Wildlifeof Bolivia
Places
Where to see Bolivia's wildlife, from Amazon rainforest and the Beni savannas to the Chaco, cloud forest and the high Andes.
Why the Bolivian Amazon
Rurrenabaque is the gateway to Bolivia's northern lowlands. Madidi National Park protects rainforest rising from the Amazon plain to the Andean foothills, while the Yacuma river pampas nearby are the easiest place in the country to watch river dolphins, caimans, capybaras and monkeys from a boat.
Why the Beni savannas
The Llanos de Moxos is a vast seasonally flooded plain of grassland, palm islands and forest. It is the only home of the critically endangered blue-throated macaw and a stronghold for marsh deer and maned wolf.
Why the eastern lowlands
Bolivia's east mixes Amazon forest, Cerrado, Chiquitano dry forest and the Pantanal wetland. Jaguars, giant otters, giant armadillos, maned wolves and hyacinth macaws are among the headline species, and Noel Kempff Mercado is one of the most remote parks in South America.
Why the Gran Chaco
The dry thorn forest of the south-east is hot, remote and hard to visit, but it holds Chaco specialists such as jaguar, puma, giant armadillo, tapir and the chaco horned frog. Kaa-Iya is among the largest protected dry forests in the world.
Why the Yungas and valleys
Cloud forest on the eastern slopes of the Andes holds Andean cock-of-the-rock, hummingbirds, tanagers and the spectacled bear, and the dry inter-Andean valleys around Sucre and Cochabamba are the home of the endemic red-fronted macaw. Amboro, Cotapata and the Samaipata and Comarapa forests are the main wildlife-watching areas.
Why the Altiplano
High, cold and open, the Andean plateau offers a very different Bolivia: vicunas and Andean condors at Sajama, three flamingo species on the salt-flat lagoons of the south-west, and the giant frogs and grebes of Lake Titicaca. Altitude is a real health factor, so plan time to acclimatise.