Bolivia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 216

TOUR AGENCIES IN RURRENABAQUE
A growing number of tour agencies offer trips to the rainforest and the pampas lowlands,
generally lasting three nights. Most guides speak only Spanish, but agencies can usually
arrange an English-speaking interpreter for larger groups. Prices for all-inclusive two-night
trips to both the pampas and the jungle start at about B$500 (not including park entrance
fees; B$150 for the Santa Rosa reserve on the Pampas Tour, and B$125 for the Madidi
National Park) - though expect to pay much more if you want anything more than the
most basic accommodation.

2

tours. Profits go towards conservation and community
work.
Mapajo Ecoturismo Indígena Comercio, at Vaca Diez
T 03 8922317. Indigenous community-run agency
specializing in three-, four- and five-night lodge-based
trips into the Reserva de la Biosfera y Territorio Indígena
Pilón Lajas; the lodge is fully operated and owned by the
Río Quiquibey communities.
San Miguel del Bala Comercio between Vaca Diez
and Santa Cruz T 03 8922394, W sanmigueldelbala.
Not the best option for spotting animals but excellent
for a cultural experience of a Tacana community, and
near enough to Rurre for a day-trip if you're in a rush
(two days, one night at US$160/person).
Villa Alcira Comercio s/n T 07 4092054, E zipline
[e-mail]. A chance to fly through
the tree canopy on a series of high-speed zip-lines.
Trips depart daily at 8am and 2pm.

TOUR OPERATORS
Bala Tours Av Santa Cruz, at Comercio T 03 8922527,
W balatours.com. Specialize in longer five- to eight-day
camping tours into Parque Nacional Madidi, as well
as standard selva (jungle) and pampas programmes.
They're more expensive, but the jungle tours in parti-
cular are very highly recommended and they own their
own camps.
Flecha Avaroa, at Santa Cruz T 03 8922723, W flecha
-tours.com. Popular agency offering three- to four-day
tours of the pampas and rainforest, as well as longer
trips into the Parque Nacional Madidi. Be warned that
their guides are not always as respectful of the pampas
wildlife as they should be - don't be tempted to touch,
even if they do.
Madidi Travel Comercio between Santa Cruz and
Vaca Diez T 03 8922153, W madidi-travel.com.
Environmentally conscious agency offering tailor-made

coffee and juice) and salads are B$15-25. Mon-Sat
8am-8pm, Sun 8am-2pm.
Juliano's Santa Cruz. This is the fanciest Rurre gets and
the prices are a little higher than elsewhere. There are
expensive langoustine dishes and surubí (often offered
with cheese-based sauces), but best to look to the other
areas of the menu - steak with blue cheese is B$50 or
pasta and peanut pesto B$35. Daily 6-11pm.
Moskkito Jungle Bar & Lounge Vaca Diez. A self-
proclaimed Rurre legend (though truth be told, there's not
a whole lot of competition), this place is still going strong
as the town's main hub of drinking and carousing, with
pool tables, tree-trunk furniture, and half-price happy-
hour cocktails. The food is good too - try the fried fish with
roasted vegetables and chips (B$38). Daily 3pm-3am.
Panadería Paris Avaroa. Tatty-looking but a honeypot
for tourists in the morning, who come for wonderfully
authentic pastries and bread rolls. Help-yourself flasks of
coffee (B$5 for the “organic”), orange juice and licuados
(from B$4) make for a fantastic breakfast. Mon-Sat 6am-
noon or when they run out of goods.
La Pascana Vaca Diez. Run by a very welcoming
husband-and-wife team, this little restaurant is really
an extension of their home. Try the local surubí fish, grilled

on a barbecue rolled out onto the pavement. Mains B$35.
Daily noon-8pm.
La Perla de Rurre Bolívar, at Vaca Diez. This moderately
priced place dishes up mouthwatering lowland river fish
specialities, including the delicious surubí a la plancha
in the house sauce, in a plant-filled patio shaded by tall
mango trees.

THE NORTHERN AMAZON
FRONTIER
From Rurrenabaque a dirt road
continues north across a wide savanna-
covered plain towards the remote
backwater of the Northern Amazon
Frontier , more than 500km away. As the
road draws near to Riberalta , the largest
city in the region, the savanna gives way
to dense Amazonian rainforest. East of
Riberalta, the road continues 100km
to Guayaramerín , on the banks of the
Río Mamoré, which is the main border
crossing point if you're heading north
into Brazil.