Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Cordilleras & Yungas Highlights
Travel in the path of the Inca on the inspiring El Choro trek (
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)
Treat yourself to a few days of warm weather, a hammock and poolside
drink in Coroico (
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)
Swing over to Sorata (
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)
for less-traveled climbing, hiking and
biking opportunities
Meet delicate wild vicuñas and the renowned Kallawaya healers in the re-
mote Cordillera Apolobamba (
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)
Strap on your crampons and swing your ice ax to climb one of the fabulous
peaks of the Cordillera Real (
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)
Leave the tourist trail behind for out-of-this-world adventures in the rugged
Cordillera Quimsa Cruz (
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)
Suck some dust on your mountain-bike descent around Coroico (
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) or Sorata (
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)
Explore lost ruins at Iskanwaya (
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)
Settle down for a long journey into the Amazon from the jungle outpost of
Guanay (
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)
Marvel at the views and discover far-removed Andean cultures along the
Takesi trek (
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)
History
With its steep mountains, plunging valleys and rugged terrain, the Yungas and Cordillera
region has been slow to develop. Boom-and-bust cycles kept the region a political back-
water until the end of the first decade of the 2000s when new emphasis on coca produc-
tion brought it to the forefront of national discourse.
The first settlers to the Yungas were inspired by economic opportunity. In the days of
the Inca Empire, gold was discovered in the Tipuani and Mapiri valleys, and the gold-
crazed Spanish immediately got in on the act. To enrich the royal treasury, they forced
locals to labor for them, and the region became one of the continent's most prolific produ-
cers of gold. Later, the fertile valleys were used as the agricultural breadbasket to fuel
