Birds of northwest valleys, ravines & Puna
Argentina
Region
Northwest
Season
March to December
Duration
9 days
Briefing
Day 1: Buenos Aires – Tucumán. De los Sosa Ravine and Tafí del Valle grasslands.
Day 2: Tafí del Valle grasslands – Calchaquí Valley scrub.
Day 3: Calchaqui Valley, Monte and thorny bush habitats of Los Cardones National Park.
Day 4: Abra de Santa Laura Pass and cloud forest. Jujuy.
Day 5: Warm valleys and cloud forests in the Yala Lake Reserve - Purmamarca.
Day 6: Humahuaca’s Ravine.
Day 7: Andean Plateau up to La Quiaca (at the border with Bolivia).
Day 8: Visit Runtuyoc and Pozuelos lakes.
Day 9: Jujuy.- Buenos Aires.
Tour description
The northwest of Argentina is a region of amazing natural contrasts and diversity. This trip will be a kind of transect from the Tucuman’s grasslands and cloud forests or Yungas to the Andean Plateau at more than 3,300 m. above the sea level, near the Bolivian border, including explorations and stops through the ravines and canyons covered by enormous cacti and spiny thickets in search of various endemic species.
Among many species we will observe Andean condors, spot-backed puffbird, giant hummingbird, Andean hillstar, Andean swifts, spot-winged falconets, bare-eyed ground-dove, Tucuman mountain finch, rufous-thoroated dipper, torrent ducks, cliff flycatchers, burrowing parrots, white-fronted woodpeckers, sandy gallitos and black-legged seriemas, among dozens of other species.
The lakes and high altitude steppes of the Andean plateau or Puna are home to endemic species to this extreme habitat, such as the Andean flicker, mountain caracaras, the Andean and James' flamingos, the Andean geese, the Puna canastero, the Andean avocet, the diademed sandpiper-plover, Puna miner, the citron-headed yellow-finch and many more.
The land that was once part of the Inca Empire awaits you with numerous birding surprises!