Two less visited regions of Bolivia not often included in standard birding tours to the country are the somewhat remote Beni region in the north and the semiarid Chaco region in the southeast. The Beni region encompasses a vast area of diverse habitats including Amazonian rainforest near the border with Brazil, vast seasonally flooded savannas, dry cerrado in the northeast, and temperate forest in the Andean foothills. It features a wide variety of birds including a good number of specialties not found in central Bolivia. In contrast, the Gran Chaco region encompasses southeastern Bolivia along with western Paraguay and northwestern Argentina east of the Andes. It has a very different and quite unique biogeography that includes spiny scrublands, deciduous thorny forests dry savanna, and scattered wetlands. It too has its own unique set of specialty birds, many not found in the Santa Cruz area that borders the region. Our eastern Bolivia tour visits these two regions.

The tour begins with a flight from La Paz to the far northern city of Riberalta, located near the border with Brazil. We'll spend most of two days there looking for the endemic Masked Antpitta and some other specialty birds in nearby savanna, cerrado, and rainforest. We then have a rather long drive south to Sadiri Lodge, located within intact temperate forest of Madidi National Park. After spending 3 full days birding this reserve, we'll have another fairly long drive, this time eastward to the city of Trinidad. During our stay there we'll visit a private reserve to seek out the critically endangered Blue-throated Macaw. We then fly to Santa Cruz, where we'll spend a night before heading into the Chaco region. Our base in the Chaco is the town of Camiri, located some 4 hours south of Santa Cruz. During our stay there, we'll spend one full day birding south toward the border with Argentina and one full day birding dry forest in the Andes foothills north of town. We then return to Santa Cruz where the tour ends at the airport.

Tour Considerations

PACE - The pace of this tour is considered moderate but could be intense depending on the preferences of participants.

DIFFICULTY - Birding in the far north around Riberalta is mostly along roadsides with possibly some fairly flat trails. Birding at Sadiri Lodge of about 12 hours is along forested trails. Trails in the lower area are quite easy, while the trail up and down mountain ridges are moderate to strenuous. Some birding is along flat roadsides. The tour also entails a quite long drive from Riberalta to Sadiri Lodge and from Sadiri Lodge to the town of Trinidad of about 8 hours. Birding south of Santa Cruz in the Chaco region is mostly along fairly flat roadsides. Birding in the dry gallery forests there can sometimes be challenging.

CLIMATE - The Beni region of Bolivia has a tropical monsoon climate. During rainy season from October to May, conditions are hot, very humid, and rainy. Some roads can be impassable. Dry season frm June to September is somewhat cooler and has significantly less rainfall. Wet season in the Chaco region is from November to March. During that time temperatures can be well above 90 degrees and the air can be very humid. From April to October days are mostly dry, sunny, and sometimes windy. Nights are generally much cooler than daytime.

BIRD ACTIVITY - Most birds breed in the Beni region during November to April in the midst of rainy season. The nesting season of Blue-throated Macaws is mainly from October to March, but the birds can be seen during dry season. Forest birds are generally very active throughout the dry season. In the Chaco region, nesting activity is mainly from October to March. Breeding activity and bird vocalizations start during late dry season during September and October. Activity is good throughout wet season but drops off significantly during May to August. During those months the best birding is in gallery forests near permanent water.

PHOTOGRAPHY - Getting photos of birds during this tour is mainly opportunistic, but Sadiri Lodge has hummingbird feeders just outide the dining room that are good for photograghing hummingbirds. Birds in the arid Chaco region can sometimes be fairly easy to photograph as they often perch in the open but can be challenging in dry thorn forests.

 

 

 

 

 

• Photos from Past Tours
• Travel Information

BIRDING LOCALES
FOR THIS TOUR

• Aquicuana Reserve
• Camiri Area
• Lagunillas Area
• Riberalta Area
• Riberalta KM 632 Track
• Sadiri Lodge
• Trinidad - Lake Suarez