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BOLIVIA

Birdquest's Bolivia birding tour explores one of South America's less-well-known birdwatching venues, but one that surely deserves more recognition given its superb avifauna and wonderful scenery. Our Bolivia tour achieves comprehensive coverage and records many great specialities, including both Red-fronted and Blue-throated Macaws.

Monday 8th October - Tuesday 23rd October 2012
(16 days)

Blue-throated Macaw Extension to Saturday 27th October (4 days)

Leader: Eustace Barnes

Group Size Limit: 9

Tour Category: Easy to Moderate

There are not many tours with two endemic macaws! In Bolivia, as well as searching for the spectacular beast to the right, we will be looking for the endemic Red-fronted Macaw in the valleys of the dry interior (Matt Denton)

Lying astride the widest part of the Andean Cordillera and spilling down through a maze of tortured hills and valleys into the Amazon and Paraná Basins, Bolivia is the poorest, highest, most isolated and least developed of all the countries of South America. With 65% of its population belonging to a score of indigenous groups, it is the most ‘Indian’ nation in South America and is still one of the least affected by external customs and values. Aymara women, wearing voluminous, multi-coloured, multi-layered skirts and the characteristic bowler hats imposed on them in the 18th century by the king of Spain, toil diligently in the fields or sell their wares in the local markets.

Formerly famous for its revolutions (Bolivia can still claim more revolutions than years of independence!), Bolivia is now amongst the most democratic countries on the continent and offers some of South America’s least known yet most exciting birding. Three and a half times the size of Britain, yet with a population of under eight million (most of whom inhabit the altiplano), a wealth of pristine forest still remains. Although 60% of the country is actually in the lowlands, it is the Andes which make Bolivia such an exciting place to visit. The Bolivian Andes are some of the highest and most awesomely spectacular of all, harbouring a high concentration of little-known endemic, near-endemic and restricted-range species. Amongst the huge snow-capped peaks and volcanoes the magnificent Andean Condor is still a regular sight soaring over puna grasslands, bogs and lakes. On their eastern flanks these impressive mountains fall rapidly away through Yungas ‘cloud forest’ into luxuriant subtropical forests or arid, cacti-dominated valleys before reaching the eastern lowlands.

This great diversity of habitats is reflected in a bewildering array of birds. From huge rheas and tiny seedeaters in the lowland pampas and cerrado to noisy macaws and toucans in tropical forests, irresistible hummingbirds and gaudy tanager flocks in Andean valleys, secretive antpittas and tapaculos hiding amongst the highland bamboos, a wealth of ground-tyrants on the puna grasslands and flightless grebes and pink flamingos on high altitude lakes, Bolivia offers even veteran South American birdwatchers a marvellous experience, and all this amongst some of the most awe-inspiring scenery on Earth! Ours is the most comprehensive Bolivian specialities tour available. Join us for some of the best birding South America has to offer!

Our journey begins gently in the bird-rich eastern lowlands at Santa Cruz where the habitat and avifauna are reminiscent of the pampas and cerrado of central Brazil. We then travel westwards to the dry deciduous forests around Samaipata, the cactus-clad canyons of the arid Comarapa valley and the cloudforests of Siberia (no, not that big cold place!), where we will be looking for such endemics and near-endemics as the rare Red-fronted Macaw, Bolivian Earthcreeper, Light-crowned Spinetail, Rufous-faced Antpitta, Grey-bellied Flowerpiercer and Bolivian Warbling-Finch.

Our journey into the Andes continues with a visit to dry valleys and remnant Polylepis woodland near Cochabamba where specialities include Black-hooded Sunbeam, Wedge-tailed Hillstar, Maquis (or Iquico) Canastero, Rufous-bellied Saltator, Cochabamba Mountain-Finch and Citron-headed Yellow-Finch.

From here we descend slightly into temperate and subtropical forest on the Chapare Road, where some of Bolivia’s most exciting birding is to be found, including such species as Black-winged Parrot, Blue-banded Toucanet, the spectacular Hooded Mountain-Toucan, Black-throated Thistletail, the gorgeous Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Bolivian Tyrannulet and White-eared Solitaire.

After returning to Cochabamba, where we will find the endemic Bolivian Blackbird, we continue west and climb again through puna grassland and deep canyons before descending to the town of Ururo and flamingo-haunted Lake Uru-Uru at 3700m. From here we head off to the remote town of Inquisivi, one of only two known sites for the endangered endemic Bolivian Spinetail, and then continue to Chulumani to look for the near-endemic Scimitar-winged Piha and Slaty Gnateater in some beautiful Yungas forest.

We will continue our exploration of the Yungas in the Coroico area before ascending to La Paz on the spectacular Coroico Road, all the while looking for such special birds as Diademed Tapaculo and Yungas Tody-Tyrant. During the final part of the main tour we will be based in the eyrie-like city of La Paz from where we will explore the Andean bogs at La Cumbre at 4600m, the high altiplano and Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake on Earth) in search of the restricted-range Short-winged Grebe, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe and the endemic Berlepsch’s Canastero.

During the optional extension we will fly northeastwards to the Pantanal-like region of Trinidad. Here, in the Llanos de los Moxos in the province of Beni, we will go in search of the ultra rare and spectacular Blue-throated Macaw. Only a hundred or so pairs of this magnificent species survive and seeing this ‘megabird’ will be the main goal of our visit. Interestingly, four other species of macaw make a living here, including Golden-collared, and we will also see a host of other new lowland birds, including such specialities as Orinoco Goose, Plain Softtail, Hudson’s Black-Tyrant, Dark-throated Seedeater and the endemic boliviensis form of the Velvet-fronted Grackle. The mixture of grasslands, palm savanna, gallery forest and seasonally inundated woodland surrounding our hacienda holds an amazing variety of waterbirds and raptors.

Birdquest has operated tours to Bolivia since 1992.

(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)

Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels/lodges are of normal Birdquest standard throughout. Road transport is by small coach or minibus and roads are variable in quality (there are some long drives on unsurfaced and often bumpy sections).

Walking: The walking effort is easy to moderate.

Climate: Rather variable. At low and middle altitudes many days are warm or hot, dry and sunny, but it is sometimes cool and overcast. At high altitudes conditions range from cool to decidedly cold. It may rain at times and it can be rather humid in the lowlands.

Bird Photography: Opportunities are worthwhile.

Tour Price: $4420 Santa Cruz/La Paz. Post-Tour Extension: $1680. Price includes all transportation (including La Paz-Trinidad return flights), all accommodations, all meals, bottled water, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.

Single Room Supplement: $437. Post-Tour Extension: $130.

Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.

Spectacular scenery, such as at the Illampu Massif, near Lago Titicaca, is commonplace in Bolivia (Matt Denton)

View Map Download Detailed Itinerary 509kb

Report From August 2010 Report From October 2007/November 2007 89 photos View Gallery Photos From BOLIVIA

The spectacular and critically endangered Blue-throated Macaw will undoubtedly be top of our wants list (Matt Denton)

The unusual White-tipped Plantcutter will be another target in the dry interior (Matt Denton)

We will also seek out the endemic Berlepsch's Canastero (Matt Denton)

... and seek out the prized Green-throated (or Straw-backed) Tanager from the humid forests of Chapare (Matt Denton)

We should also find some widespread but scarce species such as Masked Duck (Matt Denton)

... and Jabiru, from the pantanal-like savannas of the Trinidad area, where the sheer numbers of birds are incredible and the birding superb (Matt Denton)

We will also experience the Bolivian way of life and culture - these are Aymara Women (Matt Denton)

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