Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
between the primary forest, giant ferns and Andean cloud forest. From this point, you can
continue an hour further into the park.
MAIRANA AREA
From Mairana, it's 7km uphill along a walking track (or take a taxi) to
La Yunga
, where
there's a community-run guest hut and a FAN office. It's in a particularly lush region of
the Área de Uso Múltiple Amboró, surrounded by tree ferns and other cloud-forest veget-
ation. From La Yunga, a 16km forest traverse connects with the main road near Sa-
maipata.
To enter the park here, visit the guard post at the south end of the soccer field in La
Yunga. Access to Mairana is by
micro
or taxi from Samaipata.
COMARAPA AREA
Northwest of Comarapa, 4km toward Cochabamba, is a little-used entrance to the Área de
Uso Múltiple Amboró. After the road crosses a pass between a hill and a ridge with a tele-
phone tower, look for the minor road turning off to the northeast at the settlement of
Khara Huasi
. This road leads uphill to verdant stands of cloud forest, which blanket the
peaks.
Other worthwhile visits in this area include the 36-sided
Pukara de Tuquipaya
, a set
of pre-Inca ruins on the summit of
Cerro Comanwara
, 1.5km outside of Comarapa; and
the colonial village of
Pulquina Arriba
, several kilometers east of Comarapa.
Sleeping
Inside the park are five wilderness
cabañas
(around B$40 per person per day). For book-
ings and information, contact SERNAP. The
cabañas
are very basic, so you'll need your
own sleeping bag, food and drinking water. The most popular and accessible
cabaña
is the
one on the Río Macuñucu. It's 4km upstream, with a sleeping loft and rudimentary cook-
ing facilities. Other
cabañas
can be found on the lower Río Semayo, above the Río Matar-
acú, on the Río Agua Blanca and on the lower Río Saguayo.
Getting There & Away
By far the easiest and safest way to visit the park is by guided tour with one of the recom-
mended tour agencies in Santa Cruz. To do it yourself, a
micro
heads south from Buena
Vista through Huaytú, San Rafael de Amboró, Espejitos, Santa Rosa de Amboró, Las
