Example itinerary
Day 1: Santa Cruz - Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park
At 08:30, you will be picked up from your hotel and depart Santa Cruz. The drive is 260 kilometers or three and a half hours to the town of San Jose. Here, you will have lunch at one of the local restaurants and have some time for photographic opportunities of the famous Jesuit Church that lies in the main plaza. You will then be driven a further 90 kilometers off-road to enter the park. Please note that pumas, peccaries, toucans, jaguars, and more have been seen on this drive so have the cameras ready.
Once inside the park, you will sign in with the park rangers and gas company, set up bedding and equipment, then in the peak time of 16:30, you will set out for a trek along the pipeline in search of jaguars and more. Big cat and tapir tracks, as well as scat, are extremely common and an excellent indication of how many large mammals live in the park. You will later enjoy dinner at 20:00. After dinner, you will do a night spotlighting drive or a night walk.
Day 2: Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park
You will wake up in the early rise of 05:00 for a peak hour drive or walk around the Tucavaca area in search of wildlife and you will also set a camera trap in an ideal location and will check at the end of the tour. At 08:00, you will have breakfast. After breakfast, you will head to one of the only water sources in the area, it is a 1,600-meter trek and one can expect to see a lot of tapirs tracks and scats, also Bolivian titi monkeys can be seen here with some frequency.
A fresh lunch will be provided around 12:30. After lunch, you will rest as the heat of the day normally means most of the animals are sleeping, around the camp is an excellent place for birding. Deer and resident foxes are common in this area. You will set out on an afternoon-night drive covering most of the Tucavaca area with spotlights in the hope of big mammal sightings, followed by dinner / rest or optional night walk / drive.
Day 3: Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park
At 05:00 you will leave with all your belongings for a 120 kilometers drive along the pipeline to the Izozog Pumping Station and home to the famous Jaguar Kaiyana. Along the way, it's an excellent chance to see mammals as you have had excellent jaguar and tapir sightings at the very close range during this drive. The drive will take up to six hours due to driving slowly to maximize wildlife viewing. You can have breakfast along the way.
Lunch will be served at 13:00. Once signed in with the Izozog Park Rangers of this camp, you can take an afternoon walk around the airfield. This is the area of the park with the best-recorded jaguar sightings. You will also check a camera trap you placed so fingers crossed for pictures and videos. You can rest and wait till 16:30 here and you will return to the Tucavava station with a peak-hour evening / night drive, followed by dinner at 21:00.
Day 4: Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park - Santa Cruz
In the early morning, you will depart to leave the park. There are excellent areas where you have seen many jaguars and other species so have the cameras ready. Lunch will be served in San Jose de Chiquitos before you return to Santa Cruz at around 18:00. This will be the end of the service.
Wildlife target species
You will have the chance to see jaguar, puma, ocelot, jaguarundi, brocket deer, three-banded armadillo, lowland tapir, black-tailed marmoset, crab-eating fox, white-eared titi monkey, and solitary peccary. Please note that while Nick's Adventures Bolivia gives every opportunity for the participants to see wildlife in their natural environments, they never guarantee sightings. Furthermore, any removal of animals, plant matter or articles from national parks or protected areas is prohibited.
The difference is that Nick's Adventures Bolivia only takes small groups in search of these species, which ensures comfort, minimal impact on wildlife and the environment, and maximum wildlife viewing opportunities. Their expert guides are extremely experienced in the area and work day and night to have the best wildlife viewing opportunities.
Suitable / not suitable for
This safari is suitable for adventure seekers, wildlife enthusiasts, and small groups and is not suitable for children under 12 years of age and large groups. It is important to know that this is not a luxury tour and the conditions of the trip are challenging, the temperature can exceed 40 degrees Celcius, facilities are basic, and while you do everything possible to ensure animal sightings, Nick's Adventures Bolivia never promise this, as all wildlife is in its natural environment.
