Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
flights to Asunción in Paraguay, Buenos Aires in Argentina and São Paulo in Brazil. The de-
parture taxes are Bs11 for domestic flights and Bs175 for international services.
By bus
Most long-distance buses arrive at and depart from Cochabamba's bus terminal, in
the south of the city on Av Ayacucho just south of Av Aroma. The terminal is modern and
fairly well organized, with an information kiosk, post office, plenty of phone booths, a left-
luggage store, a restaurant, and several ATMs. The area around the bus station can be rough,
especially at night, so take care. A taxi to the city centre costs about Bs5. There are regular
buses to La Paz (7-8hr) and Oruro (4-6hr), and a couple of weekly services to Vallegrande
(10-12hr). Buses to Santa Cruz (10-12hr) leave either early in the morning or in the even-
ing, and there are several overnight buses to Sucre (10-12hr). Services to the Chapare region
(including Villa Tunari; 3hr-3hr 30min) depart when full from close to the junction of Av
Oquendo and Av 9 de Abril, southeast of the city centre.
INFORMATION AND TOURS
TOURIST INFORMATION
The tourist office, located on the second storey of a building on the northwest corner of Plaza
14 de Septiembre (Mon-Fri 8am-noon & 2.30-6.30pm; 04 4258030), usually has free
city maps and leaflets. There is also an information kiosk at the
bus station
(officially daily
6am-10pm; 04 4220550).
TOUR OPERATORS
Respected Cochabamba tour operators include Turismo Santa Rita, Buenos Aires 866 (
04 4280305,
turismosantarita.com
)
, and Collasuyo Tours, Ayacucho and Achá ( 04
4511747), both of which run trips to most of the same regional destinations - city tours, Valle
Alto, Incarakay and Incallajta, Torotoro and the Chapare.
Fremen agency
Tumulsa N-0245 04 4259392,
andes-amazonia.com
.
An excellent tour
agency offering a wide range of tailor-made tours throughout Bolivia. In the Cochabamba
region, they run trips down into the Chapare (where they own the
Hotel El Puente
in Villa
Tunari), as well as city tours and visits to the market towns of the Valle Alto, to the Parque
Nacional Torotoro, and to the ruins at Incarakay and Incallajta. They also organize adventur-
ous camping trips by motorized canoe into the
Parque Nacional Isiboro-Sécure
, starting in
the Chapare and ending in Trinidad.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation in Cochabamba is unexceptional and generally not aimed at tourists. The
better places tend to be rather dull
business hotels
, though there are a few decent budget
options; the flophouses around the bus station are best avoided. The only time accommoda-
tion can be difficult to find is in mid-August during the
Fiesta de la Virgen de Urkupiña
in
nearby
Quillacollo
: it's best to book in advance during this period.
