Day Trips

The Kori Wayku Inca trail

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Kori Wayku is the river that together with the San Juan creates the Yolosa river. The valley is the most attractive of the area, because it’s completely forested and wild. Although today it is a valley forgotten by almost anyone, but a few miners, it must have been very important one day. The Inca’s found it important enough to build on of their highway, which went all around the valley. Today, parts of the trail has been washed away by the river, but the parts that remain are spectacular. As it is such a natural place, you’ve got good chances to spot wildlife. You more..

Uchumachi

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Coroico is built on one of the flanks of the Uchumachi. The 2500 meter high mountain is inviting for a climb, because of the views, the forest and its orchids. From an altitude of 2100 meter the mountain is natural reservation, hence most of it is forested (especially on the south flank).

A classic hike in Coroico is the walk to the summit . This is a bit of a scam: the mountain top is about 15 kilometres long, and the highest point is at the other side of the mountain. Still, the forest on the top of the mountain is pretty, and on clear days the views are more..

Pozas del Vagante

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The Pozas del Vagante is about the best place to go for a swim in the area, because the river is crystal-clear and has some deep natural swimming pools. It’s also a good destination for a small trekking, because of the road there, which leads through orange yards, along a Hacienda House and coca fields, and down into the riverside forest with its abundant butterflies and birds. Once there, you can just go for a swim and have a pick-nick, or have an exiting trip following the river up to a small canyon with secluded natural bubble more..

San Juan Valley

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The main reason to visit this valley is because of its plentiful cloudforest, mixed with agriculture, such as coffee and coca.   Take a minibus to Carmen Pampa , a small village which is booming because of the Rural University that was installed there. A beautiful path leaves from this village, crossing two small streams by means of simple but descent suspension bridges. At the other side of the valley, you can follow the main dirttrack to Old Coroico and Yolosa, which was abandoned for the present location of Coroico, according to legend more..

Charobamba

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Besides being a pretty village in a magnificent forest environment, Charobamba deserves a visit from people interested in modern history. In the late 1930s there would have been an exodus of Jews from Nazi-Germany, if not for the near impossibility for them to get a visa anywhere in the world. One of the few countries that did accept Jewish immigrants was Bolivia , on condition that they would occupy themselves as farmers. Thus a small community was founded near Coroico, a booming territory in those days, as the road from La Paz to the Yungas had recently been opened more..

Puente Armas Waterfalls

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Puente Armas is the metal bridge which used to cross the river in Choro. That doesn’t sound too interesting, however, the bridge gave its name to the whole area, which features various huge waterfalls in a spectacular forested canyon.

 

The waterfall that’s easiest to reach is the Rio Cajón waterfall, at just 100 meters from the main road. Isolated from the noise by a small canyon, you reach a big but chilly lagoon, with constant wind from the powerful waterfall. Excellent for a swim, but it might be more..

The Circunvalacion

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Circumventing Coroico lays an almost perfectly flattened patch of land, which is on parts used as a road, as a path, or not used at all. It was constructed in the 1940s, as a part of the never finished rail connection between La Paz and the Yungas (see C.3.). You can even make out a big flattened spot, where the Coroico Railway Station was planned. Even though there is no train, it is useful: one of the easiest walks in the area uses this abandoned project. It lacks spectacular attractions like waterfalls and rivers, but it makes up for that in being a great more..

The Perolani Waterfall

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Perolani is a mysterious waterfall in the valley behind Tocaña. From far, it is impossible to see the base of the fall. It is said that it is impossible to go there, and that it would be foolish, because the devil lives there. Legend has it that a small caravan of mules was lost at the bottom of the fall, taking the life of all people and animals involved. The mules apparently were carrying bags of gold. A true legend is that one day the government decided to find out if there really was gold by sending a helicopter. Some mandatory volunteer was to get down the chopper via a more..

Supay Punku

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Supay Punku is a very isolated place, even though it’s relatively easy to reach. In the middle of pure forest, you’ll find these Devils Gates, an impressive narrow canyon that is closed at the top. In the same area you’ll find an otherworldly lagoon that awaits the visitor who is daring enough to climb a 3 meter cascade, the only way to reach the base of the 100 meter Paradise Fall. The whole area is of the greenest possible cloudforest, where you can spot such peculiar birds as the Cock of the Rock (the “Tunqui”, more..

Arapata and the Green Lagoon

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There is a road circumventing the Uchumachi mountain. The landscape changes suddenly when you cross to the other side: it suddenly becomes one big coca plantation, with most forest cleared. The landscape can sometimes look like a semi-desert, but the cocafields can be very green too. Because coca plantations leave the soil vulnerable for erosion, some of the mountains are coming down. One particularly big mountain slide blocked a valley, forming a small lake, the “Green Lagoon”. Although it doesn’t look like much form far, it’s the best place to go for a swim in the more..

The Montaña Family

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T he Montaña family grows organic coffee, sold in the Special Coffee circuit, which guarantees they get a good price for their produce. They organise a tour on their farm in Incapampa, in which they explain the whole process of growing, yielding and processing the coffee. Obviously, you end with a degustation.

At the moment tours are somewhat improvised, but by February 2007 – the start of the harvesting season – there should be a complete tour in operation. Until then, your collaboration is voluntarily, but we suggest about 50 Bs. The tour takes about an hour more..

Tocaña

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Tocaña is the biggest Afro-Bolivian community of the country, famous for being the origin of the Saya music and dance. The Africans arrived in the Yungas as slaves, working on the coca plantations, after barely surviving in the silver mines of chilling Potosi . Approximately 8 million slaves were “imported”, leaving only about 50 000 Bolivians of African descent.

The people of Tocaña used to work in the Hacienda of Mururata, a neighbouring village, until as part of the 1952 revultion they revolted and founded their own village under the leadership of more..

"The Waterfalls"

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The classic hike from Coroico. The main reason for that is because it’s so easy and the views are good. However one must be aware of following downsides: the hike goes for two hours along a grassy mountain (no forest here, so loads of sun), the waterfalls (from august to November) may consist of nothing more then a drip (except if it has been raining the days before), and there is a big concrete water tank - including barbed wire - around the waterfalls, because this is where the drinking water from the village comes from.

However, if you visit with a taxi , more..

Santa Rosa de Kilo Kilo

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Literally at the end of the road, the village of Santa Rosa de Kilo Kilo is located an hour further on the Suapi road. It’s a spectacular ride, in which you can see how the forest slowly changes with the difference in altitude. Just before you arrive in the village, you’ll pass the somewhat weird Kilo Kilo Alto hacienda house.

From the village you can make a two hour walk (one way) to visit pre-Columbian rock drawings. You can also get there with a Jeep. The walk goes through a beautiful forest full of birds and butterflies. As the altitude is less than more..