INFORMATIONS
PRICE : XXXX $US for 8 people (see the price grid in our Detailed Informations page).
Tour duration : 11 days.
Tour date : October 2018.
Group size : 4-10 people with a "Tour Leader".
Tour Leader : Vincent MOURET.
Arrival : Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Departure : La Paz.
Lodging : Hotels and lodges from "standard" category to "superior" category. Hot water and electricity are available 24 hours a day except at the Colibri Hotel in Inquisivi.
Pace : Moderate (a few walks in muddy and/or steep terrain, a few hours of roadside birding above 4000 m).
Possible extension : Bolivia - The Eastern Lowlands (TFB_BOLIVIA_002_THE EASTERN LOWLANDS).
Potential number of species : 250 - 300.
Photography : Moderate opportunities.
Included : all transportation, internal flights, lodging in double rooms with private bathroom, all meals except dinners in La Paz, multilingual tour leader, drinkable water.
Not included : International flight, travel insurance, visas, airport taxes, entrance fees for some sites, alcoholic beverages, tips, dinners in La Paz, "single" occupation (for the price, please refer to the Detailed Informations page).
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Bolivia is a big country with many interesting sites and ecosystems. We have decided to split our ornithological offer in two circuits. The Yungas & Altiplano will make you discover the altitude sites in the western part of the country.
We have tailored a birding circuit of a little over 10 days to visit the vast majority of the andean ecosystems of this magnificent country. We will travel the bolivian Andes and its precipitous landscapes. The snow-capped tortuous cordilleras host a large concentration of endemics and localized species. Be it in the luxuriant depths of the humid Yungas or the thorny slopes covered in cacti, we will look for these specialties eagerly. Finally we will climb the deep canyons leading to the huge Altiplano, a high and cold wind-swept plateau at more than 4000 m.
Days 1-2-3. The tour will start in the rich colonial city of Cochabamba, which we will reach after an internal fligh from Santa Cruz de la Sierra. This large city is the starting point of the famous Chapare road, one of the most incredible forest altitudinal gradient in South America. Amidst these verdant Yungas (subtropical forests) we will look for species such as the rare Masked Antpitta or the beautiful Hooded Mountain Toucan.
Day 4. We will momentarily leave the humid tropical forests of the Andes to climb the arid Liurini valley along the road to Quillacollo to reach the paramo at the feet of the mighty Cerro Tunari and look for the endemic Cochabamba Warbling-Finch and the extremely rare Wedge-tailed Hillstar.
Days 5-6. We will then keep on visiting the Altiplano and the area around the city of Oruro. The famous lake Uru Uru hosts the three south american Flamingo species. We will then have rendez vous with the extremely localized and endemic Inquisivi (or Bolivian) Spinetail before tracing our steps back to the Yungas near the capital city of La Paz.
Days 7-8-9. In the Apa Apa reserve, Coroico, Cotopata or Chulumani, we will keep our exploration of the bolivian Yungas. We will look for the endemic Black-throated Thistletail, the Orange-browed Hemispingus or the discreet and rare Scimitar-winged Piha.
Days 10-11. After a night in La Paz we will wrap up this magnificent circuit with a visit of the world-famous Titicaca Lake and observe its endemic Grebe: the Titicaca Grebe followed by a short visit to Sorata, the only site to observe the endemic and highly localized Berlepsch's Canastero.
BOLIVIA
Yungas & Altiplano