Andean Highlights

Northwestern Argentina holds some of the most spectacular landscape settings, ranging from humid forests to extremely arid lands, and from lowlands to mountains more than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) high. A host of localized and endemic birds are present making this a prime birding trip.

We start in Tucuman province, where we’ll experience a diversity of climates and habitats. Deep in the valleys live the endemic Moreno’s Ground-Dove, Yellow-striped Brush-Finch, Tucuman Mountain-Finch, and White-browed Tapaculo. The Torrent Duck and Rufous-throated Dipper will have us scanning every stream.

The humid Yungas cloudforests and montane forest are host to the Alder Amazon, Red-faced Guan, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, Fulvous-headed Brush-Finch, Rusty-browed Warbling-Finch, Fawn-breasted and Rust-and-Yellow Tanagers among others. Higher up, there are open grasslands and shrubby ravines inhabited by the rare Rufous-bellied Saltator, Maquis and Scribble-tailed Canasteros, Band-tailed and Plumbeous Sierra-Finch. In the arid valleys covered with “Monte” desert we will look for the endemic Sandy Gallito, White-throated Cacholote and Steinbach’s Canastero. Then we enter the Quebrada de Humahuaca, a UNESCO World Heritage site with spectacular scenery, beautiful colonial villages and lots of wildlife. At the highest point of our trip we will ascend to the Altiplano, reaching the lakes of the barren Puna, kingdom of the Andean Condor, Giant Hummingbird and large concentrations of water birds.

Besides its rich birdlife, this journey is an opportunity to experience the authentic culture of the Andes and to enjoy magnificent scenery as well as superb malbec and “torrontes” wines.