Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
This tiny building in the middle the small green lawn is the lodge! Altitude: 1397 metres.
Tag Archives: Amboró National Park
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
I was lucky to see these incredibly beautiful and unique mountains on my way in and out of the reserve! In the rainy season you might not see anything but clouds here. There is no other way to get a view like this from inside the park – the sheer cliffs make all the peaks […]
Green-cheeked Parakeet (Pyrrhura molinae)
The green-cheeked parakeets were quite hard to see up close, as they were usually in the dense canopy when in the valleys. Not in dead trees, like the mitred parakeet seemed to prefer. Altitude: 1064 metres. It sounds like this:
Tillandsia samaipatensis
This species can grow to huge specimens with enormous inflorescences that dangles in the wind from the sheer cliffs of Refugio Los Volcanes. The specialised root system ensures the plant is glued to the face of the rock. Native range is Bolivia. Altitude: 1062 metres.
Mitred Parakeet (Aratinga mitrata)
This is perhaps the most numerous of the parakeet species here, and I saw many flocks of them escaping the various birds of prey. They nest in cracks and holes on the cliffs, and here it appeared at least 2 couples had their nest. A perfect spot it seemed, as they had this dead tree […]
Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus)
If you know of a dead tree, or a tree with a dead branch nearby – just wait there for a while and you’re bound to find flycatchers or other birds with a need to have an unobstructed view. This is from the only lookout point in the park, so this flycatcher both had an […]
Cleistocactus samaipatanus
Finding cacti on the sheer cliffs of Refugio Los Volcanes was a surprise to me! I saw their red flowers from afar, but assumed totally different species. Some were several metres long, like this one, and only limited by the ability to withstand the gravity and wind. Altitude: 1062 metres. Native range is Bolivia and […]
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
Due to the topography there is so far only this one spot from where you can truly enjoy the park! The other one is at the gate of the park, but that location is outside park. Here you only see the preserved park – all around you! I spent a few hours here, and it […]
Tropidurus melanopleurus
The female of the species, and as the male, it’s effortlessly roaming the sheer cliffs of Refugio Los Volcanes. Amazing how they seemed totally impervious to the strong wind – they effortlessly ran up, down or sideways while catching insects and checking out their competition. The walls were full of lizards, so apparently there is […]
Tropidurus melanopleurus
From afar the sheer cliffs seem to only house plants, but a closer look reveals an abundance of lizards! Amazing how they seemed totally impervious to the strong wind – they effortlessly ran up, down or sideways while catching insects and checking out their competition. The walls were full of lizards, so apparently there is […]
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
Bromeliads, cacti and a number of other species are living on these sheer cliffs! Defying gravity, wind, water and erosion! During my stay the wind was very strong, making it very difficult to hold my camera still, an the plants were rustling intensely in the wind. Yet they hold on through the heaviest of rains […]
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
The valleys are densely forested, but you’re always reminded of the unique environment this is. As seen here the walls are all around you – in some areas they are somewhat far apart, in others they are but narrow gorges. All mammals and humans must use the same routes to navigate their way through this […]
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
Here the sand is unable to accumulate due to the bedrock and thus the fast movement of the water. In the rainy season this will be an impassable, raging torrent. Altitude: 973 metres.
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
The only passable sections of the river is the rocky ones, or where the sand has dried up due to very low water levels as seen here. In many small streams elsewhere I found fish or crustaceans, but this river does not seem to have either at this elevation. Altitude: 1036 metres.
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
The incredible red cliffs are like nowhere on earth – beautiful and insurmountable! Over the aeons the mountains have slowly lost grains of red and deposited it on the valley floor and in particular around the rivers and streams. It looks like idyllic sandy beaches, but they are no place for a human! The sand […]
Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus)
This bird is so well camouflaged that even though you know what to look for you will easily miss it. As a visitor you’ll need help from the locals, as their daily routines interact with its way of life, and the observant locals will at one time or another see it. In this case it […]
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
It’s amazing how plants are able to survive on the vertical cliffs! Not only is there little nutrients, but the wind is sometimes really strong, and with the relentless rain of the wet season it’s a constant movement that will loosen any grip. Adding to this large chunks come off regularly, as seen here as […]
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
Perhaps the most beautiful of all features seen from the lodge! Here you can see holes in the wall – used for nesting by some of the species of parrots living here. What a view!! Over time this red will be dulled by algae, and then again a big chunk of the side will come […]
Scarlet Peacock (Anartia amathea)
The only butterfly species I encountered here, and only in the open fields of the lodge. Altitude: 1036 metres.
Masked Yellowthroat (Geothlypis aequinoctialis velata)
The song is very similar to the Willow Warbler, and I was enjoying it every day of my stay here. When looking for sound recordings I haven’t been able to find one that sounds like this one did, and it is perhaps yet another variation of this species. The recording below resembles European Pied Flycatcher […]
Plush-crested Jay (Cyanocorax chrysops)
A common but truly beautiful bird! I found this one very busy eating from this tree, and you can see it’s focusing on the Cecropia fruits rather than me. Altitude: 1036 metres. It sounds like this:
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
The clouds are moving away as the early morning is progressing. The red cliff is there one minute and gone the next. It’s a landscape like nowhere else. Altitude: 1036 metres.
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
Early in the morning, and the clouds are really low – no sign of red cliffs. Altitude: 1036 metres.
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
Everywhere you’ll see chunks of mountain missing. It may look artistic or even beautiful, but when this chunk dropped off, everything in its path was destroyed! I saw countless boulders strewn around the valley floor and in the river. Altitude: 1036 metres.
Refugio Los Volcanes, Amboró National Park
When you first get a glimpse of the red sheer cliffs of the park, you know you are entering something truly spectacular. It’s like a fortress, and because of this natural barrier, even the humans have not established a mobile network here! If you come unannounced, you’d better bring some fireworks, as you cannot reach […]
Military Macaw (Ara militaris)
As I’m photographing a Plumbeous Kite I hear the calls of Military Macaws! I’ve just entered the fringes of Amboro National Park in which Refugio Los Volcanses resides, and I see this magnificent macaw – my very first sighting of the species. I am standing on a steep slope prohibiting me from moving closer to […]
Plumbeous Kite (Ictinia plumbea)
Getting to the Refugio Los Volcanes is a steep descent in dense forest-clad slopes. You hear birds constantly, but seeing them is difficult unless they are perched like this kite. Altitude: 1228 metres. It sounds like this: