Coraves Birding and Nature Tours is a family of three, made up of Felipe, Mariam and Ferney, all of them nature lovers and devoted bird photographers. Starting in 2014, we decided to follow our dreams and fight to make them come true. Despite all the obstacles, we succeeded in the development of our project and continue to use all the feedback and experience that our marketplace provides, so that we may continue to grow and improve every day.
Felipe is currently one of our photographic contributors and, despite his young age, has captured with his lens some of the Colombian birds we display in our social media pages. Mariam is in charge of all reservations and makes sure that every tour goes as planned. Ferney is the team leader out in the field and attends public events and business conferences. Mariam and Ferney are both certified as Professional Guides and Business Manager and have more than 20 years of experience in the tourism sector.
Mariam also runs our homonymous Coraves Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), which caters to the needs of low-income people in the regions where we work, supplying them with, among others, bird field guides, binoculars, clothing and books. We also work with local guides who speak at least one foreign language and are known nationwide for their extensive birding knowledge. These local guides join our tour groups out in the field and learn the craft of specialized guidance for the bird tourism industry. So far, we have trained five guides through this process, all of whom currently work with us and other tour operators.
Thanks to bird tourism, every school year Coraves Corporation sponsors one child of the indigenous Wayuu community in the Guajira peninsula.
The sponsored student is provided with his or her uniform, all school materials, personal hygiene products and a monthly meal plan. During the 2020 school year, our sponsored student will be 8-year-old Darío Pushaina (pictured below), who loves school.
We are convinced that the Colombian peace process is the best tool we currently have to incentivize tourists to visit us and help us bring progress to the most far-flung corners of our country. Our birds and gorgeous landscapes, as well as the kindness of our people, are ready to receive tourists with open arms; this is why we developed our «Post-Unrest Birding Tour,» as a way of helping former guerrilla fighters to rejoin civil society and never take up arms again.