Cochabamba Arid Valleys

The arid valleys outside Cochabambaon the main highway to La Paz offer surprisingly good birds. Although not a good as San Miguel (see site #19), there are at least a couple good stops when driving from Cochabamba to La Paz, worthwhile particularly if you have missed some of the key specialties at San Miguel.

Leaving the city of Cochabamba between Llvaniand the village can be very good birding. Notable species include Red-tailed Comet and Bolivian Blackbird. A good strategy is to simply park at one of the pullouts at promising looking sites on this winding mountain road. At about 3600 meters, just before the small settlement of Bombeo, one encounters a very nice patch of remnant Polylepisvery close to the road (see GPS waypoint). Further on, west of Bombeo (that is, further toward La Paz ).