Arrival in Santiago with overnight accommodation at a hotel near the airport. Check-in is available from approximately 3:00 pm. In the evening, your birding and wildlife guide will meet you at the hotel to review the itinerary, answer any last questions, and discuss important details before the trip begins.

Early in the morning, we’ll fly from Santiago to Arica, a city near the Peruvian border. This area, known as the “Big North,” encompasses the vast Atacama Desert and the high-altitude Andean steppe, or Altiplano.

Despite being in the driest desert on Earth, birding here is made possible by rivers and small watercourses fed by runoff from the High Andes, creating fertile valleys and lush floodplains that form rich oases in this harsh environment.

After birding around Arica’s surroundings, we’ll make stops along the way as we travel to the farmland outside Arica and then on to the town of Putre.

En route, we’ll be searching for a number of specialties, including Peruvian Thick-knee, West Peruvian Dove, Croaking Ground-Dove, Groove-billed Ani, Burrowing Owl, Andean Swift, Peruvian Elaenia (the northern form of White-crested Elaenia), Vermilion Flycatcher, the local race of Bran-Coloured Flycatcher (a strong candidate for a future split), Cinereous Conebill, Chestnut-throated Seedeater, Blue-black Grassquit, Slender-billed Finch, Peruvian Meadowlark, and many more.

After an intensive day of birding, we’ll arrive in the beautiful town of Putre, located at 3,500 m.a.s.l. (11,483 ft). This charming Andean village will serve as our gateway for the next day’s exploration of high-elevation ecosystems.

In the heart of the Altiplano of the ‘Big North’, about 50 kilometers from Putre, we’ll arrive at Lauca National Park—a place of exceptional natural beauty.

Declared part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) in 1981, the park is framed by the towering, snow-capped volcanoes Pomerape and Parinacota, which rise above 6,300 m a.s.l. (20,669 ft) and reflect beautifully in the deep blue waters of Chungara and Cotacotani Lakes—two of the park’s most iconic attractions. The highlight of the day is dazzling Chungara Lake, considered the highest-altitude lake in the world. Among the high-Andean specialist birds found here are Andean Grebe (the local form of Silvery Grebe), Puna Teal, Giant Coot, and Andean Gulls, alongside a variety of more widespread duck species.

As we drive up toward the lakes, we’ll scan the high-altitude bogs for the stunning and elusive Diademed Sandpiper-Plover. Other key targets in this area include Puna Rhea, Andean Flicker, White-winged Cinclodes, Black Siskin, Puna Tinamou, Puna Ibis, Andean Goose, Mountain Caracara, Andean Lapwing, Puna Plover, Andean Avocet, Puna Miner, Puna and White-fronted Ground-Tyrants, Andean Negrito, Glacier Finch, and White-throated Sierra-Finch.

The lakes themselves host large flocks of flamingos, and with luck, we may observe all three species: Chilean, Andean, and Puna (James’s). After a day immersed in sweeping landscapes and high-Andean birdlife, we’ll return to our lodge in Putre.

We’ll spend the morning birding around the small Andean village, searching for Bare-faced Ground-Dove, White-throated Earthcreeper, Yellow-billed Tit Tyrant, Canyon and Dark-winged Canastero, Blue-and-Yellow Tanager, Cream-winged and White-winged Cinclodes, Streaked Tit-Spinetail, D’Orbigny’s and White-Browed Chat-Tyrants, Chiguanco Thrush, Black-throated Flower-Piercer, Golden-billed Saltator, Black-hooded and Ash-breasted Sierra-Finches, Greenish Yellow-Finch, Band-tailed Seedeater, and Spot-winged Pigeon.

In the alfalfa fields on the outskirts of the village, we’ll also search for the secretive but vocal Ornate Tinamou.

Around midday we’ll drive slowly down the windy mountain road back to Arica looking for any birds we may have missed on the way up to Putre. Night in Arica.

Our main targets in this area will be the hummingbirds: Oasis Hummingbird, Peruvian Sheartail, and the endemic—yet critically endangered—Chilean Woodstar, whose global population is estimated at just 350 individuals.

To search for this dazzling endemic, we’ll head south to the Camarones Valley, home to the species’ largest remaining population.

In this same valley, participants will also have the chance to see several highlight species, including Pied-crested Tit-Tyrant, Tamarugo Conebill, and the recently recorded-for-Chile Raimondi’s Yellow-Finch. After lunch, we’ll drive to Iquique. Night in Iquique.

The day begins with an exciting 6-hour pelagic trip into the productive waters of the Humboldt Current, offering excellent opportunities to observe a mix of sub-Antarctic seabirds and warm-water petrels. During the excursion, we may encounter Salvin’s, Buller’s, and Black-browed Albatrosses, Northern Giant-Petrel, White-chinned and Westland Petrels, Sooty Shearwater, Elliott’s and Markham’s Storm-Petrels, Peruvian Diving Petrel, Humboldt Penguin, Chilean Skua, and Swallow-tailed Gull.

Closer to shore, we’ll look for Red-legged and Guanay Cormorants, the striking Inca Tern, Peruvian Booby, and Peruvian Pelican.

In the afternoon, we’ll board our flight back to Santiago.

End of our services for the trip.