Birding Argentina’s Central Hills

Birding Argentina’s Central Hills

Tour Duration
10 days – 9 nights
Best time to go
September to April
Tour Type
Overland

Tour Features

Argentina’s Central Hills are well reputed among birders due to the fact that they hold most of this country’s endemic birds. The central Argentinean provinces of Córdoba and San Luis host some of the most fantastic birding destinations in southern South America and boast some of the most spectacular landscapes in Argentina. On top of that, they allow for easy birding and offer great lodging alternatives – a combination hardly ever matched anywhere else in this part of the world!

Spending a few days in this area provides unique chances to explore habitats including hills, rivers, dry Chaco forests, grasslands, Monte brushlands and farmlands – all very “birdie” and mostly open habitats.

Among this region’s birding hotspots, it is worth mentioning Mar Chiquita lagoon – a huge wetland surrounded by farmlands and some remaining patches of dry forests. Mar Chiquita is one of the best places in Argentina for shorebirds, over all for migratory ones. The lagoon also holds one of the largest populations of flamingos in Argentina. But there are also other special places to explore in Córdoba, like for instance the immense salt flats known as Salinas Grandes. These provide perfect habitat for the endemic and endangered Salinas Monjita – a bird that we will surely look for while in that area. No birding trip to Córdoba could be completed without looking for specialties and endemics at the Córdoba Hills, so we will surely spend time birding this area as well.

After birding Córdoba we’ll move on to the Province of San Luis. The habitat here is somehow dryer than in Córdoba and has its own special set of unique birds, mammals, and other wildlife. The Monte, a dry shrubland that can only be found in central Argentina and northern Patagonia, is well represented in San Luis. This is an area where animal species from the north live alongside Patagonian ones. A clear example of this is an Argentine endemic mammal: the odd-looking Patagonian Mara. We will bird San Luis’s beautiful, arid landscapes, looking for desert dwellers that call this place home to add them to our trip list.

Join us on this tour through the heart of Argentina, to enjoy its wonderful birds, and other animals, but also to enjoy its breathtaking landscapes and learn about its unique flora.

Some Birds We’ll Look For

Andean Condor, Spot-winged Falconet, Brushland Tinamou, Andean Tinamou, Chaco Chachalaca, Snowy Crowned Tern, Chaco Puffbird, Black-bodied Woodpecker, Cream-backed Woodpecker, Black-legged Seriema, Burrowing Parrot, Red-tailed Comet, Olive-crowned Crescentchest, Crested Gallito, Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, Chaco Earthcreeper, Crested Hornero, Olrog’s Cinclodes, Cordoba Cinclodes, Lark-like Brushrunner, Streak Backed Canastero, Greater Wagtail Tyrant, Black-crowned Monjita, Salinas Monjita, Andean Slaty Thrush, Carbonated Sierra Finch, Many-colored Chaco Finch, Black-and-Chestnut Warbling Finch, Rufous-sided Warbling Finch, Black-breasted Warbling Finch.

Mammals possibly found:

Patagonian Mara, Chacoan Mara, Grey Brocket Deer, Culpeo Fox, South American Grey Fox, Southern Three-banded Armadillo, Hog Nosed Skunk, Large Hairy Armadillo and Guanaco.

INFORMATION

Tour Interest:
Birding
Tour Type:
Overland
Tour Dates:
Runs on reques
Tour Duration:
10 days – 9 nights
Starts/Ends:
Starts in Córdoba ends in San Luis
Best time to go:
September to April
Prices:
Based on group size
What’s Included?
Private transportation for all transfers and excursions. Accommodations on a twin/double basis. Single supplements on request. Full time Trogon Tours’ leader to accompany the group from day 1 on arrival in Cordoba airport to day 10 on departure from San Luis airport. Local guides where required by law. All breakfasts, lunches, box-lunches and dinners, from dinner on day 1 to Breakfast on day 10 of the tour. No drinks included. Admission fees to all national parks and nature reserves.
What’s Not Included?
International and domestic airfares and airport taxes. Tips to guides, drivers, hotel & restaurants personnel, etc. Drinks with your meals. Personal travel and medical insurance. Anything not specified under “What is included?”

Itinerary ( 10 days )

Day

1

Arrival

Meeting with your Trogon Tours’ leader at Cordoba airport. Transfer to Miramar. Birding around Mar Chiquita lagoon. O/N Miramar.

Day

2

Mar Chiquita National Park

Full day birding Mar Chiquita National Park.  O/N Miramar.

Day

3

Chaco forest at the Estancia

Drive to Estancia El Retiro, full day Birding the Chaco forest at the Estancia. Afternoon drive to Dean Funes. O/N Dean Funes.

Day

4

Salinas Grandes & Chaco woodland.

Full day exploring Salinas Grandes and the surrounding Chaco woodland. O/N Dean Funes.

Day

5

Cordoba Hills.

Drive to Quebrada del Condorito National Park. Full day birding Cordoba Hills. O/N Carlos Paz.

Day

6

San Luis province.

Drive to San Luis province, birding en-route. O/N Merlo.

Day

7

Merlo, Comechingones Hills and Chaco forest.

Full day birding around Merlo, Comechingones Hills and Chaco forest.  O/N Merlo.

Day

8

Merlo to San Luis.

Drive from Merlo to San Luis, afternoon birding central San Luis province. O/N San Luis.

Day

9

Sierra de las Quijadas National Park.

Full day birding the Monte habitats in and around Sierra de las Quijadas National Park. O/N San Luis.

Day

10

San Luis Airport.

Transfer to San Luis Airport. Tour conclusion.

From our gallery

MAP

    Contact a specialist

    The specialist who designs your trip will have explored the country many times and, in some cases, lived there. Their first-hand knowledge gives us the belief that no other travel company can match our expertise in helping you plan your trip. Your dedicated specialist will take the time to understand your preferences and build them into an itinerary to match, working to your budget. He or she will keep perfecting it until you’re completely happy and ready to book.

    OTHER TRAVEL IDEAS

    Birding Argentina’s Cordoba Hills & Pampas

    Birding Argentina’s Cordoba Hills & Pampas

    Tour Features One of the eldest geological formations in the continent, the group of mountains known as Córdoba Central Hills, uplifts in the middle of the Argentine Chaco-Pampas Great Plain. Pampa de Achala, sheltered by these hills, is a plateau crossed by streams...

    Cacti of Chile

    Cacti of Chile

    Tour Features Chile’s unusual, ribbon-like shape -4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide- has given it a hugely varied climate, ranging from the world’s driest desert -the Atacama- in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in...

    Birding Argentina’s Northeast

    Birding Argentina’s Northeast

    Tour Features Our journey begins in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital city and the main gateway to this country. This is the heart of the Argentine Pampas, a habitat that stands out among Argentina’s most productive birding areas. The richest birding area in the...

    Birding Argentina’s Northwest

    Birding Argentina’s Northwest

    Tour Features Northwestern Argentina is a land full of spectacular landscapes and with a vast cultural heritage. Remnants of buildings and roads from the “Great Inca Empire of the Sun” can still be found everywhere here, and many cultural events and pre-Hispanic...

    Birds and Wildlife of Northern Peru

    Birds and Wildlife of Northern Peru

    Tour Features Peru counts 84 different types of ecosystems, but forests are Peru’s main geographical features. They range from cloud forest in the south to low-lying plains Amazon forest in the north, spanning over nearly two-thirds of its territory. It is believed...

    Ushuaia

    Ushuaia

    Tour Features Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of America, is a large archipelago spread out in the southern boundaries of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Its main island, called Isla Grande, is shared by Argentina and Chile. On the northern shore of the Beagle...

    Birding Colombia from Andes to Santa Marta

    Birding Colombia from Andes to Santa Marta

    Tour Features The Andes are, by far, Colombia’s most relevant geographical feature. In the southwestern departments of Cauca and Nariño, the Andes divide in three different mountain ranges, known as ‘cordilleras.’ The Cordillera Occidental (western range), spans from...

    Birding Southern Pampas

    Birding Southern Pampas

    Tour Features The Pampa is an extensive humid plain shared by Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. In Argentina, the Pampas Grasslands cover an area of more than 50 million hectares (193,000 sq. mi.) in the central part of the country. This unique habitat is well...

    Cacti of Northwestern Argentina

    Cacti of Northwestern Argentina

    Tour Features Northwestern Argentina is a land full of spectacular landscapes and with a vast cultural heritage. These lands were part of the south quarter of the mythical Inca Empire -the so called Qollasuyu. The local native people call themselves Qollas. They are...

    Cacti of Bolivia

    Cacti of Bolivia

    Tour Features Landlocked Bolivia is a biological paradise nestled in the heart of southern South America. Surrounded by Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Paraguay, Bolivia’s rich and diverse territory is clearly split into a wet eastern slope -where the Bolivian...

    Birding Cuba

    Birding Cuba

    Tour Features The Republic of Cuba is a country comprising an archipelago of islands in the northern Caribbean Sea, sitting only 150 kilometres (93 miles) south and across the Straits of Florida to the closest tip of Key West, the southernmost point of the United...

    Birding Northern Pampas

    Birding Northern Pampas

    Tour Features The Pampa is an extensive humid plain shared by Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. In Argentina, the Pampas Grasslands cover an area of more than 50 million hectares (193,000 sq. mi.) in the central part of the country. This unique habitat is well...

    Birding Bolivia

    Birding Bolivia

    Tour Features Join us on this unique birding adventure in the heart of South America to look for Bolivia’s endemic and special birds and an incredible array of Neotropical species. Bolivia is a biological treasure nestled between Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile and...