Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Casa C Julio Cuenca. German/Bolivian-run restaurant
where walls are adorned with an eclectic range of trinkets.
Specializes in fondues from B$45. The opening hours
(daily 6pm till late) are one benefit in a town which shuts
up shop Mon and Tues once the weekending paceños
have fled.
Villa Bonita C Héroes del Chaco T 71918298, E villa
_bonita05@yahoo.com. It's a 10min walk from the plaza,
but come for the friendly, boho atmosphere, shady garden,
and delicious home-made ice cream and vegetarian dishes.
Dorm beds are also available Wed-Sun, and en-suite room s
through out the week. Daily 8.30am-5.30pm. Dorms B$55 ,
doubles B$130
Southeast of Uyuni, the Altiplano
changes character. The pleasant little
mining town of Tupiza is surrounded by
arid red mountains and cactus-strewn
badlands eroded into deep gullies and
rock pinnacles. In the far south of the
country lies the provincial capital of
Tarija , a remote yet welcoming city set in
a deep and fertile valley that enjoys a
much warmer climate than the Altiplano.
2
PARQUE NACIONAL SAJAMA
Southwest of La Paz, the road to Chile
passes through a desert plain from the
middle of which rises the perfect snow-
capped cone of Volcán Sajama. At 6542m,
Sajama is the tallest mountain in Bolivia
and the centre of the country's oldest
national park, the Parque Nacional Sajama .
The mountain's slopes support the
highest forest in the world while the
surrounding desert is home to pumas,
rare Andean deer and the rarely seen,
flightless, ostrich-like rheas.
Mountain climbers are drawn by
the peak's relative ease of ascent -
only permitted between April and
October, when the ice is sufficiently
frozen. The lower slopes contain bubbling
geysers and hot springs which make for
excellent hiking.
The administrative centre of the park,
where you can register to climb the
mountain and arrange guides, mules and
porters, is the village of SAJAMA .
ARRIVAL AND INFORMAT ION
By bus There are two ways to reach Sajama by public
transport from La Paz. The first is to take any Oruro-bound
bus as far as the crossroads town of Patacamaya, from
where a micro goes directly to Sajama every day at
about 1pm (get there a couple of hours early), returning
to Patacamaya at 6am the next day. The other way of
reaching the park is to get on a bus from La Paz (2-3 daily;
3hr 30min-4hr) headed for Arica in Chile and alight at
the village of Lagunillas (Lagunas on some maps), 2.5km
beyond the turn-off to Sajama, from where you should be
able to hire a taxi to Sajama village for Bs30-50.
Information For pre-trip information, contact SERNAP
at Av Mariscal Santa Cruz, Edificio Litoral no. 150 in La Paz
( T 02 2111360, W sernap.gob.bo). On arrival in Sajama
village you must register at the park o ce (daily 8am-
noon & 2.30-7pm) and pay a B$30 entrance fee.
The Southern
Altiplano
South of La Paz, the Southern Altiplano
stretches 800km to the Chilean and
Argentine borders. Set at an average
altitude of around 3700m, this starkly
beautiful landscape is the image most
frequently associated with Bolivia: a
barren and treeless expanse whose arid
steppes stretch to the horizon, where
snowcapped mountains shimmer under
deep-blue skies.
The unavoidable transport nexus of
the Altiplano is the tin-mining city of
Oruro , 230km south of La Paz, a grim
monument to industrial decline that
comes alive once a year during the
Carnaval . Some 310km further southeast
of Oruro is the legendary silver-mining
city of Potosí , a city of sublime colonial
architecture, marooned at 4100m above
sea level and filled with monuments to
a glorious but tragic past.
The Altiplano grows more desolate
still as it stretches south towards the
Argentine border. From the forlorn
railway town of Uyuni , 323km due
south of Oruro by road and rail, you can
venture into the dazzling white Salar de
Uyuni , the world's largest salt lake .
Beyond the Salar in the far southwestern
corner of the country is the Reserva de
Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa , a nature
reserve of lunar landscapes, brightly
coloured lakes and a surprising array
of wildlife.
 
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