers and Buff- breasted and Blue-winged Mountain Tanagers coming to the bananas.
Day 8 - February 17: El Color de Mi Reves. Take a day trip in 4x4 vehicles on a very rough road to a 2-hectare reserve that will surely not disappoint. Here, your chances of photographing Ocellated Tapaculo, Black-billed Mountain Toucan, Emerald Toucanet, Lachrymose Mountain-Tanager, Slate-crowned Antpitta, and many more high-elevation specialists are pretty good! Lodging: Hotel Quo
Day 9 - February 18: Hacienda El Bosque and Transfer to Termales del Ruiz. Spend the day on a working cattle farm that produces milk, whose owners have been protecting large swaths of forests and paramo ecosystems for decades. Some of our targets on this wonderful property are Crescent-faced Antpitta, Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan (comes to feeders to eat grapes), Collared Inca, Tourmaline Sunangel, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Mountain Velvetbreast, Purple-backed Thornbill, Sword-billed Hummingbird, and Hooded Mountain-Tanager. Lunch will be at the hacienda, and you will have time for afternoon photography before heading to Manizales for one night. After lunch, begin your big ascent, winding through patches of forest that open up to Paramo, an ecosystem of tropical grasslands above the treeline, toward the picturesque 5,300-meter (17,400-foot) volcano Nevado del Ruiz. The scenery in Paramo is magical and surreal, with velvety Frailejon plants adding to this effect. Frailejon plants belong to the Espeletia genus and are endemic to Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Lodging: Hotel Termales del Ruiz
Day 10 - February 19: Termales del Ruiz and Los Nevados National Park The goal this morning is to photograph several species adapted to high elevations at Los Nevados NP, including one of the most resilient hummingbirds on the planet: Buffy Helmetcrest. No feeders exist within the park, but open areas and a stunted elfin forest allow for good opportunities with species such as Tawny Antpitta, Stout-billed Cinclodes, the beautiful Golden-crowned Tanager, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, and White-chinned Thistletail. The afternoon is spent at the feeder stations in the spectacular grounds of Hotel Termales del Ruiz, with chances for Sword-billed Hummingbird, Shining Sunbeam, Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, and Great Sapphirewing. The gardens also attract photogenic species such as Masked Flowerpiercer and Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager. Lodging: Hotel Termales del Ruiz
Day 11 - February 20: Transfer to Manizales for Andean Cock- of-the-Rock Lek. The plan is to spend the morning travelling and to arrive in Jardin by 2 pm to experience what is becoming known as the best Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek on the planet, which sometimes hosts more than 10 individuals that park themselves not more than 6 feet from the observation decks. Lodging: Casa Passiflora
Day 12 - February 21: Andean Cock-of-the-Rock Lek and Finca Bambusa. The morning will be spent photographing birds at Finca Bambusa before another afternoon session at the Andean Cock-of-the-rock Lek. Lodging: Casa Passiflora
Day 13 - February 22: Jardin to Medellin. This day is a travel day to Medellin to prepare for flights home. Lodging: Hotel Movich Las Lomas
Day 14 - February 23: Depart Medellin. Wishing you Safe travels! You will be transferred to the airport in time for your onward flight.
INCLUSIONS AND EXCLUSIONS
Inclusions
- Transportation: All in-tour land transportation and guide services from our starting location in Cali, Colombia, to our finishing location in Medellin, Colombia.
- Accommodation: Accommodation for thirteen nights in shared rooms at our accomodation. Private rooms are available.
- Food and Beverages: Includes breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (excluding alcohol) for the workshop duration.
- Tuition: Expert one-on-one Photographic tuition and guiding services
Exclusions
- Transportation: Any travel required to arrive at the workshop starting location in Cali, Colombia and any return travel from Medellin, Colombia.
- Duties and Taxes: Any taxes, levies, insurances, Immigration, duty, and visa fees where applicable.
- Personal Items: Any personal items, including alcoholic beverages, souvenirs and travel insurance. Tipping for local guides is recommended at $30 USD per day.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
A deposit of $3,500 USD must be paid at the time of booking to secure your place, with the balance due 120 DAYS before the workshop commencement date. Deposit Methods Accepted: Credit card Visa/Master (+3%) or Direct Deposit / Wire Transfer.
Refunds and Cancellations: Our standard workshop policy requires an initial non-refundable deposit for the reservation of your space and your payment balance in full 120 days before the commencement of the workshop date unless otherwise noted. If we do not receive the balance on or before the due date, and we are unable to get in contact with you via the contact details you have provided, we will try to fill your spot off the waiting list. At our discretion, we may apply your deposit to be used for another workshop within one year. Please note that price increases may apply in this instance.
If the workshop is cancelled for any reason, your deposit will be refunded in full. Wild Nature Photo Travel Pty Ltd., trading as Joshua Holko Photography and Joshua Holko, is not responsible for any financial commitments that registered attendees have with third parties such as airlines or other travel services.
READ FULL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Travel Insurance: You must purchase travel and evacuation insurance in the event of illness or any other emergency that delays or otherwise prevents you from travelling on the trip. Wild Nature Photo Travel partners with and recommends Global Rescue for Evacuation and Medical insurance.
REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP
If you are excited about photographing Colombia's incredible bird life from some of the best locations in Colombia with a small group of like-minded, passionate photographers, now is the time to register your interest. Places are extremely limited, and once spoken for, that's it.