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malcolmb177
The gardens are small,but WOW the work that goes into feeding hundreds of hummers is incredible.A visual delight a feast for us to see.
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JimCF
Disclaimer: my wife and I are huge hummingbird fans and have traveled to 10 countries so far on trips to see hummers primarily. Still, Leonor has created a magical place which teems with life, with 36 hummingbird feeders and many other fruit and seed feeders bringing in all sorts of life. It's clear when you visit that she takes great joy in her garden and in sharing it with visitors. It's a beautiful place and well worth an excursion from Bogota. You will be amazed.
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StuartOswald
I had been staying in the nearby town of Villeta when I was reminded by friends of this place that I had first heard of through a program called Wild Colombia with Nigel Marven (Episode one of four). It was an easy location an easy an easy enough location to find. For those travelling from Bogotá it is a very easy journey. There is a fairly regular private bus service from Bogotá bus terminals. In recent times the main road has been resurfaced and widened. Travel time from Bogotá's exterior to this location should be easily reachable inside one hour. However before hand the Enchanted Garden's website didn't offer usable location information. Emailing the listed email address resulted in no reply. However calling resulting in great and friendly information in Spanish. Arriving at the location there's parking on a public dirt road. The road is not busy and at the time of my visit (midday), parking was fine. Ringing the bell got a prompt welcome and brief guide along with a pamphlet giving some nice but general information on the garden and birds. We received an introduction from the owner whom's present a the property most days. The introduction was fine however it did just come across as impersonal, scripted and motionless. The owner obviously must be repeating this introduction many times everyday so it is understandable. She did take a brief opportunity to point out a few different species. The fee is overpriced compared to other attractions. But does offer richer Westerners a truly unforgettable experience. Viewing the Hummingbirds couldn't be any better. There's a stretch along the side of the house that is covered and separated from the birding garden. There's a bench to sit too. The bird feeders (filled with syrup) are so close they are almost an arms stretch away. The number and verity of birds is breathtaking. Photo opportunities are endless. Countless number of birds are coming and going. There are some rare species (smallest Hummingbird) are a little less common, so be ready with your camera to snap them. A small but advisable tip is the utilize your cameras burst mode. The birds move so fast it's impossible to take any meaningful picture without using your camera's burst mode. Another small tip is to stand at the end of the viewing stretch with your arms raised out slightly. I found that a few birds flew past between my body and arms, beautiful. Try not to use the whole time taking pictures, just watching a feeder for a few minutes will amaze you. During the visit I easily managed to be entertained and amazed for almost an hour. Children might find this a little difficult whilst remaining quite. It is a wonderful environment and clearly a functioning home for the owner. During my hour here, roughly a dozen or so people came and went. A wonderful opportunity to observe such wonderful birds in concentration. It's great even if you are not a bird enthusiast.
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AuntySqueeze
What a magnificent display of humming birds. A bird lovers paradise! I have admired hummingbirds for many years, more because we do not have them here in Australia. We were thrilled to see that this tour existed through Tourism Bogota. Even though it is only 47km north of Bogota, it took the best part of 2 hours to travel the windy road but we weren't complaining as that meant we got to see some 'real' Colombian countryside. The family have been feeding humming birds for over 20 years. The lady told me it took almost 6 months to entice the first bird to feed from her feeders. Things have certainly grown. She claims to have more than 65 of the countries 123 species of humming birds, which I have no doubt about! She can identify them all. Her husband happily potters maintaining their garden, while talking to his parrots at the entrance!Having the sound of the river flowing past at the bottom of their garden adds to the ambience. The constant chatter of the birds makes it quite noisy. Who knew humming birds were noisy? There were several other very colourful species of fruit & nectar eating birds at the fruit feeding tray to add to the experience. A truly magical place which the passionate owners thoroughly enjoy sharing with visitors. I would certainly go back. Yes, to the previous reviewer, we saw the huge flock of cattle egrets nesting a short distance away. There were also black vultures there, which I had never seen before. :-)
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Glaciergirls
Just down the road from the main square of San Francisco de Sales, a village about an hour by car from Bogota, is the 'Jardin Encantado' or Enchanted Garden which attracts many species of hummingbird that exist in Colombia. It is a very special place, well worth the visit where you can walk along a terrace just a few feet from where many hummingbirds feed. Apparently, rainy days are a good time to visit, as it is more difficult to get nectar from flowers then. There is a small brochure in English/Spanish with some information. While walking down the road from the village, look out for the trees filled with hundreds of egrets nesting to the far right, just beyond where some houses are being constructed.
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RicardoM310
In the Litle town of San Francisco, 47 Km from Bogota,in a spectacular Road,you come to a Facinating place to watch Humingbirds,in a wonderful setting.It is a place that can not be missed if you like nature and Birds .
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Maek218
In December, during coffee harvest (2 times a year), we went to Jardin. Jardin, in itself, is wonderful - the climate, the people (pleasant and helpful), the town (attractive and clean), a real square (so much going on, especially before Christmas and it has WIFI), the church, and the amazing country side that surrounds Jardin. Planning for our trip we were frustrated by the difficulty of finding, on line, information about true farm families that rented a room in their house to tourists, provided meals, and a wonderful agro turismo experience that included learning about the coffee harvest. The offerings were boutique hotels in coffee country that offered day trips to nearby farms. That is fine for some people, but we wanted to meet & spend time with a Colombian family - I had lived in Colombia many years before and the best part of Colombia is its people.By asking at the Jardin Town Hall we luckily found one. Thanks Chepe! We had a wonderful two night stay. The bed was more comfortable than the hotel bed in Jardin (check them they might be hard). Ruben Dario Bedoya Zapata and Maria Gladys even offered us their bed. Meals were wonderful. The location spectacular. They went out of their way to make our stay enjoyable and we learned a lot. Speaking some Spanish is helpful, though they are very patient. A motocarro can take you there or Ruben will come and get you. All this at a very reasonable price. It was one of best moments of our 18 day trip to Colombia that was filled with wonderful experiences. Ruben's place is called Canopy La Maria (he also has a small zip line) can be reached at agroturismojardin@gmail.com He has a cell phone number if you need it.If you are planning to visit Colombia, do it! If you visit coffee country and want a farm stay there are other places like Rubens. In fact there was a diary farm just up the road. They have no way of advertising their existence. Just ask around - taxi/jeep/motocarro drivers is another source of info. Colombians like to be helpful and a $1,000 to $2,000COP tip is always appreciated when appropriate.MK Mattiace & Tad Runge
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JaneBNorfolk_UK
We visited the Enchanted Garden recently, as part of a guided birdwatching tour in Colombia. The owner has been feeding hummingbirds in her garden for some time, but recently a friend suggested she allow the public in to see the birds. It was an amazing experience; one of the most concentrated collections of feeders and hummingbirds I have seen anywhere in the Americas. This is not just for experienced birders; anyone who is at all interested in wildlife would find it fascinating.
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664luzd
Una linda experiencia, emotiva y relajante. Muy reducido el espacio para admirar a estos seres mágicos. Muy poca información para los que no sabemos mucho del tema. No hay un guía o una persona que le cuente a los extasiados visitantes sobre las más de 23 especies que los bebederos de este pequeño jardín atrae. Muy costosa la entrada $12.000 solo por 2 horas, si te quieres quedar más debes pagar $10.000 más por hora adicional. También muy deficiente la señalización para encontrar la casa que queda dentro del pueblo y que muy pocas personas conocen. Vale la pena visitar este jardín.
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JENNYR994
Es un lugar bonito, pero la entrada me pareció un poco costosa considerando el tamaño del lugar y los atractivos que ofrecen, básicamente observar los colibríes en un espacio muy reducido con muchos bebederos de agua. La proporción costo beneficio es desbalanceada.
