Jardin Birding Day Trip from Medellin (Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks & Oildbird targets)

FAQ – Tour Options & Pricing

Is the private tour price per person?
No. The private tour price is per group, not per person. The price is the same whether you are traveling alone, as a couple, or with friends, with a maximum of up to 4 participants.

What does “Shared Tour (Pre-Book)” mean?
The shared tour is offered on a pre-booking basis only. This means the tour is confirmed only when at least two participants book for the same date (maximum 4 participants).

Which option guarantees my tour?
If you want a confirmed tour on a fixed date, the private tour is the best option, as it does not depend on other participants joining.

Still unsure which option to choose?
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us and we will be happy to explain and help you choose the best option.

Jardín Birding Day Trip from Medellín

Semi-Guided Birdwatching Experience 

This semi-guided birding tour departs Medellín at 5:00 AM, heading south through the Andean foothills on a scenic ~3-hour drive. The route winds across mountain landscapes and along the iconic Cauca River, with strategic stops to look for regional endemic birds along the way.

Our destination is Jardín, widely regarded as the most beautiful town in Antioquia and among the most charming in Colombia. From there, we continue to a private birding refuge where exceptional species diversity awaits. Typical targets include Red-bellied Grackle, Green Jay, Golden Tanager, Emerald Toucanet, and Bay-headed Tanager—but the true highlight is the mythical Oilbird.

This refuge is one of the very few places in Colombia—and possibly Latin America—where the Oilbird can be reliably observed and photographed in full daylight. Reaching the site involves a short 10-minute walk, crossing a suspension bridge over waterfalls, making the experience as memorable as the birding itself.

After the Oilbird encounter, we look for the jewel of the route: the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. Watching a male in display—its vivid plumage, dramatic form, and elaborate courtship movements—is an unforgettable spectacle. If conditions are not favorable at the first site, we will visit an alternative reserve in Jardín where sightings of this species are highly reliable.

Following the Cock-of-the-Rock experience, you will have time for lunch at the reserve (assuming the birds allow it), before beginning the return journey to Medellín.

This tour is ideal for birders and nature travelers seeking iconic species, unique daylight Oilbird photography, and one of Colombia’s most beautiful towns, all in a single, well-paced day trip.

What Does Semi-Guided Tour Mean?

This is a semi-guided birding experience, which means your transportation will be handled by a professional driver from our company, who will take you safely to each planned destination. At the key birding sites, you will be assisted by local expert guides, who will help you locate the main target species of the tour and provide interpretation about their behavior, ecology, and conservation.

However, you will not be accompanied by a full-time guide from Medellín throughout the entire journey. This format gives you greater flexibility and independence, allowing you to enjoy the experience at your own pace—whether traveling solo or with companions—especially when exploring places like the town of Jardín itself.

At the same time, your primary objective—birdwatching and securing sightings of the key targets—is never compromised, as expert local guidance is provided exactly where it matters most.

An additional benefit of this semi-guided structure is cost efficiency. Due to the long distance, fuel consumption, tolls, and overall logistics, Jardín birding tours are typically expensive. By optimizing guide deployment while maintaining high-quality birding outcomes, this tour offers a more accessible price point without sacrificing the core experience.

How Is This Tour Different from Our Medellín Birding Tour?

The key difference lies in the type of birding experience and level of predictability.

On this Jardín Semi-Guided Tour, you will visit a specialized reserve–lodge that features established leks and fixed perches/spots for the main key targets. This makes it an excellent option for bird photographers and birders who want to maximize their chances of seeing and photographing iconic, hard-to-find species under optimal conditions. These are birds that are often extremely difficult—or nearly impossible—to observe consistently in normal circumstances.

By contrast, our Medellín Birding Tour is a more exploratory and adventure-driven experience, conducted on a mountain near Medellín. In that tour, chance and luck play a significant role. It offers the excitement of discovery and the possibility of seeing a wide variety of bird species across different habitats, but without guaranteed sightings of any specific species.

In short, these are two very different but highly complementary experiences, depending on what you are looking for certainty and iconic targets versus exploration and diversity.

For this reason, we always recommend combining both tours—doing each one allows you to enjoy the best of both worlds and get a richer, more complete birding experience in the Medellín region.