The Tuichi river and its oxbow lakes are the core. Lakes reached by short walks from the river hold black caiman, hoatzin and, with luck, giant otter, and dawn on the water is when capybara and tapir tracks turn into actual animals.

The clay licks deep in the park draw macaws and parrots at first light, and mammals including peccary at other times. Reaching the better ones means a longer river journey and at least three or four nights in the park.

The forest trails from the lodges hold the primates — red howler, spider and squirrel monkeys, and the endemic Bolivian titi monkey, a species described only in this century and found nowhere else.

The pampas, a separate wetland landscape north of Rurrenabaque, is the other half of most itineraries and is much easier for visible wildlife: caiman, capybara, pink river dolphins and anaconda in open grassland along the Yacuma river. It is not Madidi proper, but it is where most people get their best sightings.

May to October is the dry season and the practical window, with lower water and easier trails. Rain is a constant possibility regardless.

Practicalities

Rurrenabaque is reached by a short flight from La Paz — spectacular, small aircraft, frequently delayed by weather — or a long, rough bus journey.

Several lodges here are owned and run by the Indigenous communities within the park, Chalalán and San Miguel del Bala among the best known, and choosing one keeps tourism revenue with the people whose land this is. Pampas tours are much cheaper than Madidi lodges and are sold aggressively in town; the two experiences are genuinely different, and if you have the time and budget, do both.