If you check any website for a listing of the best birding lodges in Colombia, Montezuma Rainforest Lodge will likely be on the list. The lodge is located in the Andes about three and a half hours northwest of Pereira. It is on the Montezuma Road which is the only road leading into PNN Tatamá (National Park). The lodge is also the only accommodation in the park and sits right at the point where the road enters the park.
The lodge is all about birding. Birding is either right at the lodge or along the Montezuma road as it climbs from the lodge (around 4,000 feet) to its ends at the military installation (around 7,000 feet). Something like 550 species have been seen from the lodge to the military installation.
I met my friends from Austin, Arman and Paige Moreno and A.J. Johnson, in Pereira on May 1. The driver from the lodge then drove us up the rough road until we arrived at mid-afternoon.
We followed the recommendations of the lodge owners and spent three nights at the lodge. The recommendation for birding was to spend three full days at it by starting at the top of the Montezuma Road and working your way down. So we spent the first day beginning where the road ended at the military base and worked our way down about 1/3 of the road. On the second day we birded the middle part of the road and the final day birded just a few kilometers up from the lodge. While it may not seem particularly varied, the habitat changes at different altitudes and so do the birds. The road was steep and rocky, and the walking was difficult at times. Riding in the vehicle was part of the adventure.
For all three birding days, we had a guide who, although he did not speak English, knew all of the names of the birds in English. We also had a driver who was skilled in driving over this rough road. For breakfast and lunch we had a motorcycle meal "delivery" from the lodge.
I am trying not to overload this and the following posts with too much text or too many photos. For this one, I have pulled out some of the best.
The first stop at the military installation and our travel vehicle throughout our visit.
Although we didn't see any military, we did see these cute and curious foxes waiting for us by the entrance.
View from the top
The trail from sun to fog. Arman trailing closely behind our guide. In the fog, Paige, Arman and AJ cruising down the road.
A few of the many stunning birds.
Velvet-purple Coronet
Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonia
Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer
Golden-ringed Tanager
Moustached Puffbird
Scaled Fruiteater
Rufous-gaped Hillstar
The view is incredible. Love all of the birds!