Bahia, Brazil

Bahia Brazil map

Sites of interest

Chapada Diamantina - stunning scenery, stunning specialty birds, diversity of habitats, long treks into the interior possible.
Boa Nova and Poções - diversity of habitats and birds within very easy reach
Serra das Lontras - long and demanding hike for a rarely-seen bird (Boa Nova Tapaculo)
Serra Bonita - extensive hiking trails in beautiful forest around a comfortable lodge
Other branches under consideration
- Ilhéus/Itacaré area - Bahia Tapaculo extremely rare and localized. Other specialties at Serra do Conduru (but guide required, and not much hiking available there). Lowland rainforest with different species and experience. Beautiful beaches, has airport.
- Porto Seguro - lowland rainforest at Veracel reserve (but horrendous road and tough/slow birding), mangroves in city, comfortable accommodations in city, has airport.
- North of Salvador - Fringe-backed Fire-Eye rare and localized, mangroves with multiple other specialties, comfortable accommodations, airport nearby. But very long drive to get to, likely have to pay one-way fee for car rental
- Many tour groups combine this with areas further NE towards Ceará and Fortaleza, for specialties like Araripe Manakin and Lear's Macaw. But these drives are far too long for my tastes (see Robby's maxim), and the habitats are mostly dry, hot, and flat.

Lots of long drives (4-6+ hours) between sites with nothing en route, which pushes the limits of Robby's maxim. See simplified map below.
Though many roads are comfortable and easy to drive, others are notoriously potholed and/or muddy. Careful route planning required.
- Made a map of key roads and whether paved/unpaved. Will want to export to GPX/KML and import into CoMaps (or Avenza?) for offline availability.
Butterflies and odonates not terribly interesting, what to look for during hot non-birding hours?
Rainy season approx Nov-Mar, similar to S Ecuador. Would Mar/Apr be risking bad roads? See Wikipedia articles for Poções, Vitória da Conquista, Lençois, below links on geography/climate, etc. But generally haven't seen road conditions mentioned except for around Poções, and the Veracel Reserve near Porto Seguro.

Bahia driving times

Fly into Vitória da Conquista (VDC), drive to Camacan, night in Camacan
- Flights arrive mid-morning or evening
Fazenda Paris, Serra Bonita: 2 nights, Camacan again or Itubuna 1 night
Serra das Lontras hike, drive to Poções
Boa Nova and Poções: 2-3 nights
Drive to Chapada Diamantina, night in Lençois: 1-2 nights
Hikes into interior, night(s) in Capão: 1-2 nights
Drive down west side of Chapada Diamantina, to night in Mucugê: 1-2 nights
Drive to Vitória da Conquista, fly home
- Flights depart in evening, or mid-morning

Total: 8-12+ nights

Gilles Delforge - August 2025
- Poções - Serra do Arrepio track referenced
Mark Wood - Jan-Feb 2024 - only a few notes, but incl. Serra das Lontras details
Josh Beck - April-May 2019
Sjoerd Radstaak, Jelmer Poelstra, et al. - Dec 2017 - Jan 2018
Ann Gifford - Dec 2020

Agami - Jan-Feb 2025
Ornis - Jan-Feb 2025
Ornis - Jan-Feb 2024
Agami - Oct 2023
Mike Hunter w/ Brazil Birding Experts - Sep 2025 (not many details)

Bird tour companies traditionally go to NE Brazil between September and November, but the region has a longer birding season than that, and other companies also go in January and February. I’m not sure how much there is in it, but BBE still prefer September to November as some birds are easier to find.
David Blair w/ Brazil Birding Experts - Aug 2023
Agami - Jun 2023 - Minas Gerais, southern/coastal Bahia (no Chapada Diamantina), target-focused, good habitat and geography descriptions
Rockjumper - Oct 2019
Field Guides - Jan 2019, including nice videos of habitat and birds
Brazil Birding Experts - NE Mammals - itinerary and mammal targets
Jan Hansen - Oct 2025 - eBird trip report, just checklists, no details, but lots of non-hotspot locations to look into