Arco Iris waterfall, Bolivia — Photo: Steve Hilty

An adventurous trip to remote, infrequently-visited regions; scenic plateau surrounded by vast untouched forest and savanna is home to guans, curassows, macaws, and large cats, while drier ranchland and gallery forests support many large, easy-to-see birds, and a rare macaw.

Eastern Bolivia is one of the great wilderness regions of South America. In 1992, a VENT group was the first organized birding group to visit Noel Kempff Mercado Park, a beautiful and remote region dominated by the long, low Serrania Huanchaca. A sample of birds we have seen on three previous trips includes the rare Red-throated Piping-Guan, Ocellated Crake, Horned Sungem, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Snow-capped and Fiery-capped manakins, and Tooth-billed Wren. Waterfalls, imposing cliffs, winding rivers, shrub-dotted savannas, and rainforest stretching to the horizon are but part of this wilderness. From comfortable quarters at a former ranch now inside the park, we'll explore terra firme rainforest, savanna, seasonally flooded or varzea forest, and broad brown rivers.

Nighttime river trips are likely to turn up potoos and nightjars and here, far from the lights of civilization, starry skies are more brilliant than one could ever imagine. The second part of this trip is conducted at the southern end of the park. Here the region is wetter, the forest taller, and the flora and fauna even more diverse. In a nearby large savanna we have observed rare maned wolves several times, and in the forests we once observed four species of cats—jaguar, mountain lion, ocelot, and jaguarundi—in 24 hours! Here we also have found Gray Tinamous, four species of guans, Razor-billed Curassows, Harpy Eagles, large flocks of Blue-and-yellow Macaws, rare Crimson-bellied Parakeets, Red-necked Aracari, Toco Toucan, Amazonian Umbrellabird, and much more.

In 1992, Charles Munn discovered the only presently known breeding area of the very rare Blue-throated Macaw on a large ranch near Trinidad in the Province of Beni, and in 1993 we were the first birding tour to see this bird, once feared extinct in the wild. The Beni region, reminiscent of the famous Pantanal of Brazil, is vast and almost entirely uninhabited, and is a virtually untapped fountain of wildlife. In a single day in 1994 we recorded a record-shattering 213 species of birds. Greater Rhea, Jabiru, screamers, five species of macaws, Great Rufous Woodcreepers, Rufous Cacholote, Mato Grosso Antbird, Purplish Jay, Scarlet-headed Blackbird, and the ambiance and hospitality of an old-style hacienda where we stay are just some of the reasons why this region is a highlight of the trip.

This tour is an adventure and an experience that falls among those we consider "wilderness-type" trips. The logistics of this tour are complex, and the accommodations simple (no camping) and unembellished, but the opportunity to visit and see true wilderness is unparalleled.

Modest to excellent accommodations; excellent food; travel by charter plane and small trucks; moderate pace with relatively easy walking on level trails and roads; temperatures usually warm and pleasant, occasional fronts bring dramatically cooler temperatures and rain.