Bolivia
Lowlands and Andean foothills
Sunday 30 August - Friday 11 September 2009 (13 days)
Our tour to Bolivia concentrates on the wildlife-rich lowlands, and the foothills of the Andes - we keep at or below 4,000m - for a superb introduction to its birds, landscapes and culture.
Bolivia is a landlocked and mostly mountainous country, with some of the most dramatic scenery in the whole of South America, and arguably its best-preserved indigenous cultures. Indeed some of the culture and language that still exists dates from pre-Inca days! The country is famous for having the highest capital in the world - La Paz - but on this tour we'll keep away from the exhausting (to some!) high altitude regions and concentrate on the bird and wildlife riches of the lowlands and Andean foothills, with their cloud forests and dry savannahs.
This tour is being run and led by our good friend Miguel Castelino from Iguazu, who also leads for us in both Argentina and Brazil, and whose knowledge of the wildlife and ecology of South America is superb.
Itinerary
Day 1
We take a scheduled flight from London to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, arriving the next day.
Day 2
As soon as we arrive at the airport in Santa Cruz we will start watching birds in the natural savannahs which surround it. Here we will hope to see Greater Rheas and Red-legged Seriemas, in addition to many common birds of open country.
This tour is being run and led by our good friend Miguel Castelino from Iguazu, who also leads for us in both Argentina and Brazil, and whose knowledge of the wildlife and ecology of South America is superb.
Itinerary
Day 1
We take a scheduled flight from London to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, arriving the next day.
Day 2
As soon as we arrive at the airport in Santa Cruz we will start watching birds in the natural savannahs which surround it. Here we will hope to see Greater Rheas and Red-legged Seriemas, in addition to many common birds of open country.
Price: £ 3,495
Single supp. £ 545 per room
Deposit: £ 400 per person
The price includes scheduled return flights London/Santa Cruz, airport taxes, ground transportation, accommodation on a full-board basis, admissions, local taxes, and the services of the leader(s).
The price excludes holiday insurance, drinks, optional tips to the local guide and drivers, and other personal expenses.
*For an ex-international flight cost (starting and finishing in Santa Cruz), please deduct £ 645 per person from the tour cost.
This trip will be operated in conjunction with Limosa Holidays
Leaders:
Miguel Castelino and Neil Arnold
We drive from the airport to Buena Vista on the humid north side of Amboró National Park. We will search the farmland and savannahs along the roadside for Guira Cuckoo, Brazilian Teal, Campo Flicker, Southern Lapwing and many other charismatic species. In Buena Vista, a sleepy town founded by Jesuit missionaries in the eighteenth century, we will hope to see flights of Chestnut-fronted Macaws and White-eyed Parakeets coming in to roost.
Overnight Buena Vista
Day 3
This morning we will watch birds in the forests around our hotel in search of Russet-backed and Crested Oropendolas, Blue-crowned Trogon, Purplish Jay, Buff-throated and Straight-billed Woodcreepers, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Great and Barred Antshrikes, Fork-tailed Woodnypmph, Yellow-tufted and Red-necked Woodpeckers and numerous other birds. In the evening we will visit a small marsh, called the Curichi Cuajo, hoping to see charismatic Hoatzins, Southern Screamers, Wattled Jacanas and Toco Toucans.
Overnight Buena Vista
Days 4 - 5
After an early visit to the Curichi Cuajo we travel south to Santa Cruz for lunch and from there to Los Volcanes on the south side of Amboró National Park. Los Volcanes is a spectacular lodge cradled between tall sandstone mountains, forest-clad valleys and clear streams. It is home to a wide variety of birds due to its position at the confluence of several major ecological regions.
Among the birds that we hope will delight us in the clearing over the lodge are Andean Condor, King Vulture, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, White-tipped Swift, Turquoise-fronted Parrot, Mitred Parakeet, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet and Dusky-green Oropendola. Along the beautiful trails we will look for forest flocks which may hold Black-goggled Tanager, Ocellated Woodcreeper, Two-banded Warbler, Tropical Parula, Black-capped Antwren and Plain Antvireo. By the streams we will hope to see Black Phoebe, Planalto Hermit, Fasciated Tiger-Heron and Rufous-tailed Tyrant. With luck we may see delightful male Yungas Manakins dancing or a family of Military Macaws fly slowly overhead.
Two nights Los Volcanes
Day 6 - 7
Early morning birding in Los Volcanes may allow us to catch up with a few new birds before we head on to the dry, scrubby region known as the Valles. A stop for lunch in the charming town of Samaipata, the easternmost outpost of the Inca Empire in Bolivia, should provide us with some common garden birds of this area including White-bellied Hummingbird, Glittering-bellied Emerald, Blue-and-White Swallow and the stunning Blue-and-Yellow Tanager. After lunch we continue our journey to Tambo, where just metres from the simple but beautifully-kept conference centre where we stay we should see many typical birds of the Valles region including Bay-winged Cowbird, White-tipped Plantcutter, Black-capped and Ringed Warbling-Finches, Masked Gnatcatcher and Narrow-billed Woodcreeper.
The following day we will visit areas of cactus-scrub and agricultural fields in the valley bottoms (no further than two hours' drive away from our base), in the hope of seeing three endemics - the extraordinarily beautiful Red-fronted Macaw, the little-known Cliff Parakeet and the Bolivian Earthcreeper - in addition to many other wonderful birds.
Two nights Tambo
Day 8
Today's transfer to the pretty city of Cochabamba, the largest concentration of Quechua indigenous people in Bolivia, will take most of the day. However, we will make several stops including a visit to the cloud forests of Siberia (so named because of its cold wet climate during much of the year) where we will look for Scarlet-bellied and Chestnut-bellied Mountain-Tanagers, White-throated Tyrannulet, Andean Tyrant, Bolivian Brush-Finch and many others. Stops in upper elevation dry scrub may enable us to see Fulvous-headed Brush-Finch, Olive-crowned Crescentchest and the fabulous Red-tailed Comet. In the evening we will hope to stop at a wetland near Cochabamba for a range of waterbirds and birds associated with Andean rush-beds. We stay in a hotel with beautiful gardens in the suburbs of Cochabamba.
Overnight Cochabamba
Days 9 - 11
From our base in Cochabamba we will visit a remarkable array of landscapes and birds including upper elevation cloud forests haunted by Hooded Mountain-Toucan, Hooded Mountain-Tanager, Golden-headed Quetzal, Violet-throated Starfrontlet and the endemic Rufous-faced Antpitta. At lower elevations we will search the cloud forest for dazzling flocks of tanagers, flowerpiercers and hummingbirds. The Cerro Tunari mountain will keep us busy for a whole day; here we will visit dry valleys, patches of threatened Polylepis forest and barren puna at high altitude. These habitats are home to numerous endemic and near-endemic species including Cochabamba Mountain-Finch, Bolivian Warbling-Finch, Bolivian Blackbird, Wedge-tailed Hillstar, Grey-bellied Flowerpiercer and Rufous-bellied Saltator. To make the most of the birdwatching we will be starting out early on these days, with picnic lunches in the field.
Three nights Cochabamba
Day 12
We return to Santa Cruz for our flight back to the UK, arriving on Day 13.
Accommodation will be in hotels and lodges, with all rooms en suite.
Numbers: Max. 14 clients
Overnight Buena Vista
Day 3
This morning we will watch birds in the forests around our hotel in search of Russet-backed and Crested Oropendolas, Blue-crowned Trogon, Purplish Jay, Buff-throated and Straight-billed Woodcreepers, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Great and Barred Antshrikes, Fork-tailed Woodnypmph, Yellow-tufted and Red-necked Woodpeckers and numerous other birds. In the evening we will visit a small marsh, called the Curichi Cuajo, hoping to see charismatic Hoatzins, Southern Screamers, Wattled Jacanas and Toco Toucans.
Overnight Buena Vista
Days 4 - 5
After an early visit to the Curichi Cuajo we travel south to Santa Cruz for lunch and from there to Los Volcanes on the south side of Amboró National Park. Los Volcanes is a spectacular lodge cradled between tall sandstone mountains, forest-clad valleys and clear streams. It is home to a wide variety of birds due to its position at the confluence of several major ecological regions.
Among the birds that we hope will delight us in the clearing over the lodge are Andean Condor, King Vulture, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, White-tipped Swift, Turquoise-fronted Parrot, Mitred Parakeet, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet and Dusky-green Oropendola. Along the beautiful trails we will look for forest flocks which may hold Black-goggled Tanager, Ocellated Woodcreeper, Two-banded Warbler, Tropical Parula, Black-capped Antwren and Plain Antvireo. By the streams we will hope to see Black Phoebe, Planalto Hermit, Fasciated Tiger-Heron and Rufous-tailed Tyrant. With luck we may see delightful male Yungas Manakins dancing or a family of Military Macaws fly slowly overhead.
Two nights Los Volcanes
Day 6 - 7
Early morning birding in Los Volcanes may allow us to catch up with a few new birds before we head on to the dry, scrubby region known as the Valles. A stop for lunch in the charming town of Samaipata, the easternmost outpost of the Inca Empire in Bolivia, should provide us with some common garden birds of this area including White-bellied Hummingbird, Glittering-bellied Emerald, Blue-and-White Swallow and the stunning Blue-and-Yellow Tanager. After lunch we continue our journey to Tambo, where just metres from the simple but beautifully-kept conference centre where we stay we should see many typical birds of the Valles region including Bay-winged Cowbird, White-tipped Plantcutter, Black-capped and Ringed Warbling-Finches, Masked Gnatcatcher and Narrow-billed Woodcreeper.
The following day we will visit areas of cactus-scrub and agricultural fields in the valley bottoms (no further than two hours' drive away from our base), in the hope of seeing three endemics - the extraordinarily beautiful Red-fronted Macaw, the little-known Cliff Parakeet and the Bolivian Earthcreeper - in addition to many other wonderful birds.
Two nights Tambo
Day 8
Today's transfer to the pretty city of Cochabamba, the largest concentration of Quechua indigenous people in Bolivia, will take most of the day. However, we will make several stops including a visit to the cloud forests of Siberia (so named because of its cold wet climate during much of the year) where we will look for Scarlet-bellied and Chestnut-bellied Mountain-Tanagers, White-throated Tyrannulet, Andean Tyrant, Bolivian Brush-Finch and many others. Stops in upper elevation dry scrub may enable us to see Fulvous-headed Brush-Finch, Olive-crowned Crescentchest and the fabulous Red-tailed Comet. In the evening we will hope to stop at a wetland near Cochabamba for a range of waterbirds and birds associated with Andean rush-beds. We stay in a hotel with beautiful gardens in the suburbs of Cochabamba.
Overnight Cochabamba
Days 9 - 11
From our base in Cochabamba we will visit a remarkable array of landscapes and birds including upper elevation cloud forests haunted by Hooded Mountain-Toucan, Hooded Mountain-Tanager, Golden-headed Quetzal, Violet-throated Starfrontlet and the endemic Rufous-faced Antpitta. At lower elevations we will search the cloud forest for dazzling flocks of tanagers, flowerpiercers and hummingbirds. The Cerro Tunari mountain will keep us busy for a whole day; here we will visit dry valleys, patches of threatened Polylepis forest and barren puna at high altitude. These habitats are home to numerous endemic and near-endemic species including Cochabamba Mountain-Finch, Bolivian Warbling-Finch, Bolivian Blackbird, Wedge-tailed Hillstar, Grey-bellied Flowerpiercer and Rufous-bellied Saltator. To make the most of the birdwatching we will be starting out early on these days, with picnic lunches in the field.
Three nights Cochabamba
Day 12
We return to Santa Cruz for our flight back to the UK, arriving on Day 13.
Accommodation will be in hotels and lodges, with all rooms en suite.
Numbers: Max. 14 clients