Bolivia Photography Tour: Andean Cloudforest and Macaw Country

Arrival in Santa Cruz de la Sierra comes with an airport transfer to your hotel, where the tour gathers in the evening. Bolivia's commercial capital serves as an easy gateway, offering more direct international connections than La Paz, with flights from the United States, Brazil and Argentina. A colonial red-tile centre meets fast-modernising glass and concrete, and the city sits where Amazonian rainforest, dry Chaco, Andean cloudforest and open savanna converge. This calm, practical first stop precedes the birding that starts the following morning.

Breakfast is included before a morning of birding in Cerrado-like savanna near Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where grassy plains, sand dunes, scrub, trees and pools provide habitat for the restricted-range White-bellied Nothura and the near-endemic Bolivian Slaty Antshrike. A generic lunch at a local market follows, then an afternoon flight to Riberalta in northernmost Bolivia, where the lowland phase begins with a two-night stay. The evening closes with a generic dinner.

Starting with breakfast, the day heads into short-stature woodlands near Riberalta, where a patient search targets the localised Masked Antpitta in a poorly known area that may hold surprises. Attention then turns to the cerrado east of town, worked for the retiring Ocellated Crake, Rufous-sided Pygmy Tyrant and Black-masked Finch, while surrounding rainforest with Madeira-Tapajos affinities adds tinamous, potoos, parrots, puffbirds, woodcreepers, antbirds, fruitcrows, becards, euphonias and tanagers. Lunch in a local market and dinner follow.

A final morning of birding around Riberalta brings the Amazonian chapter to a close, with time in humid forest and cerrado at the Cerrado-Amazon junction before the flight south. After a market lunch, the flight from Riberalta to Trinidad opens the Beni province. On arrival, the afternoon is spent exploring the Trinidad region, a first look at the Pantanal-like Llanos de los Moxos, with seasonally flooded grassland, palm savanna and gallery woodland offering a relaxed introduction to the days ahead.

Starting with breakfast, the route heads along Loreto Road through palm savanna and gallery woodland for a focused search for the Critically Endangered Blue-throated Macaw, where Blue-and-yellow, Red-and-green, Golden-collared and Chestnut-fronted Macaws may also appear. Trinidad Wetlands birding follows, covering marshes, oxbow lakes, open meadows and gallery woodland, with targets such as Orinoco Goose, Hudson's Black Tyrant, Plain Softtail and Fawn-breasted Wren, plus possible Capybaras. Lunch in a local market and dinner close the day.

After breakfast, birding around Trinidad explores Beni floodplain habitats like marshes, oxbow lakes, meadows and pastures, targeting Orinoco Goose, Hudson's Black Tyrant and possibly Chaco Eagle, plus gallery woodland species such as Plain Softtail, Fawn-breasted Wren, Unicoloured Thrush, Velvet-fronted Grackle and Sulphur-bellied Tyrant-Manakin. A local market lunch precedes the flight from Trinidad to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, closing the Llanos de los Moxos leg, followed by dinner.

An early road transfer climbs into the Andean foothills toward Refugio Los Volcanes, an ecolodge near Samaipata set among towering red cliffs beside Amboró National Park. After breakfast, most of the day is given to cloudforest birding on arrival, adding a first afternoon in the forested basin beneath immense red sandstone sugarloaf domes. Near-endemics and mixed flocks offer a taste of what the following day holds, and the secluded wilderness trails make for a calm introduction to the Andes.

Breakfast precedes a morning on the Refugio Los Volcanes birding trails, where the dawn chorus may reveal Gray-throated Leaftosser, Rufescent Screech-Owl, Dusky-green Oropendola, Yungas Manakin, Ochre-cheeked Spinetail, Guira Tanager and possibly the endemic Bolivian Recurvebill. The entrance road offers easier walking and sightings such as Amazonian Motmot, while deeper trails into Amboró National Park pass steep forested slopes, a waterfall and chances for plants, lizards, Tapirs or monkeys. Lunch and dinner are taken locally, followed by night birding around Los Volcanes for Band-bellied Owl, Rufous Nightjar and Ocellated Poorwill.

After breakfast, the road transfer from Los Volcanes climbs from sandstone domes into higher-elevation forest, targeting the elusive Short-tailed Antthrush before reaching a crater lake ringed with dense reed beds, where Masked Duck family parties and Least and Pied-billed Grebes are often present. The route continues through a picturesque Andean farming valley, with cultivated and fallow fields, scrub and deciduous woodland where rare Mitred Parakeets move through cornfield country. Lunch is a generic local market stop, followed by dinner, before the overnight stay in Samaipata.

Birding begins in a remnant Podocarpus forest, a stronghold for the rare Tucuman Amazon and Red-faced Guan. After breakfast and a market lunch, the route continues from Samaipata toward Saipina, crossing into the Rio Mizque floodplain. The transfer itself is rewarding, with open scrubby hills offering chances at Olive-crowned Crescentchest, Bolivian Warbling Finch and Huayco Tinamou, while Dot-fronted Woodpecker and Giant Antshrike are sought in the valley. Andean Condors often soar overhead. The night is spent around Saipina.

Breakfast is included before visiting the Red-fronted Macaw Reserve in the Rio Mizque valley, where the rare Bolivian endemic Red-fronted Macaw crosses between feeding and roosting areas and the endemic Cliff Parakeet also lives. A generic lunch at a local market precedes the transfer to Comarapa, a provincial town beneath the Siberia massif with a balmy inter-montane climate and easy access to Amboro National Park cloudforests; arrival may allow initial exploration. A generic dinner follows.

Breakfast is followed by birding through the red and orange canyons around Comarapa and Tambo Canyons, where cactus-covered hillsides hold the endemic Bolivian Earthcreeper, before an evening search for Scissor-tailed Nightjar and Tropical Screech Owl. A market lunch precedes the climb to Siberia Cloudforest in Amboro National Park, a high ridge of epiphyte-laden trees above bamboo, where mornings offer clear views and afternoons bring mist. The undergrowth echoes with Rufous-faced Antpitta and Trilling Tapaculo, flowering bushes draw Violet-throated Starfrontlet and Tyrian Metaltail, and the descent adds Grey-bellied Flowerpiercer and Red-tailed Comet. Dinner closes the day.

After breakfast, a long drive from Comarapa to Cochabamba crosses the Siberia watershed into dry valleys, with birding stops along the way. The route focuses on Polylepis gullies, where searches may reveal the endemic Black-hooded Sunbeam, Wedge-tailed Hillstar and Rufous-bellied Mountain Tanager. A generic lunch in a local market and a generic dinner round out the journey. The day combines scenic travel with targeted birding before arriving in Cochabamba.

Birding along the Quillacolla Road climbs past Cerro Tunari toward a 4000m pass, where targets include the endemic Cochabamba Mountain Finch, Giant Conebill, Wedge-tailed Hillstar and high-Andean boulder-field species. The Chapare Road then descends from puna through elfin, temperate and subtropical forest toward Villa Tunari, seeking Hooded Mountain Toucan, Upland Antshrike and Yungas Tody-Tyrant. Breakfast is included, with a generic lunch at a local market and a generic dinner available.

Birding along the Quillacolla Road climbs past Cerro Tunari to a 4000m pass, seeking the endemic Cochabamba Mountain Finch, Giant Conebill, Wedge-tailed Hillstar and high-Andean boulder-field species. A market lunch breaks the day. The Chapare Road then rises from the Cochabamba valley across puna before descending through elfin, temperate and subtropical forest toward Villa Tunari, targeting Hooded Mountain Toucan, Upland Antshrike and Yungas Tody-Tyrant. Breakfast and dinner are included or arranged separately.

Birding along the Quillacolla Road climbs past Cerro Tunari to a high pass, where Cochabamba Mountain Finch, Giant Conebill and Wedge-tailed Hillstar are sought among boulder-field species. A market lunch precedes the Chapare Road, which rises from puna and descends through elfin, temperate and subtropical forest toward Villa Tunari, targeting Hooded Mountain Toucan, Upland Antshrike and Yungas Tody-Tyrant. Breakfast and dinner are included or arranged separately as noted.

An early outing near Cochabamba targets the endemic Bolivian Blackbird, typically found singing in introduced eucalyptus trees, along with the range-restricted Brown-backed Mockingbird. Breakfast is included before the road transfer from Cochabamba to Inquisivi, crossing puna habitat with stops for Ornate Tinamou, White-winged Cinclodes, Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail, Cordilleran Canastero and Puna Yellow Finch. Lunch is taken at a local market, and dinner closes the day.

Breakfast is included before searching Inquisivi's dry forest, one of few remaining sites for the Critically Endangered Bolivian Spinetail, with a newly described Green-cheeked Parakeet form, dry-country woodland birds, and another chance at Black-hooded Sunbeam. A generic lunch in a local market follows, then the road transfer from Inquisivi to La Paz, with puna stops en route for canasteros, miners, ground tyrants and yellow finches, closing the high-country birding before the tour turns toward the Yungas. Arrival frames La Paz, the highest capital city on earth, in its amphitheatre beneath Mount Illimani. Dinner is generic.

After breakfast, travel from La Paz to Coroico along the Coroico Road, descending from a high puna pass into cloudforest and on to subtropical forest. Birding along this Yungas gradient focuses on the region's specialities, with stops through changing habitat. Lunch is a generic local market meal, and dinner is included separately. The route pairs the dramatic descent with focused birding before arriving in Coroico.

Birding along the Coroico Road follows the Yungas gradient, descending from a high puna pass into cloudforest and lush subtropical forest while revisiting Yungas specialities. Breakfast is included, with a generic lunch at a local market and a generic dinner available at additional cost. This route through the Coroico Road landscape blends high-altitude and lowland habitats, making it a memorable stretch of birding and scenery.

Breakfast is included before another morning along the Coroico Road, working the middle-elevation Yungas forest for Diademed Tapaculo, Scimitar-winged Piha and other pass specialities. This second chance at the habitat rewards patience and helps fill gaps in the list. A generic lunch in a local market follows, then the drive returns through La Paz and continues to Sorata at the base of the Illampa mountains. Dinner is generic, and the night is spent in Sorata.

After breakfast, search the dry valley beneath the Illampa mountains for the localised Berlepsch’s Canastero, whose large stick nests are conspicuous in taller eucalyptus, with a high-altitude lake adding Giant Coot and Silvery Grebe. At Lake Titicaca, scan the reed edges for Titicaca (Short-winged) Grebe alongside Andean Goose, Crested Duck, Plumbeous Rail and other high-Andean waterbirds, with Puna Snipe a fortunate possibility. A generic lunch in a local market is available, then drive from Sorata and Lake Titicaca to La Paz airport for a late afternoon departure.