The National Park Madidi is one of the most bio diverse reserves of Bolivia. In the National Park you can find cloud forest, wild rivers, lakes, subtropical and tropical forest and savannah wetlands, many species of birds and other animals. The Madidi National Park covers 18,957 km² and is situated in the northern part of the department of La Paz. The area is a transition zone between Amazonian tropical rainforest and Amazonian pampas. It is one of the most impressive places to visit in South America. The National Park is accessible via the jungle town Rurrenabaque. The best way to get there is by plane from La Paz; this takes one hour.
- Jungle Tour (group tour, basic); at nine you will cross the river between Rurrenabaque and San Buenaventura. Here you pay the entrance for the N.P. Madidi. You sail in three and a half hours on the Beni River to the campsite in the jungle. On route you will enjoy the beautiful landscape and you can see many bird species like eagles, kingfishers, herons and falcons. At the campsite, situated in the territory of the Torewa Indians, you will have your lunch. In the afternoon you go out for a hike through the jungle with your guide. He shows you different kind of insects. At the Saocalito River you take a break while the guide gives you information about various bird species. Then you continue your walk and will see many palm trees of a different kind. In this area live several species of monkeys, with some luck you might see them in the trees searching for their favourite food; fruits, flowers and insects. Around six you will be back at the campsite for diner. When it gets dark you can enjoy the sounds of the jungle by night.
The next morning the jungle will wake you up with a swelling sound of the animals. After a healthy breakfast with a lot of fruit you go for a hike. The guide shows you several species of plants and trees like Iliria, a plant, which locals use for painting and the Siyaya palm tree of which the yellow flower spreads a lovely smell. It is used as a perfume. The guide also shows the poisonous Soliman tree from which the poison is used for hunting and the giant Bibosi tree. Of course the guide keeps his eyes and ears open to spot and show you every animal that is nearby. After lunch you will sail back to Rurrenabaque. Here the tour ends and you will have gained a jungle experience.
- Jungle Tour (group tour, basic); this tour is identically to the 2 days tour until the lunch on the second day.
After lunch you will go out on another hike with your guide to look for animals, birds and interesting plants and trees.
On the third day in the morning you will go on a hike through the jungle. This time in search for spider monkeys and wild boar. Return to camp for lunch. After lunch you will go by boat back to Rurrenabaque. Here the tour ends and you will have gained a jungle experience.
- Pampas Bibosi Eco Lodge (group tour, basic); at eight thirty you will leave in a 4x4 Jeep to Santa Rosa del Yacuma. After lunch you will sail in a canoe in three and a half hours on the Yacuma Rivier to the Bibosi Eco Lodge. You will make an afternoon walk and see the sunset over the pampas. Back at the Lodge diner is served.
In the evening you go out in a canoe to spot the glistering eyes of the caiman. You might see some night birds as well.
After your breakfast on the second day you will hike through the Pampas until you reach some small lakes and rivers. Here the guide will try to find an anaconda. You can see eagles searching for food (snakes). There are many tropical plants and flowers as wild orchids like the Queen Victoria. Lunch is around noon.
In the afternoon you go out with a canoe to spot wildlife in and around the river. You will see dolphins, with which you can swim, turtles, capybara and many big water birds like herons and bitterns. Do you like fishing? This is your change to catch piranhas!
In the evening you will enjoy a nice diner at the lodge and listen to the sounds of the pampas by night.
On the third day you get up early to spot birds during a boat ride. Watch the sunrise above the pampas, listen to a symphony of songbirds. You might see and/or hear parrots, macaws, guans and capuchin monkeys. You will return to the lodge to have breakfast.
After that you will travel by canoe on the Yacuma River until you reach some small forest islands. Along the shore you might see wild geese, neo tropical cormorants, toucans, swamp deer, caimans and sloths. Your guide will share his knowledge of the surroundings while you enjoy the diversity of wildlife. He will also give you information about plants and their medical use.
You will have a last lunch in the lodge before returning to Santa Rosa. You will sail the Yacuma River for one and a half hour. And then on to Rurrenabaque by 4WD.
- Pampas Caracoles Eco Lodge (group tour or private tour); you will leave at nine o'clock in 4x4 Jeep on dirt roads via Reyes until you reach Santa Rosa del Yacuma. Here you will change the car for a boat to sail on the Yacuma River to the Caracoles Lodge. Here you will have lunch and a short rest. In the afternoon you will sail the river and go to the Pampas to see the wildlife. The animals are quite easy to find and to photograph. The best season to visit the Pampas is in the dry season when many capybaras, turtles, black caiman and maybe an anaconda are warming up in the sun or are hunting. You will see the river dolphin, the black caiman, monkeys and many bird species. You will enjoy your diner at the lodge and in the evening you can listen to the sounds of the pampas by night.
Directly after breakfast on the second day you will go hiking for three to four hours through wetlands to search for the giant anaconda. The guide can also point out the white and black caiman. Lunch will be at the lodge again and in the afternoon you will go for a boat ride on the Yacuma River to search for piranhas and to swim with river dolphins. In the evening you go out by boat again to spot the glistering eyes of the caiman. You might see some night birds as well.
On the third day after breakfast there is another boat ride waiting for you. This time you will see squirrel monkeys in big groups running through the trees. The pampas are also the habitat of the brown and the black howler monkeys.
After lunch you will go back to Santa Rosa by boat. There a 4x4 Jeep is waiting to take you to Rurrenabaque where you will arrive late afternoon.
- Pampas Caracoles Eco Lodge (private tour); you will leave at nine o'clock in 4WD on dirt roads via Reyes until you reach Santa Rosa del Yacuma. Here you will change the car for a boat to sail on the Yacuma River to the Caracoles Lodge. Here you will have lunch and a short rest. In the afternoon you will sail the river and go to the Pampas to see the wildlife. The animals are quite easy to find and to photograph. The best season to visit the Pampas is in the dry season when many capybaras, turtles, black caiman and maybe an anaconda are warming up in the sun or are hunting. You will see the river dolphin, the black caiman, monkeys and many bird species. You will enjoy your diner at the lodge and in the evening you can listen to the sounds of the pampas by night.
Directly after breakfast of the second day you will go hiking for three to four hours through wetlands to search for the giant anaconda. The guide can also point out the white and black caiman. Lunch will be at the lodge again and in the afternoon you will go for a boat ride on the Yacuma River to search for piranhas and to swim with river dolphins. In the evening you go out by boat again to spot the glistering eyes of the caiman. You might see some night birds as well.
On the third day after breakfast there is another boat ride waiting for you. This time you will see squirrel monkeys in big groups running through the trees. The pampas are also the habitat of the brown and the black howler monkeys.
After lunch you will walk through the pampas to look for bird and monkeys or to go fishing at the Yucuma
In the morning on the fourth day you will go on horseback into the pampas. You will see many birds and other animals. After lunch you will return to Rurrenabaque where you will arrive at appr. five o´clock
- Chalalán Eco Lodge; on the first day you will fly from La Paz to Rurrenabaque. People of the Chalalán Eco Lodge will await you to bring you to their office. Here you will receive information about Chalalán and Rurrenabaque. You will stay in a hotel in the centre of town and you will spend the rest of the day here.
On the second day you will be picked up and brought to the bank of the river Beni from where a comfortable boat brings you to the Chalalán Eco Lodge in the National Park Madidi. During the 5½ hours boat ride on the rivers Beni and Tuichi you will get a pack lunch. From the harbour of Chalalán it is another 25 minutes walk through the jungle to the lodge where you will be shown to your lodge or room. A professional cook of the community prepares you a welcome lunch. Then you have time to relax or take a swim in the lake.
Next activity is a short walk along the Paraba (Macaw) trail to a viewpoint from where you can see the beautiful landscape across the lake, the mountains and the Madidi rainforest. You will return along the rivers in canoe to the Chalalán Lake to watch birds and monkeys. Your guide explains about the wildlife and tropical timber wood.
After diner you go on a night walk to see insects, tarantulas, amphibians, mice, nocturnal birds and monkeys or if you prefer you can go on a canoe trip to see amphibians, nocturnal birds and alligators with their glowing eyes.
On the third day, after breakfast, you will go on an interpretation walk through the jungle along the theme trails to learn about the forest and wildlife. The theme is medicinal plants, animal behaviour, bird watching, natural history and ecological processes. You will have lunch at the Eco Lodge. Then you have some time to relax or take a swim in the lake.
Next activity is a short interpretation walk along one of the trails, the theme is: tropical and medicinal plants, hardwood trees, insect and bird watching. Optional activities are: an afternoon of handicrafts, a boat trip on the lake by canoe or watching a video about the local community and the N.P. Madidi.
You will have a traditional diner and a folkloric evening with music and dance.
On the fourth day you will have an early breakfast before you walk to the harbour of Chalalán at the river Tuichi. From here you return in a comfortable boat to Rurrenabaque. Then you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to La Paz.
With your visit to Chalalán Eco Lodge you do not only support the community of San Jose de Uchupiamonas in an economical way, but you also help protecting, conserving and saving this cultural and natural heritage.
- Chalalán Eco Lodge: the five days tour is identical to the six days tour minus the 3rd or 4th day of it. You choose which day you want to skip and communicate this in Chalalán with your guide.
- Chalalán Eco Lodge; on the first day you will fly from La Paz to Rurrenabaque.
People of the Chalalán Eco Lodge await you to bring you to their office. Here you will receive information about Chalalán and Rurrenabaque. You will stay in a hotel in the centre of town and you will spend the rest of the day in Rurrenabaque.
On the second day you will be picked up and brought to the bank of the river Beni from where a comfortable boat brings you to the Chalalán Eco Lodge in the National Park Madidi. During the five and a half hours boat ride on the rivers Beni and Tuichi you will get a pack lunch. From the harbour of Chalalán it is another 25 minutes walk through the jungle to the lodge where you will be shown to your lodge or room.
A professional cook of the community prepares you a welcome lunch. Then you have time to relax or take a swim in the lake.
Next activity is a short walk along the Paraba (Macaw) trail to a viewpoint from where you can see the beautiful landscape across the lake, the mountains and the Madidi rainforest. You will return along the rivers in canoe to the Chalalán Lake to watch birds and monkeys. Your guide explains about the wildlife and tropical timber wood.
After diner you go on a night walk to see insects, tarantulas, amphibians, mice, nocturnal birds and monkeys.
On the third day, after breakfast, you will go on an interpretation walk along the theme trails to learn about the forest and wildlife. The theme is medicinal and tropical plants, animal behaviour, bird watching, natural history, and ecological processes. You will have lunch at the Eco Lodge. Then you have some time to relax or take a swim in the lake.
Next activity is a short interpretation walk along one of the trails, the theme is; tropical and medicinal plants, hardwood trees, insect and bird watching. Later you will see a video about the local community and the N.P. Madidi.
After diner you make a canoe trip on the Chalalán Lake to see amphibians, nocturnal birds and alligators with their glowing eyes. After breakfast on the fourth day you will hike along the theme paths where you can learn about the wildlife, medicinal and tropical plant, animal behaviour, bird watching, ecological processes etc. You will have lunch at the Eco Lodge. Then you have some time to relax or take a swim in the lake.
Next activity are a short interpretation walk along one of the trails, the theme is tropical and medicinal plants, hardwood trees, insect and bird watching, and later on learning about Tacana handicrafts.
After diner you make a canoe trip on the Chalalán Lake to see amphibians, nocturnal birds and alligators with their glowing eyes.
On the fifth day after breakfast you will go on a full day hike to the rivers Rayamayo and Eslabon where you can fish and watch spider monkeys, tapirs, deer and wild boar and maybe catch a glimpse of a jaguar. You can eat your pack lunch at the bank of the river. Afterwards you walk along the riverbank to look for insects and birds. Then you return to the lodge.
Next activity is a canoe trip along the shore of the Chalalán Lake to watch birds, monkeys and see the tropical vanilla plant. You will have a traditional diner and a folkloric evening with music and dance.
On the last day of the tour you will have an early breakfast before you walk to the harbour of Chalalán at the river Tuichi. From here you return in the comfortable boat to Rurrenabaque. Then you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to La Paz.
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