A new tour to Colombia for a bonanza of brilliant butterflies to gaze at & photograph!

We are very excited to be launching yet another butterfly tour, to Colombia –  the butterfly capital of the world!

At Greenwings we continue to expand our range of tropical butterfly tours, and are delighted to now offer a unique trip to a butterfly enthusiast’s dream destination, Colombia. The tour is led by two of our most knowledgeable, helpful and enthusiastic guides, both of who have vast knowledge of neotropical butterflies, and have each led numerous previous tours to Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and other South American destinations.

Colombia has been a safe destination to visit for several years now, road travel is generally easy, and there are direct flights available from the UK and many other countries with the national airline Avianca.

The total number of species found in Colombia is officially 3,642, although the true number is probably closer to 4,000, as new species are continually discovered. Whatever the actual figure is the fact is that Colombia is a megadiverse country and is blessed with around 20% of the worlds species! As is usual with Greenwings however, we don’t spend all our time rushing from place to place trying to build huge lists. Instead we give you plenty of time at each site to explore the trails at your own pace, making our trips ideal for those who want to spend more time studying and photographing the butterflies.

On this trip we will concentrate on the cloudforests of tatama NP and the mid-elevation habitats at Santa Maria de Boyaca, where we expect to see a total of around 300 species, including numerous Morpho, Caligo, Epiphile, Callicore, Marpesia, Adelpha, Hamadryas and Heliconius species, a vast selection of Riodinidae from genera including Rhetus, Ancyluris, Caria etc; tohgether with danaines, glasswings, firetip skippers, fascinating hairstreaks, sulphurs and of course plenty of swallowtails and Parides cattlehearts.

The tour begins via Bogota, at Pereira airport, from where we have a road journey of abut 2 hours to a lovely family run ecolodge in the butterfly-rich cloudforests of Tatama national park. All the rooms here have twin beds and ensuite bathrooms with hot showers. The butterfly habitat begins literally at your door, from where there is a single long dirt road that winds its way up to the peak of the mountain. You can’t get lost, so you are encouraged to walk at your own pace exploring and photographing the hordes of buterflies that we’ll attract by baiting foliage along the track. You can spend the entire day on the trail, or can return to relax at the lodge at any time if you want to relax.

After 4-5 days at Tatama, we’ll then transfer to a hotel at nearby Pueblo Rico, which will be our base for another 4 days during which we’ll explore the valley forests, which will provide us with many additional species more typical of mid-elevation rainforest. There is an extraordinary variety of butterfly species in this part of Colombia, which is particularly rich in Riodinidae, and also noted for the wide variety of large showy Nymphalidae. You’ll also see a facsinating variety of grasshoppers, dragonflies and birds, including several hummingbird species.

Eventually we have to leave beautiful Tatama behind and head back to Pereira for our return flight to Bogota, from where we drive east for about 4 hours to Santa Maria de Boyaca. Here we stay at a comfortable hotel in the town, which is at an elevation of 850m, and have daily outings to explore the forest trails and riverside habitats in the area. At the end of the tour we drive back to Bogota for our homebound flights.

Visas:
Currently UK passport holders do not require a visa, but there is a possibility that this could change in the coming months. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have any necessary visa, aswell as a valid passport and any obligatory vaccinations.

Important – Flights:
The tour cost does NOT include international or domestic flights. There are daily flights from Bogota or Medellin to Pereira. Direct international flights to Bogota are available from the excellent national airline Avianca. Please do not book any flights until we give you the go ahead.

Tour style:
Please note that we don’t shepherd you around in a group pointing out and identifying butterflies on the spot. Instead, we encourage you to explore the habitats at your own pace and take time enjoying your photography. In the evenings Adrian will assist with identifications from your cameras and laptops, and we will provide links to pdf files that illustrate a high percentage of the butterflies we are likely to see.

Tour leaders:
Your Greenwings tour leader is Adrian Hoskins, author of “Butterflies of the World”, “1000 Butterflies” and several scientific papers. Adrian has vast experience of neotropical butterflies in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Venezuela, as well as 3 previous tours of Colombia. We’ll also have a very helpful local English-speaking butterfly guide and logistics expert, who will put liquid baits along the trails and foliage to attract butterflies.

Identification Guide

Here is a fantastic and free resource to help guests to prepare for the tour and to help with identifications during or after it.