Tour Leader: Bradley Davis
Tour Leader: Bruno Renno
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*
Tour price (Per person): GBP2,073 * EUR2,502 * AUD4,175 * USD2,600
Can be linked with: Brazil - Madeira & Tapajós - Endemics of the Rio Aripuanã 2026
Nowhere inspires more awe and wonder at the raw beauty of remote nature like the Amazon Basin of South America. Pioneered by Major Candido Rondon de Silva, explorations in this region of Brazil became the stuff of legend, as Rondon enabled the first telegraph line and subsequently the first road, to cross the Brazilian Amazon. He discovered numerous indigenous groups, named several major rivers, and is hailed by many Brazilians as one of the true heroes of Brazil’s native people and lands.
Our short extension to Acre is the perfect complement to our tour to Pousada PiraAçu, giving us an extra opportunity at finding Rondonia Bushbird, as well as a good number of low-density species restricted to the terra firme and bamboo forests of southwestern Amazonia.
Blue-headed Macaw; Rufous-headed Woodpecker; White-throated Jacamar; Black-faced Cotinga; Bamboo Antshrike; Bluish-slate Antshrike; Goeldi’s Antbird; Ornate Stipplethroat; Bamboo (Ihering’s) Antwren; Yellow-breasted Warbling-Antbird; Striated, Riparian & Manu Antbirds; Rufous Twistwing; Long-crested Pygmy-Tyrant; Acre Tody-Tyrant; Flammulated Bamboo-Tyrant; White-cheeked Tody-Flycatcher; Rufous-breasted & Fine-barred Piculets; Yellow-billed Nunbird; Lemon-throated Barbet; Southern Emerald Toucanet; Black-capped Parakeet; Peruvian Recurvebill; Sulphur-bellied Tyrant-Manakin; White-rumped Sirystes; Black-and-white Tanager.
varzea forest, Beni savannah, white sand forests, cerrado, small oxbow lakes, seasonally flooded areas, mixed terra firme forest, patches of slender bamboo, wide floodplains, transitional forests, upland terra firme and hilly terra firme forest
temperatures are warm to very hot with high humidity
8 with 1 local birding leader
moderate pace, some longer walks
good to very good
moderate with numerous challenging species
average to good
Rob Williams was helpful above and beyond the call by going out of his way to make it an enjoyable tour.
WOW – this was an entirely different trip than the main trip. The Pousada facility was a little more rustic than some of the other accommodations but nothing we couldn’t handle. It was certainly better than a hammock at the guard headquarters which Bradley indicated was the only thing available prior to Pousada. This portion required what seemed like a lot more walking and climbing over tree falls than anywhere else on the trip. It seemed that more of the birds were skulkers but then we were focusing on “ant-somethings” which are notoriously secretive. Again, it was disappointing there was not a single ant swarm and the mixed flocks were generally small and moved away from the trails fairly quickly. It was also frustrating that the best of the three trails (Capelinha) in the park was not available to us due to an on-going mammal-use survey. But, none of these things were within the control of Tuomas, Bradley, or our local guide. They were pros at adapting and modifying to take advantage of the trails that were available to us. By my count the main trip list was about 446 and we gained 81 sp on the extension, however, 40% of those were lifers, so worth the effort and expense, in my opinion. Our local guide, Gilberto, was indispensable. His recent knowledge was invaluable to know where to go for the target species.
The tour was fantastic and both of our guides were excellent. We enjoyed traveling with Lev. He is so enthusiastic! He is an excellent birding guide and also very knowledgeable about the natural history of the animals we saw. That made the experience even more enjoyable. He worked very hard to enable us to see some of the trickier birds, like the Zigzag Heron that was hiding in the trees. It turns out, he even speaks 'zigzag', as he carried on a 10 min conversation (back and forth calls) with the heron, trying to coax him into a better view. It was wonderful having a local guide, Leo, on this trip as well. He added a lot to the birding experience, was essential for dealing with logistics, and had a wealth of knowledge about the history of Brazil and the places we visited, that made it an even more interesting trip. Well Done Rockjumper!!
We really appreciated our trip. Our Rockjumper guide, Bobby Wilcox, and the local guides were awesome; always on the lookout for new birds and other animals, even on the long drives. The organization was flawless, the lodges were great and perfectly located. Our triplist and lifers goals were exceeded! The group was great and always well controlled by Bobby. Very well done! Our long sighting of a female jaguar was certainly the peak of this trip !!!
Guides - in addition to Tuomas we a great local guide - whose bird-finding skills were fully up to Rockjumper standards, so had all the resources needed to get us onto the birds. Highlight of the trip was undoubtedly birding in comfort and style on the river cruise section. Being paddled in a canoe through flooded varzea forest must be the height of birding luxury. Land-based sections of the tour were also rewarding despite the inevitable heat and chiggers (fortunately minimal rain). Overall a very satisfying tour, with more lifers for me than on a longer trip to Colombia in 2019 that also included Amazonian habitat on the Vaupes River. A great bunch of people too.
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