The Purplish-mantled Tanager is distributed on the Pacific slope of the western cordillera of the Andes from north-west Colombia to north-west Ecuador. See the distribution map at NatureServe. (The record from Loja in the south is uncertain.) It is found in wet, mossy forest at between 1,500 and 2,200 metres.

It is mainly a rich purple-blue with a bright yellow throat and a chestnut crissum.

It is classified as Near Threatened by Birdlife International because of habitat loss within its restricted range.