Top
Focus on Brazil


Brazil is a vast country with several distinctly different biomes. Discover them all with Focus Tours: Brazil

Focus on Argentina

The 8th largest country in the world, Argentina offers a wealth of experiences. From the subtropical rain forests of Iguazú Falls to the high Andes. Discover more with Focus Tours: Argentina 

Focus on Bolivia

Bolivia, nestled between Brazil, Peru, Chile and Paraguay, is the poorest and least developed country in South America, but also biologically and culturally the richest, safest and friendliest. Discover more with Focus Tours: Bolivia

Focus on Chile

Chile is the only truly temperate country in the Neotropics, and occupies more degrees of latitude than any other nation worldwide. Perhaps it is not surprising that Chile offers several extremes of the natural world. Discover more with Focus Tours: Chile

Site Search

 

Jaguar Tours

The northern Pantanal is the richest area in the world for spotting Jaguars in the wild and, our naturalist guides are some of the best. Together with our boatmen we can take you into the best areas for jaguars and many other creatures. Read more about Jaguar Tours.

Bird Watching Tours

Douglas Trent is a scientist, bird watcher and wildlife photographer and his be operating Bird Watcing Tours for around two decades now. The tour possibilities in South America are many. Read more about Bird Watching Tours.

Wildlife Photography Tours

Douglas Trent is a wildlife photographer and guides groups of professional, or enthusiastc amateur, photographers and film crews on focused wildlife tours. Read more about Wildlife Photography Tours 

Funding Conservation

 

A percentage of our profits has been funding in-country conservation projects since 1981. They directly benefit the local communities we visit and, when possible, are self-sustable, generating benefits long after our initial donation. Your visit will benefit you, the environment and your hosts.

EASTERN LOWLANDS: Jesuit Ruins, Wetlands, & Chaco



Santa Cruz, at 1,400 feet, is Bolivia's second largest and fastest growing city. While it has little of interest outside of several three-toed sloths in the city square, it is the place where most tours start. Jesuits were some of the first Europeans into the region, and recently restored missions can be seen in the towns of Concepción, San Jose de Chiquitos, and others. Each mission is similar yet distinctly different, and history buffs will want a look.

To the north of Santa Cruz lie a couple of areas of particular interest to the nature enthusiast and bird watcher. Wetlands around the Japanese rice growing village of Okinawa 1 and Okinawa 2 support specialties including Ringed Teal, Yellow-breasted Crake and Yellow-collared Macaw. The region is reminiscent of Brazil's Pantanal, on a smaller scale.

Continuing further north and a little west one arrives in Buena Vista, at the base of the impressive Amboró National Park with its Amazonian flora and fauna in the lower altitudes. Zig-zag Heron, the strange Hoatzin, Scarlet, Red-and-Green and Blue-and-Yellow Macaws, White-backed Fire-eye and other impressive birds occur with Brazilian Tapir, Bare-ear Marmoset, Dusky Titi Monkey, Common Squirrel Monkey, Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth, Collared Tamandua, Jaguar and other mammals. Like many of Bolivia's parks, access is difficult but the lower part of the park can be entered here.

There are some simple accommodations in Buena Vista. The park stretches up the Andean foothills to the west. Only hiking in from the old road to Cochabamba, which we will discuss later, accesses this cloudforest section.

The new Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park along the border with Paraguay is one of Bolivia's newest. It covers more than 20,000 miles, or 8.6 million acres, and is now the largest protected block of highly endangered dry forest worldwide. Giant Anteater, the newly discovered Chacoan Peccary, Giant Armadillo and several other mammals, along with a great variety of birds live here. The park is so new that no tour group has been there, and yours could be the first.