Trekking in Bolivia, Cordillera Apolobamba
| country: | Bolivia |
| trip type: | High altitude, very challenging trekking holidays |
| departures: | 2009: 20 Jun, 8 Aug |
| price: | From £1195 (21 days) excluding flights. We can arrange flights from the UK |
the amazing things you'll be doing
We think we've found the best mountain trek in South America.
Apolobamba National Park, Ulla Ulla Vicuña Reserve and Madidi National Park form one huge protected area covering all the ecological zones of the Andes and Amazon: from the high glaciers down to the rain forest.
This route starts in the remote and isolated mountains to the north of the small town of Pelechuco. It descends down through the cloud forest of the upper Madidi National Park, before climbing again to the mountains on the western side of the Apolobamba mountain range, and ends in Curva, the capital of the Callawayas.
Along the way, you’ll visit several ancient pre-Hispanic ruins and meet people from some of Bolivia’s original ethnic groups: the Aymaras around Titicaca, the Quechuas in the northern Apolobamba range and the Callawayas on its southern end, all of whom have a lifestyle unchanged in centuries.
The whole area is very sparsely populated, the nature is pristine and your chances of spotting wild animals are far more realistic than anywhere else in the Andes: condors, dozens of bird species, lots of vizcachas (Andean marmot), and – with some luck – a spectacled bear, coyotes, deer, foxes or occasionally pumas.
An experience to remember!
Apolobamba National Park, Ulla Ulla Vicuña Reserve and Madidi National Park form one huge protected area covering all the ecological zones of the Andes and Amazon: from the high glaciers down to the rain forest.
This route starts in the remote and isolated mountains to the north of the small town of Pelechuco. It descends down through the cloud forest of the upper Madidi National Park, before climbing again to the mountains on the western side of the Apolobamba mountain range, and ends in Curva, the capital of the Callawayas.
Along the way, you’ll visit several ancient pre-Hispanic ruins and meet people from some of Bolivia’s original ethnic groups: the Aymaras around Titicaca, the Quechuas in the northern Apolobamba range and the Callawayas on its southern end, all of whom have a lifestyle unchanged in centuries.
The whole area is very sparsely populated, the nature is pristine and your chances of spotting wild animals are far more realistic than anywhere else in the Andes: condors, dozens of bird species, lots of vizcachas (Andean marmot), and – with some luck – a spectacled bear, coyotes, deer, foxes or occasionally pumas.
An experience to remember!
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive La Paz. Fly in over the Andes to El Alto, at 4000 metres the highest international airport in the world. Here you’ll be met by your guide and taken to your hotel in downtown La Paz. |
| Day 2-4: | Lake Titicaca. The next few days are an ideal opportunity to acclimatize to the altitude with a fascinating exploration of the reed islands of Lake Titicaca. Sleep under the stars of the Southern Hemishpere with views to the Cordillera Real. |
| Day 5-12: | Your Bolivia trek begins in the Quechua village of Peluchuco where our local guides will lead us through the cloud forest on pre-Columbian trails. Over the next few days we’ll pass through a series of hidden valleys, with incedible views to the Cordillera Apolobamba. We will meet local people, including the shy Mollo Indians and head over passes higher than 4000 metres. On day 12, we will hit our highest pass at 5300 metres before heading downhill for a long earned rest. |
| Day 13: | Suchez. Rest day. |
| Day 14-18: | Altanari to Curva. Staying high, we pass through Ulla Ulla Vicuña reserve and into an even wilder and more spectacular landscape. Never dropping below 4500 metres, we trek through valleys dotted with llama and alpacas and over passes giving views to the Illampu massif and the Cordillera Real. Eventually, we descend to the town of Curva, populated by Callawaya Indians. |
| Day 19: | Return to La Paz. |
| Day 20: | La Paz. A free day to explore. |
| Day 21: | Depart |
how this holiday makes a difference
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Traveling by foot is an inherently sustainable activity and is undoubtedly the best way to travel through the Bolivian landscape.
This trip supports a wide range of local businesses from our guides to locally-owned small hotels and the communities which we visit. In particular, by traveling to Bolivia’s largest protected area, we are spreading the benefit of tourism to wild areas and emphasising the economic importance of protected area networks. Responsibility to the communities, economies and environments in which we operate has always been and will continue to be at the very core of our business. To help you decide which company you would like to travel with, we have devised a straightforward statement on Responsible Tourism, clearly explaining what our policies mean in practice. This statement can be viewed in full on our website. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |