Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
peaks: check carefully that the guide is qualified and the equipment reliable - if in doubt, go
with a more reputable and expensive agency. You can get good advice and find fully quali-
fied mountaineering guides through the
Club Andino Boliviano
( 022312875), in La Paz
at Mexico 1638, just up from Plaza Estudiante.
Mountain biking
Bolivia is home to some of the finest
mountain bike
routes in the world, and travelling by
bike is one of the best ways to experience the Andes. Numerous
tour companies
in La Paz
have set up
downhill mountain biking
trips. These involve being driven up to a high pass,
put on a bike, and then riding downhill at your own pace, accompanied by a guide and fol-
lowed by a support vehicle. This is not an activity where you should try to save money by
going with a cheap operator - look for a company with experienced guides, well-maintained
andhigh-qualitybikesandadequatesafetyequipment;
GravityAssistedMountainBiking
has
the best reputation.
Easily the most popular route is down the road from
La Paz to Coroico
in the
Yungas
, a
stunning 3500m descent which many travellers rate as one of the highlights of South Amer-
ica, never mind Bolivia. You don't need any previous mountain-biking experience to do this
ride, which is easy to organize as a day-trip from La Paz. Other popular routes include
Chac-
altaya
to La Paz, and down the
Zongo valley
into the Yungas from Chacaltaya, while hard-
core mountain bikers can try their luck on the
Takesi Trail
. As with trekking and climbing,
though, the possibilities are pretty much endless, especially if you have your own bike.
For advice on new routes or mountain biking in general, contact Bolivia mountain-bike pi-
oneer and guru Alistair Matthew, of Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking - he can also help
organize specialist guided tours.
Rafting and kayaking
The many rivers rushing down from the Andes into the Upper Amazon valleys offer massive
potential for
kayaking
and
whitewater rafting
, though these activities are not as developed
as they could be. The most easily accessible and popular river is the
Río Coroico
, in the
Yungas, which offers rapids from grade II to IV (and sometimes higher) and is accessible on
day-trips from Coroico. The most challenging trip is down the
Río Tuichi
, which runs from
the high Andes down into the rainforest of the
Parque Nacional Madidi
.
NATIONAL PARKS AND RESERVES
Bolivia's system of protected areas currently covers around fifteen percent of the coun-
try. These national parks (parques nacionales), national reserves (reservas nacionales)
and “natural areas” (areas naturales de manejo integrado) encompass the full range of
