Bolivia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 179

and Ger man owner Petra will make you feel at home.
Doubles B$80
Residencial Sorata Corner of the main plaza T 02
2136672. Set in the delightful, rambling nineteenth-
century Casa Gunther, this residencial makes you feel
you've stepped back in time by at least eighty years. There
are lovely gardens, attractive simple rooms a nd a hu ge,
wonderfully decorated drawing room. Doubles B$100

the main population centres before the
Spanish conquest, the so-called “Inca”
trails - the Takesi , Choro and Yunga Cruz
- are still in good condition, and make
excellent three- to four-day hikes from La
Paz. The most frequently visited Yungas
town is the idyllic resort of Coroico , set
amid spectacular scenery and tropical
vegetation. From Coroico, the road
continues north towards Rurrenabaque
and the Bolivian Amazon (see p.216).

2

EATING AND DRINKING
While there's not a huge range of culinary choice in town,
the setting more than makes up for it.
Altai Oasis (see above). Vast T-bone steaks, vegetables
cultivated in the grounds and beautiful wooden furnish-
ings make it worth the walk or taxi from town, with mains
from B$34.
Café Illampu A 15-20min walk across the valley on the
road leading to the Gruta de San Pedro. Worth a visit for
its delicious breakfasts, milkshakes, bread and pastries,
served in a wonderfully relaxing setting. Closed Tues.
Casa Reggae One block west of Hostal El Mirador . A basic
outdoor bar, with drinks and sandwiches (from B$12) in
the evening and a chilled out, hippyish feel. Evenings only.
Pizzeria Italia There are numerous pizza restaurants on
the plaza; the best of an uninspiring bunch is the pizzeria
attached to Hostal Panchita , with fairly decent and quickly
turned-out pizza.
Restaurante Jalisco Plaza Enrique Peñaranda. This
simple restaurant boasts a rather varied menu of Mexican
and Italian food, as well as more traditional dishes. The
enchiladas are surprisingly tasty (B$24).

COROICO
Rightly considered one of the most
beautiful spots in the Yungas, the
peaceful little town of COROICO is
perched on a steep mountain slope with
panoramic views across the forest-covered
Andean foothills to the icy peaks of the
Cordillera Real beyond. It enjoys a warm
and pleasantly humid climate, and this,
combined with the dramatic scenery and
good facilities, makes it an excellent place
to relax and recuperate - especially if
you've spent the day cycling the “Death
Road” (see box, p.169). Most cafés and
restaurants are closed on Monday
mornings and Tuesdays, and the town is
often without electricity on Mondays.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Most visitors to Coroico spend much of
their time relaxing on the peaceful Plaza
Principal , lounging by a swimming pool
and enjoying the fantastic views. For
those with a bit more energy, though,
there are some pleasant walks through the
surrounding countryside, with forested
mountain slopes covered in a lush
patchwork of coffee and coca plantations,
and banana and orange groves. If you're
feeling adventurous, consider a canyoning

THE YUNGAS
East of La Paz, the Cordillera Real drops
precipitously into the Amazon lowlands,
plunging down through a region of
rugged, forest-covered mountains and
deep subtropical valleys known as the
Yungas , abundant with crops of coffee,
tropical fruit and coca. Three of the
well-built stone roads that linked the
agricultural outposts of the Yungas to

COCA IN THE YUNGAS
The Yungas is one of Bolivia's major coca-producing regions, a role it has played since the
colonial era. Considered sweeter and better for chewing than that produced in the Chapare
region, Yungas coca still dominates the Andean market, and remains legal for traditional use.
It's worth checking on the coca-eradication situation before travelling anywhere off the
beaten track in the Yungas; if an eradication campaign starts up before you arrive, strange
gringos wandering around the backcountry might be misidentified as undercover US
drug-enforcement agents. With President Morales' ongoing attempts to have the coca leaf
taken off the off cial UN narcotics list, however, the situation may become more relaxed.