Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The trail then passes through thick forest and you may need to do a bit of bush bashing
with a machete; plan on getting good and wet from mud and the soaked vegetation. Six
hours beyond Abra Nasacara is a very pleasant ridge-top campsite,
Koka Punku
, with
water in a shallow pond 50m away. About three hours further on, just before a prominent
landslide, look out for the water 3m off the track to the right. Four hours and three crests
later is the last permanent water source and campsite at
Lagunillas
. An hour later you'll
find good (but dry) campsites on the hill,
Alto Palmar
.
From Alto Palmar, the trail tunnels through dense vegetation along the
Cuesta de
Amargura
(Bitterness Ridge). After three hours the jungle gives way to merely thick
bush. Six hours later you'll reach
Pararaní
(1900m), where there's water (which needs to
be purified) in a small pond near the ruins of an old house. An hour later there's a semi-
permanent lake, and just beyond it the trail leaves the dense vegetation and issues onto a
grassy ridge flanked by thick forest. It's then 4½ hours to
Incapampa
, with a semi-per-
manent marsh and a campsite. Along this stretch, wildlife is rife - mainly in the form of
bees, ants, ticks, flies and mosquitoes, as well as plenty of butterflies.
About three hours beyond Incapampa you'll reach the hamlet of
San José
(1400m),
where there's a campsite and a view over the village of Santiago. Water can sometimes be
found 300m down to the right of the route. After an open area that's actually an old
cemetery, the left fork provides the faster track to Mapiri.
Four to five hours of walking from San José brings you to
Mapiri
, which is visible 1½
hours before you arrive. Here you'll find several decent
alojamientos
and motorized ca-
noes that race the 80km downstream to
Guanay
(B$25, three hours), which will seem like
a city after a week of isolation. Boats leave around 9am, but get there an hour earlier to
get a place. Alternatively, catch a
camioneta
along the 4WD track first to Santa Rosa
(don't attempt to walk as there are two large river crossings), which has a decent
hostal
with a swimming pool, and then 175km uphill back to Sorata (B$45, 12 hours).
Guanay
POP 11,528 / ELEV 500M (1640FT)
Isolated Guanay makes a good base for visits to the gold-mining operations along the Ríos
Mapiri and Tipuani. Chatting with the down-to-earth miners and
barranquilleros
(pan-
ners) can make for a particularly interesting experience. This area and other spots upriver
are frontier territory that are reminiscent of the USA's legendary Old West, and a bit of
caution is advised.
