Quetzal and Highland Expedition Bird Watching Tour

The Resplendent Quetzal is a bird species that everybody wants to observe. Although it is not easy to find it at all. There are only two places in Costa Rica where you can observe to epic Resplendent Quetzal, these places are MonteVerde and San Gerardo Dota. Our bird watching tour takes place at San Gerardo Dota. Located approximately 3 hours from the Manuel Antonio Park area. The Dota area reaches approximately 2700 meters sea level of altitude. This altitude makes this place to be one of the most amazing areas for birds in our beautiful Costa Rica.

History of San Gerardo Dota:

When Costa Rica was still an unexplored country by naturalists, the local people started to notice about the abundance of flora and fauna. This fact gradually made our country began to attract the attention of many scientists, due to the reports of various new species for science. Then later a couple of botanists, students from Harvard University arrived to Costa Rica for an orchid investigation in the San Gerardo Dota area.

In their scientific publication, these botanists included a special note which mentioned how incredibly abundant Resplendent Quetzal was at this valley. Later this article caused several naturalists to start coming to this area, during the 70's for observing the birds, especially the Resplendent Quetzal.

In addition to the Quetzal, San Gerardo Dota has an immense population of birds, with very high presence of endemic species that have evolved at the highest mountains of Costa Rica. All of this makes this place to be definitely a great location for birdwatchers. Even non-bird watchers will highly appreciate the fantastic birdlife of the area and will be delighted with breathtaking views of these beautiful mountains besides finding the elusive Resplendent Quetzal, more than 200 species have been recorded in the Tropical and Subalpine Cloud Forest of San Gerardo de Dota and Cerro de la Muerte.

About the tour

Once we arrive at San Gerardo Dota, we start our bird watching adventure searching for different species, especially the Resplendent Quetzal. The first hours of the morning happened to be the best time of the day for finding the elusive Resplendent Quetzal, while they perch on the some of the trees eating fruits like the little avocados.

Later in the morning, we will take you to the typical ranch of Doña Miriam for enjoying a delicious breakfast, this place is also well known for the large number of birds that come to perch nearby, which makes it an excellent attraction for photographers who can easily photograph the many beautiful birds after having enjoyed a delicious typical costa rican meal.

Visiting San Gerardo Dota and the surrounding areas may be the best option for a bird watching trip in Costa Rica. As we continue the adventure, we visit several specific places at San Gerardo. Our idea is to complete the best bird watching expedition as possible.