Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By train
Once a proud symbol of the country's tin-fuelled march to modernity, Bolivia's
railway
net-
work,like the mining industry that spawned it, isnowashadowofits former self. The
Ferro-
carril Andino
(or Occidental) (
www.fca.com.bo
)
runs passenger trains from Oruro south
across the Altiplano via Uyuni and Tupiza to Villazón on the Argentine border. From Uy-
uni, another line, served by a weekly passenger train, runs southeast to Calama in Chile. The
scenery on both these Altiplano routes is magnificent. The company also runs a slow if pic-
turesque service between Sucre and Potosí.
The
Ferrocarril Oriental
(
ferroviariaoriental.com
) has two lines from Santa Cruz: one
east to the Brazilian border at Quijarro; the other south to Yacuiba in the Chaco on the Ar-
gentine border. The former is known as the “Train of Death”, not because it's dangerous but
because it's such a boring ride.
By boat
Although Bolivia is a landlocked country, there are still several regions - particularly Lago
Titicaca and the Amazon - where water is still the best way if getting around. Several high-
end tour agencies run
hydrofoil
and
catamaran
cruises on Lago Titicaca, and smaller pas-
senger launches run between Copacabana and the Isla del Sol.
River boats were for a long time the only means of transport in the Bolivian
Amazon
, but
their use has declined rapidly with the expansion of the road network in the region. There are
still plenty of river trips you can make, though, and travelling by boat is the ideal way to ex-
perience the rainforest. There are two main forms of river transport.
Dugout canoes
powered
by outboard motors are the only real way to get deep enough into the jungle to see the wild-
life. Tour agencies use these to take groups into protected areas like the Parque Nacional Ma-
didi and irregular passenger services operate along some rivers. Alternatively, you can hire a
canoe and its boatman for a few days - this means searching around the riverbank and nego-
tiating, and the high fuel consumption of outboard motors means it won't be cheap.
The second (and much more economic) form of river transport are the larger
cargo boats
that ply the two main water routes not yet supplanted by roads: the
Río Mamoré
, between
Trinidad and Guayaramerin on the Brazilian frontier, and the
Río Ichilo
, between Trinidad
andPuertoVillaroelintheChapare.Thoughgenerallyfarfromcomfortable,theseslow-mov-
ingvesselsallowpassengerstohitchhammocksabovethedeckforasmallfeeandareagreat
way to see the Amazon if you're not in a hurry.
By car
If you're short on time or want to get to some really out-of-the-way destinations,
renting a
car
is a possibility, but few travellers ever do. It's usually easier and not much more expens-
ive to hire a taxi to drive you around for a day or longer.
