La Planada

Introduction

La Planada Nature Reserve is owned and managed by Fundación para la Educación Superior (FES) in Cali. It is one of the best known private reserves in Colombia. The reserve covers some 3000 hectares of primary and secondary sub-tropical forest and protects several rare species of birds and mammals.

Getting to the Reserve

Take any bus from either Pasto or Ipiales heading for Tumaco (or Barbacoas) and get off in the village of Chúcunes. From here it is a seven kilometre walk to the reserve. Crossing the river Güiza, continue for about 700 hundred yards until you come to a school; here the track divides. Turn right and keep going to the reserve. From the track you get superb views of Chúcunes and San Miguel. The walk should take just under two hours. Once in the reserve there are two main trails and a number of smaller ones. Firstly, there is the Nature Trail (Sendero Natural) which takes you through excellent forest. However it can fill up with tourists on weekends. A second trail leads off the first by crossing the stream about half way round. This trail leads to El Hondón which is about four hours walk. A guide is recommended for this walk. You must also get permission because being the most pristine area of the reserve a lot of biological studies are carried out here and people using the trail may disturb some of this work. This is particularly the case in July when there is a field studies week.

Birds to Look for

The species most people come to look for at La Planada is the White-faced Nunbird. This rare species is not impossible to see especially along the trail to El Hondón. They tend to move in groups in the understorey and are easily missed. Other species here include several Tanagers, Plate-billed Mountain-toucan, Toucan Barbet (also common at the Río Ñambi NR), Plumbeous and Ruddy Pigeons, Colombian Screech-owl, Hoary Puffleg, Beautiful Jay and Speckle-faced Parrot. Harpy Eagle and Yellow-eared Parrot have both been recorded here but the latter not in recent years and the former, as far as is know, only once. However, it gives some idea to the importance and potential the reserve has to a birder.

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