Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival in Santiago - Arrival in Santiago or Arica and overnight

Day 2:  Santiago - Arica - To the airport and flight to Arica on the border with Peru.  Arrival in Putre around mid-morning and then straight-out birding. We’ll start in the close by Azapa Valley. Here we’ll be looking for the Oasis Hummingbird, Peruvian Sheartail and specifically the endangered   Chilean Woodstar. We should see Burowing Owl, Cinereous Conebill, Chestnut-thraoted Seedeater and the range restricted Slender-billed Finch. A stop on the coast will provide us with some shorebirds and inshore Humboldt currant seabirds. Gray, Band-tailed and Franklin’s gulls will be in evidence as well as Elegant Terns. Continuing on we’ll bird our way to Putre. Possibilities here include Croaking Ground-Dove, Peruvian Meadowlark, Spot-winged Pigeon, Dark-winged Cansatero, Greyish Miner Straight-billed Earthcreeper, Andean Hillstar and Greenish Yellow-Finch. The strange Pacific coastal form of Bran-coloured Flycatcher (“Pacific Flycatcher”) occurs here – surely a future split. Higher still we’ll be on the lookout for Andean Swifts in the valleys and in the arid scrub Andean Hillstar and Greenish Yellow-Finch. Night in Hosteria Las Vicunas in Putre

Day 3: Putre & Lauca - We'll spend the morning in and around Putre, acclimatising to our new environment. Around Putre we’ll be looking for Bare-faced Ground-Dove, White-throated Earthcreeper, Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant, White-browed Chat-Tyrant, Black-throated Flowerpiercer, Canyon and Dark-winged Canasteros, Blue-and-yellow Tanager, Bar-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 and Band-tailed Seedeater, also maybe Ornate Tinamou. We will be on the lookout for the scarce Tamarugo Conebill. We may search some high altitude bogs for Diademed Sandpiper-Plover here as well in the afternoon. Night in Hosteria Las Vicunas in Putre

Day 4: Lauca National Park - The park is a place of outstanding natural beauty. The towering snow-capped volcanoes of Pomerape and Parinacota soar to over 6300 metres and reflect perfectly in the deep blue waters of Chungara and Cotocotani Lakes. This is our venue today and Lake Chungara with its hordes of birds including Silvery Grebe, Puna Teal and Giant Coot. Other birds here are Puna Rhea, Andean and Puna (James's) Flamingos, Puna Plover, Andean Flicker, White-winged Cinclodes, Black Siskin, Puna Tinamou, Puna Ibis, Andean Goose, Mountain Caracara, Andean Lapwing, Puna Plover, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Andean Avocet, Andean Gull, Andean Flicker, Puna Miner, Puna and White-fronted Ground-Tyrants, Andean Negrito, the impressive White-winged Diuca-Finch and White-throated Sierra-Finch.  Night in Hosteria Las Vicunas in Putre

Day 5: Putre to Arica - A final morning at Lauca, before heading down to Arica once again. We’ll be looking for species we may have missed.  Overnight Hotel in Arica.

Day 6: Arica to Santiago - Morning to look for Peruvian Thicknee and coastal species before midday flight to Santiago and join the main tour.