Logistics for Bolivia (1 Viewer)

[njlarsen]

I do not have anything planned at this point, but I did look in the field guide recently and started dreaming. I know there are some lodges in Bolivia but know nothing about where they are or what to expect. Any place where information can be gleaned that anyone is aware of ? Additionally: I have had elevation sickness in the past. How does one avoid that in a country where the largest city (?) is La Paz at more than 11,000 feet elevation?

Niels

 

[THE_FERN]

I've been there. It was difficult to get info. My main source was a set of webpages which I took with me. I'm sure there's better material now... Perhaps start by getting in touch with harmonia.

If you don't want to go high you could go to the Trinidad area for blue bearded macaw and associated (unicoloured thrush). Santa Cruz is a fairly unpleasant affair but the botanic garden is good. Not a million miles from Santa Cruz is hotel Laguna volcan. You can see (e.g.) military Macaw there. Also on the edge of SC are huge sand dunes: this park is quite good too. There's a birding lodge in Madadi NP which you can get to from Rurrenabaque. (Also tours for wetland spp)

Perhaps my favourite city was Cochabamba. From there venture into the Highlands with a taxi to look for (e.g.) Cochabamba mountain finch. Also check the lake for Nearctic migrants and Andean coots etc

More remote is the red-fronted macaw lodge. You can get a taxi (probably bus) to nearby and then walk there. Ditto the palkachupa cotinga village (if you believe in that taxon)

There was a village/valley at the end of a local bus line from la Paz which was good: could see the comet there. (La Paz is broadly horrible but had (weirdly) about the best vegan restaurant I've ever met.)

If not just for birds, sucre and the dinosaur trackways. And of course the salt flats

 

[njlarsen]

Thank you Fern.
My main concern regarding height is that I could be on trouble if flying in to La Paz directly from sea level (where I live). I am pretty certain that with a reasonable planning I should be able to end at the highest areas, but not start there.

Niels

 

[pbjosh]

I have spent time in Bolivia both for alpinism and for birding. Getting around without a vehicle was slow and required paying for private transport to get to remote areas in a time effective manner (the climbing trip). I had a private vehicle when I was birding. I don’t know exactly what is available in terms of transport to some of the key areas - I believe Beni / BT Macaw reserve is basically only via a small flight, I have not been. Getting to Apolo (Inti Tanager, Green-naped Tanager, Pakalchupa Cotinga and more, I have been there) is a few hundred kms from La Paz on mostly dirt roads. If there is a bus it will be infrequent I should think. Once in Apolo, 4WD is necessary to get to the Inti Tanager and the rest of the Madidi NP buffer zone. I think a lot more of Central Bolivia should be doable with a 2WD vehicle but haven’t researched much. To be honest I don’t even know if you can rent a car and self drive in Bolivia?

As far as arrival, take note that the airport is at El Alto at 4000m, even higher than La Paz (3500-3600m). I think you should be able to fly to Santa Cruz directly via São Paulo at least to avoid arriving in La Paz, but have not verified this. Presumably there will be another connection or two - Lima / Bogota / Rio, perhaps even Madrid or Frankfurt or the like? Though in COVID times all bets are off…

 

[leonardo_simon]

If you do plan to fly into La Paz then you would do well finding the lowest (altitude) hotel possible. This will make your altitude sickness less bad.

As mentioned above, the airport is at El Alto which is around 4000m above sea level.

We stayed at a hotel lower down. I think at about 3600m altitude. We survived! But it wasn’t pleasant for the first few days. We all had various degrees of acute mountain sickness.

Flying in to Santa Cruz would be a more pleasant option and you could then acclimatise in a more conventional way!!


Info here may help:

The Medical Expeditions Booklet – Medex

www.medex.org.uk

 

[THE_FERN]

Getting to Apolo (Inti Tanager, Green-naped Tanager, Pakalchupa Cotinga and more, I have been there) is a few hundred kms from La Paz on mostly dirt roads.

... Interested in this. Presumably you didn't mean green-naped tanager (Panama/Colombia border). When I was at apolo think only the cotinga was known.

(Isn't Apolo the nearest town; the cotinga is at a small village some distance away iirc?). There's at least one bus to la Paz from there and yes mostly v v bumpy dirt roads. I arrived from Rurrenabaque direction. There's shared taxis which are frequent /easy

 

[pbjosh]

Presumably you didn't mean green-naped tanager (Panama/Colombia border).

(Isn't Apolo the nearest town; the cotinga is at a small village some distance away iirc?). There's at least one bus to la Paz from there and yes mostly v v bumpy dirt roads. I arrived from Rurrenabaque direction. There's shared taxis which are frequent /easy

Doh! - I definitely mean Green-capped Tanager, not Green-naped, oops.

The Cotinga and Tanager are a short distance from Apolo, closer to Aten. I saw both here: -14.9486,-68.3119. Of note is that White-chested Swift is also pretty reliable in that area, probably the best place to reliably see it that is well known. Apparently there's a site in S Ecuador now somewhere, haven't looked into it.

When I was in the Apolo area I had my own vehicle and drove myself around - so yeah I have no idea on the transit options, other than to comment it's not a high traffic area and didn't look like the kind of place where getting around would be fast / easy.

 

[MiddleRiver]

The climber's rule-of-thumb is to not gain more than 1000ft/day or if going higher, to return to lower elev to sleep. We've been pretty high (almost 19k) with no issues by going slow. While 11k is not a huge deal, it can result in significant discomfort and less commonly in serious pulmonary or cerebral edema. Try to spend a day or two at 6-8k if possible and maybe schedule another overnight stop above that, before going to 11. Diamox also helps tho a nuisance to have to pee all the time. The coca tea seems to help some, tho I've not read of any clinical trials giving real correlation.
Sounds like a blast! Enjoy!!

 

[THE_FERN]

The Cotinga and Tanager are a short distance from Apolo, closer to Aten. I saw both here: -14.9486,-68.3119.

Aten—that's the place ! Did you see Inti tanager / do you know location?

It's just about possible to stay at Aten but I wouldn't recommend unless a) things have changed or b) you're happy sleeping "rough". You can see lots of the cotinga by walking up the steep hill near Aten—where the locals go to get mobile reception. Also swallow tanager. If coming from Rurrenabaque can get "bush taxi" from Caranavi. Be warned this road is bad, and would be a bit of a challenge w your own 2 wd. Onwards travel from Aten to Apolo isn't great but if you've enough time—say up to half a day—then guaranteed [my own escape was an adventure involving drunken Bolivians in a truck with burning tyres].

Supposedly the road north out of Apolo is good for [e.g.] ground cuckoos. I didn't try it. I did walk along the main road S from Aten but didn't see a great deal. Habitat destruction is farirly comprehensive as you can see from satellite photos.

If one's feeling adventurous enough to go to Bolivia, you might consider going the extra mile. Start from Paraguay and go through the Chaco to Bolivia [good road now]; doubtless buses from P to Santa Cruz.

 

[pbjosh]

Aten—that's the place ! Did you see Inti tanager / do you know location?

Yes and yes. Heading downslope from Apolo about an hour of 4WD track (not terrible but not passable for a standard car, a 2WD pickup would be fine as I recall it) direction of Sipia brings you to river crossing which may or may not be crossable. When I was there it was 1m10-1m20 deep and probably 50-80m across, I elected not to drive it though did see a burly looking hilux navigate it well. I waded it, hid my sandals in the bushes, put my sneakers on, and hiked something like 10km further to find the tanager. I have gps but not handy at the moment.

 

[THE_FERN]

Yes and yes.

Where did you get the site info?

 

[njlarsen]

Dear all, thanks for all the answers. Given that I currently have limited vacation time I will likely place this thread into the section of things I need to return to. In the meantime I will likely choose a country/region that has less hassle in getting there/getting around. At a later date I will be more likely to have the time to figure out taxis and other transportation on whatever understanding of time they have there.

I am sure this thread is going to stay informative for a while.
Niels

 

[pbjosh]

Where did you get the site info?

When I went, there was a lot less gen available and details were tricky to come by. I dug some up from some location info from a couple online but obscure sources and combined it with some specific gen very kindly given by friends.

At this point the info is quite a bit better known and more widely spread. Several guides have taken clients and a few more independent birders have gone. I don't know if there are publicly available recordings yet, however? It shouldn't be too hard to find one, I have some if anyone ever needs.

The bird may be seasonal, I went in December and the bird was vocal / obvious once I got there. Here is my eBird list with a bit more detail:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S33126499

 

[THE_FERN]

When I went, there was a lot less gen available and details were tricky to come by. I dug some up from some location info from a couple online but obscure sources and combined it with some specific gen very kindly given by friends.

At this point the info is quite a bit better known and more widely spread. Several guides have taken clients and a few more independent birders have gone. I don't know if there are publicly available recordings yet, however? It shouldn't be too hard to find one, I have some if anyone ever needs.

The bird may be seasonal, I went in December and the bird was vocal / obvious once I got there. Here is my eBird list with a bit more detail:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S33126499

Great thanks. I missed so much in Bolivia—but then I think it's a difficult place to go independently without transport. Suspect this certainly wasn't widely known in 2013 when I was in the area.

 

[DMW]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Birding Bolivia website, which seems to have a lot of quite detailed information on independent birding. I've never been, so can't vouch for accuracy.

 

[THE_FERN]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Birding Bolivia website, which seems to have a lot of quite detailed information on independent birding. I've never been, so can't vouch for accuracy.

Yes that's the one I took with as an offline copy. Unless it's changed since 2013, it was a bit lacking, leaving out some valuable info even about some of the sites it does cover.

 

[Guy Cox]

Hi - if anyone is still interested in logistics of birding in Bolivia, feel free to ask me about specific places. I don't know everywhere, but did spend twenty years in the country...!
;>=