Humid and Dry Chaco Tour – 4 nights & 5 days

5 days

Duration

4WD

Vehicle

Wild

This tour of 4 nights & 5 days in the Chaco, will give you some of the best spots for birding in the area, but also good chances to see big mammals, such as Lowland Tapir, Azara´s Night Monkey, Gray and Red Brocket Deers, White-lipped and Chacoan Peccaries.

We will visit unique lanscapes, including salty lakes, that congregates aquatic birds, such as Chilean Flamingo, Coscoroba Swan, Jabiru, Egrets and Herons, and Buff-necked and Plumbeous Ibis. In its thornthy forest, we will find many Chaco endemic birds like Quebracho Crested-Tinamou, Black-legged Seriema, Black-bodied Woodpecker and Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper.

N° of birds expected: 210 – 240 species

Eco-regions and Ecosystems

Humid Chaco: palm savannas, xerophytic scrub forest patches, grasslands, marshes, gallery forest.
Dry Chaco: xerophytic, thorn scrub forest, salty lakes, thorn scrub savannas.

Tour Price

Tour Price per person*
One person package	USD 2,500	Euros 2,200
Two people package (one double room)	USD 2,000	Euros 1,750

Other packages available at the green button “Book Now”

INCLUDED

all accommodations on a sharing basis at hotels, lodges or other establishments of a reasonable standard (or best available in the area);	all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) from day 1 (only dinner) to 5 (breakfast and lunch)
all ground transportation from first day to final day of tour;	all costs of local guides;
all excursions and activities mentioned in the itinerary unless specifically stated as optional in which case they will be charged for at cost with prior consent from participants;	all entrance fees for reserves, parks, museums that are part of the itinerary

NOT INCLUDED

International airfare and any airport taxes;

travel and medical insurance;

visa, passport and vaccination costs;

beverages over those stated as included;

optional excursions as defined by the itinerary or excursions not included in the itinerary;

Telephone calls, laundry and other items of a personal nature;

Gratuities to Tour leader and local guides;

Gratuities for hotel/restaurant staff, porters, drivers

Day 1:

We will leave very early (05:00 am) in direction to Laguna Capitán. Early birding at Benjamín Aceval, only 40 km of Asunción (1 hour), where we will see many birds in ecosystems of Humid Chaco, including Plumbeous and Buff-necked Ibis, Black-collared Hawk, Golden-green and Pale-breasted Woodpeckers, Red-legged Seriema, Great-rufous Woodcreeper, Red-billed Scythebill, Purplish and Plush-crested Jays, Black-capped Donacobius, Scarlet-headed Blackbird and Crested Oropendola. Before midday we will continue our travel to Laguna Capitán, and in the afternoon watch birds and wildlife until nightfall. Overnight at Laguna Capitán.

Asunción to Laguna Capitán: 430 km (7 hours max.)

Accomodation:

Option A. Laguna Capitán (rustic accommodation).

Option B. Loma Plata Inn Hotel.

There is Wi Fi conection at Laguna Capitán

Day 2

We will spend the morning birding and wildlife watching at the salt lakes, arriving at Campo María, where we will spend the rest of the day. We will see some of the Chaco endemics: Cream-backed Woodpecker, Crested Gallito, Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, Chaco Earthcreeper, Cinereous Tyrant, Black-capped Warbling-Finch and Many-colored Chaco-Finch. Many waterbirds and shorebirds will definitively increase our list during this day, with great possibilities to see White-faced Whistling Duck, Coscoroba Swan, up to thousands of Chilean Flamingos, Ringed and Brazilian Teal, Collared Plover, Black-necked Stilt, Lesser Yellowlegs, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and many others.

Option A. Laguna Capitán to Campo María: 50 km (1 hour)

Option B. Loma Plata to Campo María: 80 km (1 ½ hours)

Overnight at Laguna Capitán (Option A) or Loma Plata Inn (Option B)

Day 3

Day birding at Chaco Lodge or Filadelfia Reserve (depending on bird activity of the last day, and climate conditions). Filadelfia Reserve will give us a chance to see some species: Greater Rhea, White-bellied Nothura, Golden-green Woodpecker, Black-legged Seriema, Chaco Owl, Olive-crowned Crescentchest, Rufous-fronted and Little Thornbird, Greater-wagtail Tyrant, Masked Gnatcatcher, Blue-and-yellow Tanager, Golden-billed Saltator, Ultramarine Grosbeak, and others.

Laguna Capitán to Chaco Lodge: 70 km (1 ½ hours)

Loma Plata to Chaco Lodge: 90 km (1 ½ hours)

Day 4

Leaving early in direction to Fortín Toledo, where we would visit the Tagua Conservation Project, the breeding project of an endangered mammal, the Chacoan Peccary. During the afternoon, we will visit a Neuland´s Reserve, where there is a good chance to see the endangered Black-bodied Woodpecker, and also mammals such as Chacoan Peccary, White-lipped and Collared Peccary, Chacoan Mara and Azara´s Night Monkey. Overnight at Boquerón Hotel.