This lodge is entirely focussed on birdwatching and the hummingbird feeders around the patio are always abuzz with activity (we saw fifteen species). Accommodation is basic, the rooms are very small, but comfortable. The food is not elaborate but lovingly prepared and more than adequate - especially the soups. The manager and all the staff were exceptionally friendly and always willing to help.

Our guide, Gabriel and driver, Antonio, were great fun to be with and Gabriel was very knowledgeable. Antonio was pretty good at spotting birds too, but could speak no English. We went on four trips close by and a little further afield and saw many new birds.

If you are a birder, this is a great place to stay for a few days, but you need a guide for the trips. The lodge has trails but they were steep and slippery and without a guide you will have difficulty finding the birds.

Even if you are not a birder, a day watcxhing the hummingbirds can provide much enjoyment.

We saw a lot of hummingbird feeders at various lodges during our three week stay in Ecuador, but these were the best ever! We spotted 14 species without any effort. They also feed a Giant Antpitta which is great for photographs. The food is good, the trails are good, the rooms are excellent. It's so safe here you don't even get a key to your door! There was a expert volunteer here (Leo) who helped us find birds- including a quetzal- for free. Tandayapa is a must for birders , and it combines well with Mindo which is only an hour away. Our itinerary was organised by Andes Conexion - a brilliant company that helped me massively when I had an accident.

First i have to say, that this report is just about a day trip, which I organized by myself. I had to take a bus at 7:35 and arrived at Tandayapa at 9:20. I did not go all the way from the main street to Tandayapa village but took one of the pick-ups to take me up. The people here are really nice and normally you give them like 25cents for taking you up, eventhough mine didn't want my money... I think this is a really good advice, because otherwise you have to walk over an hour, no matter how fit you are (I'm 16 and very fit!)
So I arrived at the Lodge and went at the very first to the "Hide" hoping to encounter some bird, but I was too late and since there hadn't come people in the last days they hadn't put new food out...
So I went back to the Lodge and then walked down almost all of the trails and even a little part of the Nono-Mindo Road.
Then I talked with a volunteer worker, who soon became my friend and he showed me some birds around the Lodge...
I spent some time, checking the hummers, but I'd already seen them before.
I got a total of 55 birds I could identifie by myself, and many birds, like Furnariids were seen but I couldn't identifie the exact species...
Included in this birds were:
Sickle-winged Guan, Red-billed Parakeet, , 14 hummerspecies, Masked trogons, Red-headed Barbet, Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Powerful Woodpecker, Immaculate Antbird, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, and as a real special bird, because it hadn't been seen since 2006 in this area, a Black Solitaire. All birds were sitting and allowed very good views.
The field-guide "Birds of Northwest Ecuador" is very helpful.
Overall this trip was a full success the only thing that wasn't that good is, that you have to walk alot, if you want to find the birds...

We arranged the 3 day/2 night private birding package with Tandayapa Birding Lodge as part of a 23-day vacation throughout Ecuador. Reservations went smoothly and everything met our expectation of a remote, high altitude “cloud forest” experience. An expert bird guide and driver were provided from Tropical Birding (www.tropicalbirding.com). They were excellent! Over the three days, we saw 175 different species of birds – non stop birding from 5:30 am to sunset at 6 p.m. Well worth the money.

The lodge is inviting and comfortable. The rooms are clean; bedding is basic but there were enough wool blankets to keep us warm. Unfortunately, our room had a damp, mouldy smell which was disturbing. The meals are fixed and the food is not bad, but not the highlight.

Views over the treetops of the forested valley are incredible from the lodge, which is perched 50-60 meters above where vehicles are parked. Fortunately, strong men carried our luggage up the concrete trail to the room. The trails are also often slippery so bring appropriate footwear; also in this wet high altitude environment, it is necessary to be reasonably fit, cautious and agile. Overall, we enjoyed this experience very much.