Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
has reopened, it can be reached on a circuitous route via the Brazilian town of Pimenteiras
taking at least two to three days.
INFORMATION
Tourist information
If you want to visit the park independently, you must inform
SERNAP
in Santa Cruz or San Ignacio de Velasco, Bolivar 87 ( 03 3932747) first. The Santa Cruz-
based tour operators, particularly the recommended
Ruta Verde
, are a better source of in-
formation. There's no official entry fee, but local communities sometimes charge around
Bs70-100 per vehicle.
ACCOMMODATION
Cabins and camping
Accommodation in Camp Los Fierros is in very basic cabins with
dorms sleeping two to four with foam mattresses and shared bathrooms. You can also camp
here if you have your own equipment. Independent travellers should bring all their food and
drinking water with them, as there are no facilities. Camp Flor de Oro is currently closed, but
Ruta Verde
is
looking into setting up accommodation with the local community in this area.
Cabins
Bs150
East from Santa Cruz
From
Santa Cruz
, the railway line runs some 680km east to the
Brazilian border
across
a seemingly endless expanse of forest and tangled scrub, gradually giving way to the vast
swamplands of the
Pantanal
as the border draws near. Settlements along the line remain
few and far between, and the region's main towns are both close to the Brazilian border:
Puerto Suárez
, a half-forgotten lakeside outpost that was once the focus of Bolivian dreams
of access to the Atlantic via the Río Paraguay, and the dismal border trading settlement of
Quijarro
, the train's last stop before the frontier.
Chochis
Between San José de Chiquitos and the town of Roboré, an immense mass of red rock marks
the community of
CHOCHIS
, about 360km east of Santa Cruz. At the foot of this spectacu-
lar rock tower is the
Santuario de Chochis
- a beautifully quaint church established by the
survivors of a disaster that rocked the area in 1979. After twenty days of torrential rain, on
January 15, 1979 a volcanic eruption caused the railway bridge to collapse, killing many pas-
sengers on a passing train. It is well worth the climb to take the path that goes some way up
the
cerro
, as the views stretch right across the strange moon-like landscape.
Puerto Suárez
JustbeforereachingtheBrazilianborderatQuijarro,therailwaylinepassesthroughtheolder
and more agreeable
PUERTO SUÁREZ
, situated on the shores of Lago Cáceres, which is
linked to the mighty Río Paraguay. Founded in 1875, the town has long been the focus of
