Where Wildlife, Photography, and Purpose Come Together
Why travel with us
Expert-Led Experiences
Guided by professionals with over 20 years of field experience.
Tailor-Made Journeys
Every trip is designed around your interests and expectations.
Exclusive Wildlife Access
We work with top locations and local experts for the best wildlife encounters.
Photography-Focused
Designed around light, behavior, background, angles, and timing to capture truly exceptional moments.
Conservation Driven
Your journey supports real conservation actions, protecting wildlife and restoring habitat in the cloud forest we help preserve in the Andean Chocó.
Authentic Experiences
No mass tourism, just real wildlife, meaningful encounters, and genuine local connections.
Numbers Speak For Themselves
At Neotropical Nature & Birding Trips, we blend years of experience in tourism with a genuine passion for sustainability and conservation. We create personalized experiences, designing each tour around our clients’ interests to ensure meaningful and unforgettable journeys.
Mission
We create unique experiences across some of the most exciting and biodiverse destinations in South America. Our aim is to offer truly unforgettable, life-changing journeys that foster a deep connection with nature—exploring remarkable habitats, breathtaking landscapes, and gaining an authentic understanding of local cultures.
Guided by a strong commitment to responsible tourism, we believe travel is a powerful tool for promoting environmental awareness and conservation. Through every journey, we share our passion for nature while actively supporting local conservation initiatives and long-term sustainable development.
At Neotropical Nature & Birding Trips, every experience is carefully customized, with each tour designed around our clients’ individual interests, expectations, and goals.
Our Approach
We focus on delivering well-designed wildlife experiences that balance observation, photography, and respect for natural environments.
Our work supports local conservation efforts while maintaining a low-impact approach in the regions where we operate.
Our Conservation Work
Conservation is part of our daily work. Through our own reserve, we are involved in habitat restoration and the long-term protection of native ecosystems.
We also support local conservation initiatives and operate with a low-impact approach, aiming to reduce and balance the environmental footprint of our expeditions.
Our team
Gabriela Zambrano
Born and raised in Ecuador, Gabriela earned her degree in Biology from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. She became involved in tourism in 2008, working as a naturalist guide in the Amazon, where she developed a lasting interest in sharing nature with others. In 2013, she received a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a Master of Science in Phytopathology at the University of Florida.
As Operations Manager at Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips, she combines her background in biology with her field experience to help design and coordinate the company’s tours. She also advises travelers on how to make the most of their time in Ecuador, tailoring each experience to their interests.
Santiago Salazar
Born in Quito, Santiago began his career as a resident guide at Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, where he developed a strong interest in birdwatching and tropical ecology. He later participated in environmental education programs and wildlife research projects focused on bird monitoring and conservation in the Chocó Bioregion and the Galápagos Islands. He studied Ecotourism and Hospitality, obtaining his National Tour Guide License.
With over 24 years of experience, Santiago now leads nature and birding tours across South America, including Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, and Peru. His broad field experience and enthusiasm for wildlife photography make him an inspiring guide for travelers seeking to explore the region’s biodiversity
Juan Carlos Calvachi
Juan Carlos Calvachi is one of the most experienced tour guides in Ecuador with 23 years of experience with nature, birding and cultural tours. He is part of our family, having traveled together and sharing many adventures to amazing destinations in Ecuador and South America.
His love for the country, his knowledge and good sense of humor will make your visit a truly enjoyable memory that will remain in your thoughts for ever.
Juan Carlos Figueroa
With Mexican roots but raised in the warm city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Juan Carlos is a passionate biologist and naturalist guide specialized in birding and wildlife photography tours. He is an enthusiastic naturalist with a lifelong interest in wildlife, which evolved at the age of 20 into an absolute fascination with birds. During the last eight busy years he has devoted himself entirely to birding, worked as a guide at different important birding destinations like Bellavista Cloud Forest in northwestern Ecuador and Cerro Blanco in the south and he has also collaborated on bird related studies with Jocotoco Foundation, Cornell University and Chester Zoo. He has traveled extensively to all 24 provinces of Ecuador, leading tours to different parts of the country. Juan Carlos seeks to achieve its dream of encouraging bird conservation and guiding groups of birdwatchers worldwide.
Ricardo Barbosa
Ricardo is one of our Atlantic Forest specialist in Brazil, He is a journalist by profession, although his life took a turn in 1989, when he decided to make a drastic change in life style to pursue his true passion for birds and nature. Living in Brazil all his life has served him as a major school in the world of birds and conservation, and allowed him to build up an amazing knowledge of Brazil's natural wonders. Back in the 90's he got his first pair of binoculars and since then he hasn't stopped traveling and scouting new destinations to admire and share the marvelous diversity that his beloved country has to offer with all visitors. He is very professional, accommodating, good humored and easy-going leader, he is the kind of guide that makes life-long friends on every trip he leads!
Jose Enrique Zambrano
José Enrique is our cultural immersion expert, as well as one of our naturalist guides. With over 20 years of experience guiding in tropical rain forests of Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil, he has made an important amount of connections and learned about the ancestral cultures of our region. He holds a degree in Environmental Management and Tourism and is a certified National Guide. He has worked in some of the finest amazon lodges and worked for some of the most successful conservation and ecotourism projects in the Ecuadorian amazon.
One of his passions is designing and facilitating deeply transformational experiences involving the indigenous communities. These journeys combine experiences of the incredibly vast ecosystems with modern and ancestral knowledge to help the traveler connect with nature on a different level.