THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Bolivia - page 338

night to eat fruit, and navigate by echolocation, emitting a strange clicking sound. For longer
trips into the park, contact Fremen Tours in Cochabamba.
Ivirgarzama
About 29km east from Chimoré along the Chapare road, the unappealing market centre of
IVIRGARZAMA has little to distinguish it from other Chapare towns apart from the fact
that it's from here that a side road leads north to Puerto Villarroel, from where you can travel
by boat to Trinidad in the Beni. There are a couple of very basic alojamientos , but no reason
to spend the night here.
FromIvirgarzama themainroadcontinues easttoSantaCruz,247kmaway,passingthrough
Buena Vista (141km), the main entrance point to the Parque Nacional Amboró .
Puerto Villarroel
From Ivirgarzama, a rough dirt road runs 26km north to PUERTO VILLARROEL , a small
riverportonthe Río Ichilo fromwhereregularcargoboatstravelnorthto Trinidad . Thisriver
route is the main transport link between Cochabamba department and the Beni , and was the
only route between Trinidad and highland Bolivia until the road from Santa Cruz to Trinidad
was completed in the 1970s. Puerto Villarroel is an untidy collection of tin-roofed houses,
many of them raised above the muddy, unpaved streets to protect them from flooding when
the river bursts its banks - a not infrequent occurrence in the November to March rainy sea-
son. Most activity takes place on the river bank, where there's a naval base, a series of oil
storage tanks and a rudimentary port where ramshackle river boats line up to load and un-
load cargo.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: THE CHAPARE
VILLA TUNARI
By bus Regular buses and trufis (3hr-3hr 30min) to Villa Tunari leave from the intersection
of Av Oquendo and Av 9 de Abril in Cochabamba. Heading back to Cochabamba from
Villa Tunari, you can catch a bus or trufi from the office of Trans Tours 7 de Junio on the
main road; alternatively flag down one of the services passing through town on their way
to Cochabamba from elsewhere in the Chapare. Through buses from Santa Cruz will drop
you off at the police control tranca at the west end of town, and buses heading to Santa
Cruz sometimes pick up passengers here if they have room, though most pass through in the
middle of the night.
PARQUE NACIONAL CARRASCO
By taxi To visit the park you'll need to reach the settlement of Paracito, about 10km from
Villa Tunari on a side road heading south off the main road just east of town - a taxi should
cost about Bs40-60, and twice that if you want the driver to wait around for a few hours and
take you back after your visit.