Bolivia Birdwatching Tour

Welcome to Bolivia! We’ll pick you up from Viru Viru Airport and transfer to our comfortable city hotel in Santa Cruz.

Since most international flights to Santa Cruz arrive very early in the morning, you will be able to check in to the hotel right away to get some rest. For those who are keen, or simply can’t sleep, we’ll have the option of a gentle morning of birding around the Viru Viru Airport grasslands after breakfast. Here we have a chance to spot Greater Rhea, Red-winged Tinamou, Greater Thornbird, and White-bellied, Tawny-bellied, and Rufous-rumped Seedeaters.

After a welcome lunch at the hotel, we will head out to the Santa Cruz Botanical Gardens. This impressive site is far from an ornamental garden: it’s a 186-hectare slice of native Chiquitano Dry Forest, home to an impressive array of birds and mammals. This afternoon we’ll be hoping to get our first endemic species, the Bolivian Slaty-Antshrike, relatively common in the gardens. Other targets include Fawn-breasted Wren, Plush-crested and Purplish Jays, Buff-bellied Hermit, and Green-cheeked Parakeet. We will also be able to observe wild sloths and monkeys, including the near-endemic White-eared Titi Monkey. After spending the afternoon birding the dry forest trails of the Botanical Gardens, we will return to the hotel for a well-earned rest.

This morning we’ll head to the southern edge of Santa Cruz to spend the morning birding Lomas de Arena Municipal Park, a small protected area home to a rich array of ecosystems including wetlands, savannah, and dry forest. We will spend the morning slowly birding the entrance road to the sand dunes, hoping for specialties including Red-legged Seriema, White-eared Puffbird, White-bellied Nothura, Red-winged Tinamou, White Woodpecker, Chotoy Spinetail, Toco Toucan, and Chalk-browed Mockingbird.

After lunch in Santa Cruz, we’ll head west out of the city to our base for the next two nights, Refugio Los Volcanes.

Located on the edge of the megadiverse Amboro National Park, Los Volcanes is an oasis of nature and tranquility, and the perfect base from which to explore this interesting confluence of Andean and Amazonian ecosystems. Surrounded by imposing sandstone monoliths and endless jungle, the backdrop of the lodge is as beautiful as anywhere you’ll stay in South America, while the homegrown coffee and delicious meals will make us feel right at home and fuel us up for some world-class birding. With a bird list of nearly 500 species, Los Volcanes is one of the top hotspots in Bolivia.

We will get off the bus at the viewpoint above the Refugio, and slowly bird our way down to the lodge in the afternoon, hoping to add some of the key targets here to our list right away.

Today we will spend the entire birding enjoying the stunning forest trails and viewpoints of Refugio Los Volcanes, while we target some excellent birds including the reclusive Bolivian Recurvebill, the delightful Slaty Gnateater, and the skulking Bolivian Tapaculo. Mixed flocks should produce good numbers of tanagers, flycatchers, and other forest birds, while we’ll keep one eye on the skies for Military Macaws, Green-cheeked Parakeets, and large groups of jays and oropendolas. The river below the Refugio should get us Riverbank Warbler, Sunbittern, and Black Phoebe.

We’ll spend a second night at Refugio Los Volcanes, hoping for clear skies so we can try out some night photography; the backdrop of the sandstone monoliths makes for some excellent star shots.

We’ll start bright and early this morning with more birding along the Volcanes trails, choosing our route based on any key targets we may be missing. After a late breakfast, we’ll pack up and head out - stopping along the entrance road for any bird activity - en route to our hotel for the night in the small town of Comarapa. Before arriving in Comarapa we’ll stop in the drier valleys to search for Bolivian Earthcreeper.

After lunch and check-in in Comarapa, we’ll spend the afternoon birding the stunning cloud forest Siberia road, which includes some excellent Yungas forest habitat and a good number of endemic and range-restricted species. Our target birds for Siberia include Black-hooded Sunbeam, Rufous-faced Antpitta, Light-crowned Spinetail, Black-throated Thistletail, Bolivian Brushfinch, Blue-capped Pufflef, Green-throated Tanager, and Gray-bellied Flowerpiercer.

Overnight in Comarapa

This morning we’ll spend more time birding the Siberia cloud forests and surrounding ecosystems, hoping to add more endemic species to our list. After a morning of birding, we will transfer from Siberia to the Red-fronted Macaw Reserve, stopping on the way for the Bolivian Earthcreeper if we don’t manage to see it the day before.

The Red-fronted Macaw Reserve is the best place on earth to observe these critically endangered and endemic macaws. With a population of just over 1000 individuals, confined to the dry Inter-Andean valleys of Bolivia, this is one of the rarest species we will observe during the trip. The reserve is run by the Armonia Association and protects 50 hectares of dry forest habitat, including important nesting cliffs for the macaws. After arriving in the afternoon, we will bird the area in front of the cliff faces hoping for close-up views of the macaws.

Today we will enjoy a full morning of birding at the Red-fronted Macaw Reserve. As well as the iconic macaws, we should be able to observe localized species like Gray-crested Finch, Ringed Warbling-Finch, Red-tailed Comet, and endemics like Bolivian Blackbird and Cliff Parakeet. Andean Condors often soar in the thermals above the imposing cliffs at mid-morning, and we can observe at least seven parrot species with luck.

After lunch at the reserve, we will transfer to Cochabamba. This Bolivian endemic hotspot will be our base for the next two nights as we set out to explore the surrounding Yungas forest, high-altitude puna grasslands, and polylepis forests.

On our first day in Cochabamba, we will visit the dry valleys and polylepis forests north of the city. Birding the road before the San Miguel Polylepis Forest should give us our first sightings of Bolivian Warbling-Finch and Cochabamba Mountain Finch, along with other range-restricted species like Maquis Canastero, Wedge-tailed Hillstar, Olive-crowned Crescentchest, and Rufous-sided Warbling-Finch.

As we bird our way up the road, we’ll keep an eye out for Andean and Mountain Parakeets, which can sometimes be seen feeding in roadside bushes. At San Miguel Polylepis Forest we’ll keep searching for the Mountain- and Warbling-Finches, along with Giant Conebill, Tawny Tit-Spinetail, Puna Tapaculo, Rufous-bellied Mountain Tanager, and Black-hooded Sierra Finch.

After lunch in the field, we will continue higher up the mountain road to get our first real taste of the puna ecosystem on the Cerro Tunari road. Here we will be searching for high-altitude specialists like ground-tyrants, cinclodes, miners, and yellow-finches. We also have a good chance here for Andean Goose, Glacier Finch, and Andean Condor. Scanning the boulder fields could - with luck - net us a real star species: the rare and restricted Boulder Finch. Depending on our luck, we can bird lower down the road again the late afternoon before returning to our Cochabamba hotel for dinner.

Today will be an early start as we head east of Cochabamba to the Yungas forests of the Miguelito Substation Road. Yungas forest consists of a narrow band of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes in Bolivia, Peru, and northern Argentina

At these slightly lower altitudes, we will have our first real chance for Yungas specialties like Yungas Tody-Tyrant and Yungas Manakin, as well as important Bolivian species like Upland Antshrike, Green-throated Tanager, Stripe-chested Antwren, Bolivian Tyrannulet, White-eared Solitaire, Unadorned Flycatcher, Slaty Tanager, and Versicolored Barbet. Toucans and tanagers can be abundant in fruiting trees, and we will be paying extra special attention to the possibility of the extremely rare Yellow-rumped Antwren.

After a full day of birding these lower Yungas forests, we’ll board the bus and drive back to Cochabamba.

This morning we’ll drive the same road out of Cochabamba, stopping closer to the city to bird the higher-altitude Yungas cloud forests of the Corani road. This fragment of cloud forest is home to some truly special species and we’ll be hoping for our first looks at some special endemics.

Our first stop is just before the road entrance in search of Bolivian Antpitta, Black-chinned Thistletail, and Black-hooded Sunbeam before we head to the road for a full morning’s birding. Here we will be hoping for large mixed flocks containing specialties like Orange-browed Hemispingus, Fulvous Wren, Blue-and-black Tanager, White-eared Conebill, and many more flycatchers, tanagers, and cloud forest species. This road is also an excellent spot for the highly localized Hooded Mountain-Toucan, a near-endemic Bolivian species.

In the afternoon we’ll drive back to La Paz to catch our evening flight to La Paz. If we arrive in Cochabamba with time to spare, we’ll make a short visit to Laguna Alalay for ducks, grebes, and a chance for Wren-like Rushbird. When we land in La Paz, we will transfer to our comfortable downtown hotel, our base for the next two nights.

We’ll depart from La Paz after breakfast and drive north out of the city. Our first stop will be at La Cumbre, a high-altitude puna lake where we will be able to observe Giant Coot, as well as various species of ground-tyrants, miners, and cinclodes. After a stop at La Cumbre, it’s on to the Pongo area, where a gentle hike will lead us to a polylepis woodland where we’ll be looking for the range-restricted Scribble-tailed Canastero and Stripe-headed Antpitta.

After birding around Pongo, we will drive down to Jucumari Lodge, a new birding hotspot that will be home for the next two nights. In the afternoon we will bird the trails around the lodge, before settling in to enjoy the spectacle of Bolivia’s first antpitta feeding station, which is attracting a near-endemic Rufous-faced Antpitta to feed on worms.

Today we’ll dedicate a full day to exploring the many different ecosystems to be found at Jucumari Lodge. Where we go birding will depend a lot on the species we’ve seen already on the tour, but we have the chance for at least 6 endemic species here, along with a whole host of localized and near-endemic birds. We can also sit and enjoy the hummingbird feeders, which are attracting Gould’s Inca, Amethyst-throated Sunangel, White-bellied Woodstar, and Tyrian Metaltail.

We’re saving the best for last today as we set out bright and early from Jucumari to spend a full day birding one of the world’s most iconic roads: the famous Death Road. This epic single-track road snakes through the untamed forests of the Yungas, and is home to many of Bolivia’s rarest birds. Don’t let the name worry you; when the road was the only route from La Paz through the Yungas, its macabre name was well-earned, but it only plays hosts to mountain bikers and intrepid birders these days. And the birding is world-class!

We’ll start the day’s birding by heading about 45 minutes to the best spot to stake out the extremely rare Scimitar-winged Piha. While we bird this section of the road hoping for the piha, there’s also a good chance for Yungas Pygmy Owl, White-eared Solitaire, Buff-thighed Puffleg, Long-tailed Sylph, Blue-banded Toucanet, White-collared Jay, Chestnut-bellied Mountain Tanager, and, if we’re lucky, the elusive Chestnut-crested Cotinga.

We’ll eat lunch in the field before heading back up the road to a slightly higher altitude, where we’ll be searching for Hooded Mountain-Toucan, Rufous-capped Thornbill, Golden-collared Tanager, Bolivian Antpitta, and a trio of tricky hemispingus species: Drab, Three-striped, and the near-endemic Orange-browed. We’ll spend the rest of the day birding the upper reaches of the road before heading back to La Paz for our final night.

Today we will depart early to escape the bustle of La Paz. Our destination: Sorata, a small mountain town a few hours north of La Paz, and the only place on earth to find Berlepsh’s Canastero. This highly localised endemic is only known from the scrubby treeline forest above Sorata, so that’s where we’ll be heading. Along with the canastero, we’ll also have a shot at Black-throated Flowerpiercer, White-winged Black-Tyrant, Tifted Tit-Tyrant, and Cinereous Conebill.

We’ll take as much of the morning as we need to find the canastero, before driving back to spend the afternoon with some laid-back birding on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable body of water and one of South America’s largest lakes. We’ll be birding from the dock of a local hotel, and this will put us in prime position for photographs of the endemic flightless Titicaca Grebe, which can often be seen at a distance of just a few meters. Along with the grebe, we’ll be able to spot Slate-colored Coot, Puna Teal, White-eared Grebe, Andean Gull, and Wren-like Rushbird. The incredible Many-colored Rush-Tyrant is also possible here, but if we don’t get it, Our guides have a good spot to try for it on our way back to our new charming lodge located on the lakeside of Lake Titicaca, where we will spend our last night.

Today we will spend the entire morning spotting additional highland and aquatic species around our lodge and along the eastern bank of Lake Titicaca. We will focus on the different complementary species not yet observed: Ornate Tinamou, Least and White-tufted Grebe, Andean Hillstar, Chilean, Andean and James's Flamingo, Spot-winged Pigeon, Short-eared Owl, Andean Swallow, Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail, Paramo, Puna and Correndera Pipit, Puna Miner, Rusty Flowerpiercer, Three-striped Hemispingus, Yellow-winged Blackbird, Grassland Yellow-Finch, Andean Negrito, Peruvian Sierra Finch, Bright-rumped Yellow-Finch, and Greenish Yellow-Finch. After lunch, we will head back to the international airport of La Paz for your flight back home.