Jaguar · Pink River Dolphins · Anaconda · Giant Otters · Piranha Fishing · Night Walks · Two Ecosystems
Overview
This is Bolivia’s ultimate wildlife expedition — a single seamless itinerary that moves through two of South America’s most extraordinary and contrasting ecosystems: the deep Amazon rainforest of Madidi National Park and the open waterways of the Bolivian Pampas. Six days, five nights, and a catalogue of wildlife encounters that no single-destination tour can match.
The first three days take guests deep into Madidi National Park aboard a motorised longboat — a 7-hour upstream journey along the Beni and Tuichi rivers to the Berraco lodge, the deepest accommodation inside the park. This is primary, intact Amazonian rainforest: a mosaic of cloud-forest transition zones, gallery river forest, and lowland jungle that biologists consistently rank among the most biodiverse environments on Earth. The programme here is built around jungle trekking to a famous Tapir and Peccary salt lick, night walks searching for Jaguars and Ocelots, sport fishing for Golden Dorado on the Tuichi River, and the full sensory immersion of spending two nights in a place where the nearest road is a seven-hour boat journey downstream.
Days four through six transition to the Bolivian Pampas — a completely different world of open grasslands, river channels, and wetlands along the Yacuma River. Here, wildlife is not hidden beneath a forest canopy but visible on every bank, every sandbar, and every bend of the river. Black Caiman bask at the water’s edge, troops of Capybara graze at dusk, and Pink River Dolphins surface alongside the boat unprompted. The Pampas leg includes piranha fishing, anaconda tracking walks through the grasslands, and after dark, a spotlight boat survey of the river — one of the most dramatic nocturnal wildlife experiences available anywhere in South America.
Together, the two halves of this tour produce a species list that has no equivalent in Bolivia: from shy rainforest mammals visible only on night treks to open-water spectacles witnessed from ten metres away. This is the tour guests return home describing.
Destination Type
Departure time
price includes
price excludes
An early departure from Rurrenabaque by motorised longboat marks the beginning of the expedition. The 7-hour journey upstream along the Beni and then the Tuichi River is the tour’s first wildlife corridor: Kingfishers, Herons, Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers, and occasional Sunbitterns line the banks, while Howler Monkeys announce their territory from the canopy above. Picnic lunch on the river. On arrival at the Berraco lodge — the deepest accommodation inside Madidi National Park — guests are assigned their own traditional Tacana-style huts with hammocks and comfortable beds. An introductory afternoon jungle walk orients the group to the forest environment. Dinner at the lodge.
After dinner: first night trek. The Madidi forest after dark operates on an entirely different register. Led by an expert guide, the group searches for Tapirs, Ocelots, tree frogs, and the arboreal mammals that spend the daylight hours invisible above the canopy. Caiman eyeshine on the river and the calls of nocturnal birds complete the introduction.
After an early breakfast, the morning hike leads through primary forest to the famous salt lick Mirador — a wildlife observation platform positioned above a mineral-rich clearing where large troops of White-Lipped Peccary arrive daily, and where Tapir, Jaguar, and Macaws are regularly recorded. The wait at the platform is one of the most rewarding wildlife experiences in the Bolivian Amazon: the arrival of a peccary herd numbering in the hundreds is a spectacle that experienced naturalists still struggle to describe.
After lunch, the afternoon shifts to the Tuichi River for sport fishing. Using traditional local techniques, guests target Golden Dorado — a powerful freshwater predator reaching over 20 kilograms — as well as Giant Pacu and Catfish. The fishing is catch-and-release; only fish unsuitable for return are kept for the evening meal. The river is also prime territory for large mammal sightings: Jaguar, Tapir, and Giant River Otter are regularly observed from the boat during the fishing session.
Traditional dinner, with fish prepared in bamboo among the options. Evening is open for rest or continued exploration after dark.
A final morning of trekking through the park’s quieter trail sections — often the most productive for rare and shy species. The guide focuses on the group’s wishlist: the endemic Madidi Titi Monkey, Giant Armadillo signs, and deep-forest birds that avoid the lodge trails. Lunch at the lodge, then the downstream boat return to Rurrenabaque (approximately 4 hours). Overnight in Rurrenabaque — the transition night between the two legs of the expedition.
An early morning overland transfer — approximately 3 hours — to the town of Santa Rosa, through open grassland where Sloths are frequently spotted hanging from roadside trees. From Santa Rosa, a short boat trip reaches Caracoles Lodge on the Yacuma River. After lunch and a period of rest, the afternoon opens onto the Pampas experience: a scenic boat ride along the Yacuma River into the heart of one of South America’s most wildlife-dense wetland corridors.
Black Caiman in numbers rarely seen elsewhere. Capybara herds grazing the riverbanks at dusk. Anacondas coiled in the grass just above the waterline. Troops of Squirrel, Capuchin, and Howler Monkeys moving through the riverside trees. Over 300 bird species recorded in the Pampas zone. And surfacing alongside the boat with complete indifference, the Bolivian Pink River Dolphin — one of the freshwater world’s most extraordinary and least-encountered mammals.
The most activity-dense day of the expedition. A morning hike through the Pampas grasslands targets the resident Anaconda population — the Yacuma corridor is one of the most reliable places in South America to find these reptiles in the wild. Specimens exceeding 7 metres have been recorded in this area. The guide reads the grassland by sight and track, and encounters are managed with complete safety.
After lunch, the afternoon moves onto the water for Piranha fishing — the Yacuma River’s Piranha population is abundant and aggressive, and the technique requires nothing more than patience and a strip of meat. The fishing session transitions naturally into the day’s centrepiece: swimming with Pink River Dolphins. The Bolivian River Dolphin (Inia boliviensis) is a subspecies endemic to Bolivian waters and the upper Amazon basin, and the individuals on the Yacuma are habituated to human presence. The interaction — wild, completely voluntary on the dolphins’ part, and unforgettable — is the experience guests consistently describe as the most surprising of their time in Bolivia.
After dinner: night boat survey of the river. Spotlighting for Caiman produces close encounters with individuals of impressive size. Night Monkeys, Brazilian Porcupines, and Pumas are among the species recorded on night boat surveys of the Yacuma.
A final morning on the river — boat survey targeting the large troops of Squirrel Monkeys and Capuchin Monkeys that congregate in the riverside canopy. Both species are gregarious and highly visible in the early morning hours. Lunch at the lodge, then departure by boat back to Santa Rosa and overland transfer to Rurrenabaque, arriving around 5pm. Nick’s team assists with onward flight arrangements.
Our team replies within a few hours. We also speak Spanish and English.
Yes — this is one of the most complete introductions to Bolivian wildlife available. The combination of expert bilingual guides, established lodges, and carefully structured daily activities means guests experience genuine wilderness without logistical complexity. The itinerary is designed to be physically accessible; most activities involve gentle jungle walks and boat-based wildlife watching. A moderate fitness level is sufficient.
May through November — the dry season — offers the most favourable trail and river conditions and the highest concentration of wildlife around water sources. The wet season (December–April) brings spectacular vegetation and amphibian activity but can affect trail access and river conditions on both legs. The tour runs year-round; Nick's team advises on seasonal conditions when booking.
Daily 30-minute flights operate from La Paz (Amazonas). The overland bus alternative takes approximately 18–20 hours on a mountain road. Most guests fly both directions. Nick's team handles flight reservations and coordinates logistics for the full itinerary.
Madidi National Park holds one of Bolivia's most significant Jaguar populations, and the tour visits two prime Jaguar habitats: the salt lick area and the Tuichi riverbanks during the fishing excursion. The Bolivian Pampas night boat survey is also a Jaguar observation opportunity. Sightings are not guaranteed — Jaguar is by nature a rare and elusive encounter — but the combination of ecosystems and the night-active programme gives this tour among the highest encounter probability of any Bolivia itinerary.
In Madidi: White-Lipped Peccary troops at the salt lick, multiple Monkey species, Macaws, and a wide diversity of rainforest birds are seen on virtually every visit. At the Pampas: Black Caiman, Capybara, Pink River Dolphins, and Anaconda (particularly May–November) are near-certain encounters. The night boat survey reliably produces Caiman spotlighting and nocturnal mammals. Full mammal counts of 15+ species across the 6 days are common.
The standard programme is 6 days / 5 nights, which provides 3 days in Madidi and 2 full days in the Pampas. Extensions are available on either or both legs: an additional day in Madidi allows for deeper exploration of the Tuichi River corridor, while an additional Pampas day adds a full grassland trekking session. Minimum programme is 4 days. Nick's team tailors the itinerary based on available time and priority experiences.
Yes. Golden Dorado fishing on the Tuichi River is strictly catch-and-release. Only fish that cannot safely be returned to the water are kept — these are prepared as part of the dinner. Piranha fishing on the Yacuma River in the Pampas leg follows the same principle. No guest is required to fish; the river sessions offer ample wildlife observation for non-fishing participants.
This tour is itself a combination product. Guests with additional time frequently extend with the Sadiri Lodge birding programme (adding 3–5 days of dedicated ornithology in the same Madidi zone), the Uyuni Salt Flats (a completely contrasting high-altitude landscape), or Jaguarland Reserve (for a focused jaguar-sighting expedition in the Bolivian Pantanal). Nick's team builds multi-destination itineraries across all destinations.