Hidden in a small mountain town in Colombia is a bird-watching wonderland

 

A green honeycreeper is spotted in the forest near Minca. Photo by Brian Roth

Shortly after 6 am, I wander into a sunny clearing near the mountain town of Minca with a small flock of gleeful birders holding cameras and binoculars. A symphony of exotic birds singing unfamiliar melodies wafts through the humid air.

Suddenly, a flash of bright blue darts across a nearby tree, followed by an eye-popping yellow streaking through the soft morning light. High in a tree, an aracari toucan appears with its dazzling green, orange, and red beak on full display. A wave of excitement ripples through the group that includes my father. His eyes sparkle with joy as we wait for the next exotic visitor.  

“There are three species of toucan in this ecosystem and that one is the most beautiful toucan on the planet,” says biologist Tony Martin, who’s worked as a bird watching guide for 37 years. “Colombia is magic for birds and every year new species are found.”

Nestled in the lush tropical forests of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta near Colombia’s Caribbean coast, Minca is a haven for bird watchers and nature lovers. The small town of about 800 people is located 45 minutes from the bustling city of Santa Marta and provides a welcome retreat from the suffocating coastal heat with numerous waterfalls and hiking trails to explore, along with a few small coffee and cacao farms.  

Colombia is the world’s top birding destination, boasting more than 1,900 species across the country’s diverse habitats that include the Andes, Pacific Coast, Caribbean and Amazon rainforest. In the Sierra Nevada region alone –  which stretches from the Caribbean coast to the tallest coastal mountains in the world, more than 600 species of birds can be found. Around 350 of those can be spotted in and around Minca, where the main drag bustles with tourists, locals and wild dogs begging for food.

My father is a passionate bird photographer, which is the main reason I came to Colombia for two weeks with my mother and partner. In 2023, the four of us went to Costa Rica – a destination that had been on my father’s wish list for several years due to the variety of birds. The trip left him wanting to see more exotic birds in South America.

The plan was to spend one day in the historic city of Cartagena before hopping into a private car for the five-hour drive east along the coast to Minca. After two days in Minca, my partner and I would spend four days trekking through the jungle to Colombia’s famous Lost City, then reunite with my parents to explore Tayrona National Park near Santa Marta.  

When I told my friends I was going to Colombia, most of them responded with the same question: are you sure it’s safe? It’s a question I also pondered since the only thing I knew about Colombia is that it produced a lot of drugs and coffee. But I heard good things from travellers who had recently been there and after doing some more research, I discovered it has a well-established tourist route that’s been around for more than 20 years.  

For several decades, the country was plagued by fierce internal conflict that largely kept the tourists away. However, things began to change in the early 2000s when the Colombian government started reclaiming control of previously unstable regions. A historic peace agreement in 2016 between the government and the country’s largest guerrilla group marked another turning point, leading to newfound stability.

Since then, the number of tourists visiting Colombia has grown substantially, and in 2024, the country broke its own tourism record with approximately 6.7 million foreign visitors. Bird watching has also become a major niche industry since the peace agreement opened previously inaccessible areas, attracting an estimated 15,000 visitors annually, according to Colombian tourism and conservation studies. Still, some areas, such as the Colombian-Venezuela border and the southern border of the Amazon region, remain too dangerous for travellers.

Thanks to security improvements after the peace agreement, bird watching enthusiasts can now spend weeks in remote parts of the country, but prime birding locations are also found near some of the biggest cities like Medellin and Cali. According to Martin, Minca is one of the safest places in Colombia since tourism fuels the local economy. It’s also ideal for first-time birders because the area is easy to access and packed with an impressive variety of species in a small area, such as colourful toucans and motmots flicking their long tails like a pendulum. Bird watching here is an effortless front-row seat to one of nature’s most spectacular shows.

After marveling at the aracari toucans, our flock of gleeful birders wanders deeper into the countryside until we arrive at a tiny café. Outside, the owners have set up a feeder with fresh fruit. It’s a buffet for birds, with flashes of green, blue and red darting back and forth between the trees and fruit. Each one is more dazzling than the last.

“Ahh look – another parakeet!” shouts Martin, his eyes sparkling with excitement, even though he started watching birds when he was five years old. “My father was a bird watcher. He always carried me on piggy back to see birds. Now, I have been to several countries looking for birds, but I am still learning every day – you never finish.”

Within 90 minutes, we spot more than 30 species of birds, but the real highlight is watching birders watch birds. My father’s face lights up like a Christmas tree every time he sees a new species. The rest of the group has the same delightful expression glued to their face.

“I love birds. Half the joy is listening to them sing,” says my father, as he takes another photo with his fancy camera and long lens. “The trees around us are rustling with birds. Just look at the deep scarlet on that one –  absolutely stunning.”

IF YOU GO:

Getting to Colombia’s Caribbean coast is easy with direct flights from Toronto to Cartagena. To get from Cartagena to Minca, I booked a private car with Juan Ballena, but you can also take a bus. In Minca, there are several tour operators and local guides offering birding experiences, ranging from short morning walks to more in-depth guided tours. I booked my birding tour with Jungle Joe, which has tours every day from 6 am to 9 am. Even though tourism is well established along the Caribbean coast, English isn’t widely spoken so a translate app comes in handy.

- published in the Vancouver Province in March 2026

WATCH: Exploring Minca and Tayrona National Park