A pair of White-throated Toucans display at Chalalán Lodge. Photo: Rich Hoyer
Just a few years ago, birding in Madidi National Park meant arranging an expedition, hacking new trails and camping. Now a delightful new lodge, Chalalán, allows us to stay in comfort in the midst of undisturbed Amazonian rainforest where bird and animal populations are undiminished. The rooms of the beautifully built cabins are clean, airy and surprisingly insect-free thanks to the hard work and dedication of the lowland Quechua community of San José de Uchupiamonas, the sole owners and operators of Chalalán Lodge. Built with local materials and with minimal impact to the surrounding area, this well-run ecotourism project has given the once declining subsistence community the chance for a sustainable future. The beauty of staying at a jungle lodge is that we can begin and end our birding days right outside our rooms, with time left over for afternoon siestas and sit-down meals. We’ll be able to bird much of the lodge’s network of well-maintained trails and witness the amazing diversity of birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles and amphibians found in the tropics.
This tour can be taken in conjunction with our tour Central Bolivia: The Specialties of the Andes and the Valle Zone.
Day 1: The tour starts this morning on arrival at the El Alto Airport of La Paz. We’ll board our one-hour flight to Rurrenabaque, where any light-headedness from the elevations of El Alto will disappear immediately. Our hotel is located on the Beni River, and we’ll have the rest of the day for catching up on sleep or exploring the many tourist shops on our own. Night in Rurrenabaque.
Day 2: We’ll begin the day with some light birding on the hotel grounds, where Yellowish Pipits and Cattle Tyrants forage on the lawn and Creamy-bellied Thrushes, Yellow-browed Sparrows and Chestnut-bellied Seedeaters can be found at the edges of the property. We’ll then board outboard canoes for the approximately six-hour boat ride upriver to the lodge. As we motor toward the distant Andes we’ll pass through the spectacular Bala Gorge, a slice through an outlying ridge that forms the dramatic backdrop of Rurrenabaque’s skyline. Beyond this ridge we’ll turn up a smaller river, the Tuichi, where we’ll have excellent views of the many White-rumped and White-banded Swallows, Drab Water-Tyrants and Pied Lapwings, as well as Red-and-green, Blue-and-yellow and Chestnut-fronted Macaws flying overhead. After we dock, it’s about a 30-minute easy walk on a wide trail from the river to the lodge, and the lodge’s crew will shuttle our luggage via wheelbarrow. There will be some time for birding near the lodge after we settle into our rooms. Night at Chalalán Lodge.
Days 3-8: Chalalán Lodge is located on the shores of an unusual, deep, freshwater lake, and watching the birdlife from the clearing near the lodge buildings is always a delight. A large troop of Hoatzins lives along the shores of the lake, and each evening they venture past the cabins to forage in the forest canopy. Near the kitchen a large tree usually hosts a boisterous Red-rumped Cacique colony, and Black Caracaras often visit to prey on unattended nests; in the trees just outside our cabins we’ll likely find a family group of Lettered Araçaris. On some days we’ll opt to take peaceful boat rides around the shore in search of kingfishers; the forest edge here is ideal for seeing such birds as Bare-necked Fruitcrow and toucans, while a nighttime paddle might yield a Ladder-tailed Nightjar.
There are far too many miles of trails for us to cover them all in a week. One trail drops through low-lying swales where birds typical of flooded forests occur, such as Plumbeous Antbird and Cinereous Mourner, while canopy flocks could have Turquoise, Green-and-gold, Masked and Opal-rumped Tanagers. In 2004 and 2005, we found the rare Silky-tailed Nightjar, a regular bird here according to our local guides. Another series of trails follows the shoreline, where we’ll hear the croaks of the rare Black Caiman, and the forest is home to such species as Dwarf Tyrant-Manakin, White-bellied Pygmy-Tyrant, Screaming Piha, Blue-crowned Manakin and Dusky-capped Greenlet. Yet another trail climbs the ridge beyond the lake where more exciting possibilities await us, including Gould’s Jewelfront, Rufous-breasted Piculet, Razor-billed Curassow and Curl-crested Araçari. On one day we may take a longer hike to sample the birdlife at the Raya Mayo (“Stingray Creek” in Quechua) and Eslabon River and on another day a short boat ride to see a mineral lick visited frequently by a herd of White-lipped Peccaries.
While birds will always be our main focus, the rain forest has much to offer in natural history experiences. We’ll always have a local guide who knows the trail conditions, and when we are between mixed flocks and territorial birds we’ll get a chance to learn a lot about the plants and their medicinal uses. Several species of monkeys are possible, with Red Howlers and Squirrel Monkeys both common, and Tapirs are said to be common, though fresh tracks are the only guarantee for this shy, nocturnal animal. On sunny days Amazonian Whiptails can be found on the lodge grounds, while more retiring anoles and treerunner lizards could be encountered in the forest understory. We’ll have to be very lucky to see any snakes, but the harmless Amazonian Tree Boa and the Banded Cat-eyed Snake are not all that rare. On our night walks we could also see some fascinating amphibians, such as monkey tree frogs and the bizarre Suriname Toad, and we should at least hear Crested, Spectacled or Black-banded Owl. Tropical butterflies are always beautiful to look at, and we can set up some bait to attract them for better views and photos. If we’re lucky enough to come across an army ant swarm, we’ll have a good chance of seeing not only Black-spotted Bare-eye and White-throated Antbird but a little-known group of fascinating skippers that can be found only near such communities. Nights at Chalalán Lodge.
Day 9: We’ll leave the lodge this morning for our boat ride back to Rurrenabaque (a quicker trip downstream), where we’ll board our flight back to El Alto with a transfer to our hotel in the city of La Paz. There are no birding activities planned for this afternoon, and participants are free to explore the city on their own. Night in La Paz.
Day 10: Flights back to the United States leave early in the morning, and the tour concludes on our departure from the El Alto Airport.
Updated: 15 April 2006
Prices
- 2006 price about $3,060
- Single Occupancy Supplement $310
Notes
* The 2006 Amazonian Bolivia: Chalalán Lodge and Madidi National Park tour price, correctly noted above, has been changed since the publication of the 2006 WINGS catalog.
Maximum group size is eight participants with one leader.