- City Tour La Paz (appr. 4 hrs); the tour starts with a visit to Indian markets and the witch market, the San Francisco Basilica, Plaza Murillo, the Governmental Palace, the National Congress and the Metropolitan Cathedral. Then you go to Calle Jaén, the oldest street of La Paz where you can find four little, but interesting museums. The museums are all to enter with one entrance ticket, which you can do on your own later on if you want.
Then you go to the southern part of the city where you can see a big difference with the old central city. Big 30 floor sky scrapers and modern shopping centres where traditional Indians and office personal in Armani suites are making this city really colorful.
Further down south the climate is warmer and the areas are greener. That´s the reason why the rich live in this part and the poor people in colder, higher suburbs as El Alto. The difference between El Alto and the south is 1.000 meters! La Paz is the Government´s home town and often named by mistake "highest capital of the world"; the official capital city is Sucre.
Note: Due to road or weather conditions, the program can always be modified, if necessary.
- City Tour La Paz with Moon Valley (half or full day); the tour starts with a visit to Indian markets and the witch market, the San Francisco Basilica, Plaza Murillo, the Governmental Palace, the National Congress and the Metropolitan Cathedral. If you go on a full day tour then you go also to Calle Jaén, the oldest street of La Paz where you can find four little, but interesting museums. The museums are all to enter with one entrance ticket, which you can do on your own later on if you want.
After lunch (full day only) you go to the southern part of the city where you can see a big difference with the old central city. Big 30 floor sky scrapers and modern shopping centres where traditional Indians and office personal in Armani suites are making this city really colorful.
Further down south the climate is warmer and the areas are greener. That´s the reason why the rich live in this part and the poor people in colder, higher suburbs as El Alto. The difference between El Alto and the south is 1.000 meters!
A few kilometres outside the city you will visit the Moon Valley. Beautiful, by erosion formed landscapes in a little park where the Big Andes Hummingbird flies over your head (if you´re lucky).
La Paz is the Government´s home town and often named by mistake "highest capital of the world"; the official capital city is Sucre.
Note: Due to road or weather conditions, the program can always be modified, if necessary.
- Tiwanaku Ruins (full day); you will be transported by bus (tour in group) or by car (private tour) to visit the epic city of Tiwanaku, capital of an ancient civilization that rose around 700 B.C. Tiwanaku is located 72 km away from the city of La Paz and near the south-eastern shore of Lake Titicaca. During its greatest time, the capital of Tiwanaku was the largest in the world and considered to be the cradle of all American civilizations.
These pre-Inca ruins started endless archaeological debates, the most recent radiocarbon tests show that this edification dates back to 1,580 B.C.
In this ancient breath taking city you will visit the Kalasasaya (Sun) temple, Semi underground (Earth) Temple, Akapana Pyramid and the legendary Sun Gate, the tour also takes you to an impressive museum filled with ancient objects and tools that stand as proof of just how advanced this civilization really was.
- The World´s Most Dangerous Road; the car takes you from La Paz to La Cumbre at an altitude of 4,700 m. Here you will start downhill biking, on a good quality mountain bike, over The World´s Most Dangerous Road to Yolosa. You descend more than 3,600 m. in 64 km!
There are only a few small uphills and a couple of flat bits.
The road changes from wide pavement to narrow and rocky. You bike from the cold and dry Altiplano landscape into the tropical Yungas where it is warm and humid.
By the time you arrive at the bottom in Yolosa you will be tired and hot. Just below the village there´s the place where you will get a late lunch and where you can spend a couple of hours relaxing by the pool.
You will have your transportation back La Paz at the end of the day.
Or, you can choose to do a 2 days Downhill biking tour.
- Chacaltaya (appr. 5 hrs.); Chacaltaya is the highest ski area in the world, but this is not very often possible and the ski lifts haven´t seen maintenance for many years. It is an amazing trip by car up to 5,200 m. over narrow roads.
The view over El Alto and La Paz is beautiful from here. You are almost between the snow peaks of the Cordillera Real.
If you want you can do a little hike from the ski hut at 5,200 to 5,430 m. Walking at this altitude is quite demanding, but it is a good work out.
- Chacaltaya and Moon Valley (full day): this tour combines a visit to the Chacaltaya ski run with one to the Valley of the Moon, where you can admire beautifully eroded landscape.
- The World´s Most Dangerous Road; the description of this tour you can find amongst the 1 days tours.
The difference is that you can enjoy the tropical area and make use of the pool. You will stay overnight in Yolosa and return to La Paz later in the afternoon the next day.
- Acotango Trekking (6,038 m); The Acotango is surely one of Bolivia´s unknown mountains over 6,000 m, however it is one of the easiest to ascend. Only the last part of the climb requires the use of an ice axe and crampons, for the rest of the ascent there are almost no climbing difficulties. The only disadvantage of the Bolivian Chilean border region, where the Acotango is situated, is the often very strong winds which can make a summit attempt impossible. In this region you can find the highest situated trees in the world, the Quinual Tree, the Sajama National Park with the highest mountain of Bolivia, Lake Chungura, the active volcano Guallatiri and the twin volcanoes Pomerape and Parinacota. So altogether it is a marvelous and beautiful scenery and in the middle of this you will find the Acotango.
1st day: Today you will drive from La Paz in the direction of the Chilean border. Just before the border you turn left onto a bumpy gravel road that leads you along an elongated multicolored volcano range. Over loose sand the car tries to get as far as possible, if necessary with the help of a shovel. The rest you will have to walk until reaching the campsite, in general this takes 2 hours. The campsite is situated, not as close as it looks, at the foot of the mountain on a wide plateau. Here you pitch your tent and an evening meal will be prepared. You will go to bed early, but not without enjoying a beautiful red colored sunset over the National Park.
2nd day: Now it gets serious, you have to wake up very early, in the light of your torch first you will start the hike over a flat trail. Little by little the trail gets steeper, later crowned with a climb onto a mountain ridge with amazing views. The last part is mainly iced but never really difficult, so you will reach the top with it´s magnificent views over the surroundings soon. You will enjoy the neverending panorama of mountains with the giant Sajama and the symmetric Parinacota. Right in front of you raises the steaming cone of Guallatiri, also over 6,000 m, an active ice volcano. The descent is via the same route as you came up. Reaching the campsite you will take down the tent and enjoy a small meal.
Then you will walk back to the car that takes you back to La Paz.
- The Choro Inca Trail (from March to November); the Inca road passes through breathtaking scenery with an amazing diversity and by numerous pre-Columbian ruins. It takes little time to walk from eternal snow to lush vegetation.
On the first day, you will ascent to a pass, Apacheta Chucura, at 4,850 m. This is the point where the long descent to the valleys of the Yungas begins... After 6 hours of walking, you will arrive at the village of Challampampa where you will camp out.
You will continue descending (of course there are some uphill parts as well!) on the second day to the bottom of the valleys. The vegetation becomes denser and the air warmer. After 6 to 7 hours of walking you will finally arrive at the village of Sandillani. The vegetation is sub tropical. In San Francisco you will camp out.
You finish the trek on the third day in the village of Chairo after some hours walking.
In Chairo a private jeep waits for you to take you to Coroico. Later in the afternoon you will return to La Paz by local transport.
For the 4 days Choro Inca Trail, click here.
- Takesi Trail; the first day you will travel by bus from La Paz to Ventilla in 2 hours. From this point you will start to walk uphill until the village Choquekhota. You are at an altitude of 4,650 m. You will have magnificent views of the snow capped mountain Mururata. Today you walk until the village of Kakapi where you will camp out, have dinner and spend the night.
On the second day you will continue the hike to the village of Yanacachi. In this area the vegetation is already subtropical, with banana, papaya and coca leaves. You will pass the small mining village of Chollja. From here it is one hour down to Yanacachi, a very nice village in the middle of the Southern Yungas.
You will stay overnight in a hostal here.
On the third and last day you will have breakfast and explore the small town of Yanacachi. After this you will take a bus back to La Paz.
- Huayna Potosí, 6,088 m; you will leave La Paz at 9.00 in the morning to Huayna Potosí base camp. From the base camp you will take a trek for about 40 minutes until you reach the base of the glacier.
On the glacier you will practice different techniques for approximately two hours and a half. You will camp out in base camp.
On the second day of your adventure you will get yourself ready for a three hours trek at the end of which you will reach high camp at 5,200 m.
You will stay overnight in the refuge.
On the third day you will go for the summit of the Huayna Potosí at 6,088 m!
Therefore you will have an early start, at one at night. You will have to cross the glacier to make it to the top.
You will arrive at the top at about seven.
Once you have achieved your aim, you will have beautiful views from the summit! You can overlook Sajama, the Cordillera Real and Lake Titicaca.
Then you will return to high camp, to have something to eat and continue further down to base camp.
At about three in the afternoon you will be back in La Paz.
- Condoriri Trekking; the description of this tour you can find here: 4 days Condoriri Trekking. You just have to leave out the second day of the 4 days trekking, on which day the Cerro Austria is climbed.
- The Choro Inca Trail (from March to November); the description of this tour you can find above; see 3-days tours.
The difference is, that you will spend the 3rd night at a campsite in Sandillani.
You can spend the morning of the fourth day in Coroico, the pearl of the Yungas, at a pool or you can go for a walk around the village.
In the afternoon local transport will bring you back to La Paz.
- Condoriri Trekking; A marvellous trekking tour through one of the prettiest Andean regions of Bolivia. Above the mountain village Tuni you will pass scenic lakes and head towards the base of the ice covered Condoriri mountain range, one of the most beautiful and immense mountain ranges of Bolivia.
1st day: You start early from La Paz. First on the main road to Copacabana, then you turn right into a valley, at the end of it there is a beautiful village named Tuni. It is located directly next to the Tuni lake, which is used as water reservoir for La Paz. From here you start the trekking with help of mules or donkeys through a scenic valley towards high camp. The trek takes about 3 hours and is not so demanding, the terrain is more or less flat. At Lake Khiar Khota you make camp, excitingly near to the numerous icy giants of the Condoriri mountain range.
2nd day: Although you can observe the Cerro Austria only from a distance, it offers a glorious view and is really impressive. If you see its 5,300 m high rocky pyramid peak for the first time you cannot believe that this mountain can be ascended on quite easy tracks. The mountain appears right at the bottom of the Condoriri group, from where several mountains can be approached. For that reason it is often used as an acclimatization tour for other, more difficult goals, like the Pequenio Alpamayo or the Condoriri. As the starting point is already located at a rather high altitude, you only have to ascend 700 meters which will take about 3 hours. You continue over quite good tracks, broad debris areas and green lands into a small saddle. Here you have a wide view to the gigantic ice areas underneath the Condoriri and the daunting icy wall of the A la Izquierda. You climb further up on a broad ridge. Up high we are overwhelmed by the gorgeous views, almost the entire Cordillera Real can be seen from here. On clear days even the Titicaca Lake joins the image. Tonight we will climb down and sleep at the lake again.
3rd day: Today we have to overcome a 5,000 m high pass, eventually there is some time left to include the 5,250 m high Mirador. As we are already on 4,600 m, the ascend should be managed easily. We carry on towards our high camp through wonderful green mountain meadows, next to the wild rocky and icy summits of the Condoriri mountain range. The camp is located underneath the mountain Maria Lloco, which is characterized by a small but very steep ice wall.
4th day: Today we will conquer a very special mountain. The Huayna Potosí with its perfectly symmetric summit pyramid is part of the most popular mountains of the country. From every perspective it draws our special attention. Unfortunately it is not that easy ascendable, but who ever wants to can conquer it at the end of our tour. Today's tour leads us around the mountain, to the starting point for the climb to the Zongo pass.
Three hours later our taxi is waiting for us at this place. Then you will return to La Paz, back into the civilization.
- Illimani Trekking; Inti Illimani, the God of the Sun. Truly majestic its multi peaks towers above the Bolivian metropolis La Paz. You just need to get up there!
In four days this is possible from La Paz or, with private, more expensive transport it is even possible in 3-days. Therefore you need to be very fit and you need enough mountaineering experience, the ice traverses are very steep and very complicated. And, for most people, the unusual altitude.
The Illimani is with its 6,439 m the second highest mountain of Bolivia and the highest in the Cordillera Real. The mountain has 5 peaks over 6,000 m, the highest is Pico Sur.
According to the Indian legend the mountain Apu Mururata tried to be bigger than Illimani. That enraged Illimani so that Illimani cut of the snowcapped top of Apu Mururata. Since then the cut top is located 200 km to the west in the shape of the volcano Sajama.
1st day: Depending on the number of participants you go by bus or by private transport from La Paz to Pinaya. Just before the village you will have to get out of the vehicle because it can not get further. Donkeys or mules will carry your luggage to the first campsite which is located just behind the village at 4,500 m.
2nd day: You will climb 1,000 m up carrying your own luggage. If you want you can hire a personal porter up to here. The destination for today is called the Condors Nest, and it is in accordance with the name very remote. The view to La Paz is breathtaking.
3rd day: You will need appr. 6 hours to reach the summit. The climb goes over huge rock and ice landscapes into the thin air.
Because you will leave around midnight you will see most of it on the way back. The view from the highest point in the Cordillera Real is overwhelming you can see almost half of the country from here.
Unfortunately you will have to go back and return all the way to the first campsite.
4th day: From the campsite you will walk back to Pinaya and from there to the road where the car or bus will pick you up to bring you back to La Paz.
- Sajama Trekking; Bolivia´s highest mountain impresses because it stands free from other mountains. Sajama, a volcano, can be climbed in four days but only by experienced and fit climbers. The area of 80,000 hectares around the mountain is protected since 1939 and is named after the mountain, National Park Sajama. In this region are more volcanoes and here you can find the highest situated trees in the world, the Quinual Tree. Vicuñas, condors, Andean pumas, armadillos, flamingos and Andean wild cats are animals that live here.
1st day: You will go by bus or in 4WD (= private transport) to Patacama, a small village on the main road to Oruro, where you will have breakfast. The drive continues and goes through dry steppe landscape until the next stop for some last shopping on the market.
Sajama is a small and very remote village without electricity and water at an altitude of 4,300 m, based at the foot of Sajama Mountain, with its 6,542 m the highest mountain of Bolivia. Here you will register and pay the entrance fee for the National Park.
From here you will continue further to base camp at an altitude of 4,700 m with a beautiful view at the mountain that you are going to climb. The night will be cold.
2nd day: Heavily packed you continue to high camp through a bare and rocky landscape. The camp is on the west ridge at an altitude of 5,700 m. So you have to make 1,000 altitude m and with full backpacks it will be hard. During the first part the trail is easy and you can find a good rhythm to walk. The last 200 - 300 altitude meters will be very hard, the snow is slippery and you have to climb up steep slopes with very loose stones/debris, a hell of a job with the big backpack and in the thin air. When you reach high camp you can finally put down your backpack and put up your tent.
The strong winds and the cold will put you in bed very early. Hopefully you can sleep at this altitude.
3rd day: You will have to wake up in the middle of the night but you will be happy because finally you can leave your tent. After breakfast you put on your crampons. Immediately it goes up steep, luckily today your backpack is much lighter. A small ice wall with a sharp ridge will be the key part, smaller and less difficult as at Huayna Potosí. But the total climb is very steep and therefore hard. It is almost impossible to get a good rhythm. However the highest mountain of the country motivates of course and so you keep pushing yourself higher and higher until you reach the top. The top almost has the size of a football field. The air is extremely clear, therefore you can see the Cordillera Real in the far distance and beyond. You will enjoy a fabulous colour pallet on the Parinacota Mountain.
The guide will let you enjoy the scenery but not too long. He will urge you to go down to high camp before the ice fields get very soft and to warm up a little bit. Going down from the top to your tent is not so hard, but be careful.
At high camp you will have a break before you pack all your stuff together and then take a shortcut over a snow flank down to base camp.
Here you can decide if you want to walk down to the village, to save yourself another night in the tent. An option is to visit a thermal bath to relax, it is an open-air hot spring and lies a few km from the village. Here you can go to a local restaurant where you can enjoy a good dinner. There are no toilets, electricity and water but you will not be fussy about these things anymore and the most important thing is a warm bed.
4th day: In the morning you have time to take some pictures from the volcano in the crystal clear sky or, if you stayed at base camp, walk down from here to the village.
In any case you should try to take the classic Sajama picture; through the white entrance gate of the graveyard. Then it is time to head back to La Paz by car, where you can take a nice hot shower and have a real good dinner.
- Ancohuma (6,427 m); The climb to Ancohuma leads through mighty, almost untouched, rocky and icy landscapes. Its majestic height makes the climb to Ancohuma a highlight.
1st day: Early morning you will leave from La Paz to Sorata, a lovely Andean mountain village at 2,700 m.
From here you will start hiking, passing agriculture land first. The higher you get the more remote it gets. Following (shepherds) trails you will finally reach Lake Chilata (4,245 m) in the afternoon. This will be your first camp site on this trek.
2nd day: You will climb up more and more in the direction of Ancohuma.
It will take about 6 hours to get from Lake Chilata to the Glacial Lake. In those 6 hours you will enjoy the beautiful surroundings, the views and silence of the area. The vegetation gets less and less because your campsite for today is at 4,900 m.
3rd day: After a probably cold night you will prepare yourself to climb from 4,900 to 5,750 m.
The climb to high camp will take appr. 5 hours from where tomorrow you will try to make it to the top of the Ancohuma. The trail will lead you through snow and glacial landscapes, a nice contrast after the last 2 days hiking through green areas.
Another cold night lies ahead of you.
4th day: Today you will start early, as it will be a long day. Over imposing ice landscape you will climb in about 6 hours to the top of the Ancohuma. It is the highest summit in the northern part of the Cordillera Real and for that it is of course a first class viewpoint. From here you can see the blue waters of Lake Titicaca. Only the Illimani and the Sajama exceed the Ancohuma in Bolivia in altitude.
After enjoying the marvellous views and taking pictures of the surroundings you will have to get down to high camp first and then further down to the camp site at Lake Chilata where you will spend the last night of the trekking.
5th day: From Lake Chilata you walk down back to the civilization in Sorata from where, enjoying the views over the Cordillera Real, you will return to La Paz.
- Illampu; The Illampu, the God of the Storm, lies east of Lake Titicaca and north of La Paz. With 6,368 m it is the fourth highest mountain of Bolivia and the third highest of the Cordillera Real. It has two summits: Illampu North and Illampu South, which are connected by an ice ridge. It is the most difficult mountain to climb in Bolivia as it is a giant ice mountain and it can only be climbed by experienced mountaineers.
The climb is long and the mountain is not easy to reach. The climb is most impressive because it goes over difficult untouched ice fields and rock formations.
Once on top you can overlook almost the complete country, and down below you can see Lake Titicaca.
1st day: From La Paz you will go to Sorata, a lovely Andean mountain village at 2,700 m. You can not stay here long because you will have to continue to Ancoma where you will stay overnight in the village.
2nd day: Today you will climb from Ancoma through beautiful Andean landscape in appr. 5 hours to your camp site. This camp is called Aguas Calientes and lies at an altitude of 4,600 m. It makes a nice warming up for what is coming up the next days.
3rd day: There are 1,000 altitude meters to cover from 4,600 m to high camp at 5,600 m. This will take some 5 hours and there are a few rock passages to cross before reaching high camp.
It will be a cold night before you can start the climb to the top tomorrow.
4th day: During appr. 6 hours it goes over very steep ice passages from high camp to the summit. It is hard work but the scenery during your climb up is amazing and even better once you are on top of the Illampu. It feels like you are on top of the world.
The climb down is also difficult and you need to be alert. You will descend at least until high camp and if possible a little bit more.
5th day: You will continue going down from high camp to camp Aguas Calientes, further down into the Yungas valleys.
If you have enough energy left hopefully you can make it until Ancoma and spend the night there.
6th day: If you did not make it to Ancoma yesterday but spent the night in Aguas Calientes you will have to walk this part first. Then in Ancoma transport is waiting to bring you to Sorata and from there back to La Paz.
- Apolobamba; 1st day: In La Paz you will meet your guide for the Apolobamba Trekking and the car is also ready to take you to Pelechuco. The drive goes mainly over dirt roads in a bad state so it will take you all day to get there. The route is all but boring and goes through breathtaking and hardly touched Andean mountain area. Snow capped mountains over 5,000 m, wild mountain ridges, green valleys and waterfalls are part of the scenery. Pelechuco (3,500 m) is a village that is hardly mentioned in the guide books and hardly visited by tourists.
You will stay overnight in a very basic hotel where you can get dinner.
2nd day: Over beautiful ancient Inca trails and green fields you will walk from Pelechuco to a pass of 4,000 m. There is a stream along the trail so water is not a problem.
After 5 hours hiking you will reach the camp near the river Illo Illo at 3,800 m. After pitching the tent there is time to wander around, relax or try to catch fish in the river Illo Illo. The cook will prepare you a dinner as well.
3rd day: You will start early today because you are going into thin air. Great mountain ranges determine the mainly untouched surroundings. The Sunchuli pass at 5,100 m is literally the highest point of this trekking with marvellous Andean mountain views. It is a long climb up, but once you reach the pass your efforts will be rewarded with magnificent views and wonderful scenery.
After the pass it goes down into the Sunchuli valley where you will camp close to the old famous goldmines the second night. These mines were already used by the Incas. Today´s hike takes about 6 hours in total.
4th day: The ruins of Inca Kancha are your next goal but first you will have to get over a steep and windy pass, your efforts once again rewarded with beautiful views. From Sunchuli to Inca Kancha takes also 6 hours hiking time. Inca Kancha lies at 4,200 m so it can get very cold at night, but you are well prepared. It is worth it to have a look around the ruins.
Your camp is next to a scenic waterfall where you can take a shower, in the open air of course. The water is accordingly to the outside temperatures, cold. That is exactly what you need after a strenuous hiking day.
At night you can spend time relaxing near the camp fire in front of your tent.
5th day: Once again you have to climb a pass of 5,000 m with magnificent views. The 5,800 m high Akhamani catches the eye. It is one of the many sacred mountains of Bolivia. Very near it towers above us with its icy peak but there are also many other Andean giants nearby. The trail continues and you will be surrounded by snowy and icy peaks until you reach the next camp, Jatun Pampa (4,300 m) after about 5 hours. You will have to withstand the cold once again but have a look at the mighty sky at night above your camp. Millions of stars can be seen in the southern hemisphere; there is no pollution, you are at a high altitude and the sky is clear.
6th day: There are a few small houses in the area around the campsite, the first signs of civilization. So this is how Bolivian farmers live in this area!
Trails full of stones and covered by mountain forests surround our way down to Curva, the first small mountain village since a long time. Curva is situated at a still respectful 3,700 m. There is a small lake. If we are lucky the local shop is open and you might be able to find a bed here. You should reach the village in 4 to 5 hours so there is time left to have a look around here, or just enjoy the scenery and relax. That however would be a shame because you can discover interesting evidence of the Kalawaya culture.
You will probably have dinner somewhere in the village.
7th day: Today you will return to La Paz. Therefore you will have to get to the village of Charazani at the eastern shore of Lake Titicaca. From here it is 280 km to La Paz. Road conditions are better so it will take less time to get back. Still you will have about 8 hours ahead to reach La Paz.
Lake Titicaca is on your right hand side almost all the time and blue as blue can be. You will make some stops on your way to La Paz to stretch your legs once in a while. Tonight you will be in the metropolis La Paz where you can go to a nice restaurant for a good meal.
-
Crossing the Cordillera Real; 1st day: You will be picked up at your hotel in La Paz and go to Sorata. It takes about 4 hours to get there. First you will pass the shore of Lake Titicaca then it goes over breathtaking mountain roads and a beautiful pass with close views to the giants Ancohuma and Illampu. Down a windy road it goes into the village of Sorata.
The guide looks for donkeys or mules to carry the luggage. You will prepare yourself for the next 2 weeks; maybe you want to buy something that you forgot to buy in La Paz. An easy day so to say, tomorrow it really starts. You will spend the night in Sorata.
2nd day: You start in Sorata and have to climb from 2.700 meter up to 3.900 meter. Because you are well acclimatized this should not be much of a problem. And the donkeys carry the heavy backpacks and you only have to carry a small daypack. You climb into the Ancohuma high valley situated near the North Eastern steep slopes of the Illampu. Here you will make your first camp of this trekking at an altitude of 3.900 meter. The climb takes about 6 hours.
3rd day: After breakfast you start again with a climb this time it takes just 2 hours to get to the Kurahuasirin Pass at 4.479 meter. From this altitude you will have a splendid view to the summits of the Illampu Range. Then finally it goes down to your next camp site which you will reach in approximately 4 hours. Dinner will be prepared by the cook and a lovely night in this remote area awaits you. The altitude of your campsite is the same as yesterday 3.900 meter.
4th day: You will not believe it but you will have to start with a climb! Same time schedule in about 2 hours you will be up the pass which is called Sarani. The pass is a little bit higher than yesterday, it is at 4.500 meter. Here you will have beautiful views to the unknown, but not less impressive, Negruni Range with its icy summits obvious above 5.000 meter. Than it goes, as almost always at a pass, downwards in 3 hours to the campsite in the hamlet Ajolpaya at 3.900 meter. What to expect in this hamlet; electricity, running water, internet of course not. But the natural scenery is what you will enjoy.
5th day: Once again climbing up to a pass in the morning, the Silsani Pass at 4.650 meter is your goal. On top of this pass you will see the mighty Cordillera Real. From the Silsani Pass you continue down to the campsite which is situated at the Chacapa Stream. So finally you have the opportunity to take a bath, if you are tough enough to withstand the ice cold water. In total you will have to hike 6 hours today.
6th day: Leaving the crystal clear waters from the Chacapa Stream climbing up the Keakeani Pass at 4.650 meter through untouched mountain landscapes takes about 2 hours. The surrounding mountains are hardly visited. A long downhill lies ahead of you to the hamlet of Palca at 3.900 meter in the valley of Amawaya. Here is your next campsite, in total it takes 5 hours hiking time to get here. Palca is actually not even a hamlet with only 3 houses, maybe if you are very lucky you can buy something, but do not count on it.
7th day: Today it goes a little bit higher you are heading to the Hankolacaya Pass at 4.700 meter, once again with splendid views at the magnificent mountain scenery. After 6 hours you will get to your camp in the valley of Amawaya situated at a refreshing altitude of 4.450 meter. The Andean sky in crystal clear and at night you can see several constellations.
8th day: You will have to climb almost up to 5.000 meter the Hanquekota Pass crosses the Cordillera Real at 4.950 meter and from here you can see all the big ones of this range clearly. Coming down the Hanquekota Pass into the Janquequota
Valley there is a picturesque lake called Quta Thiya. This will be your campsite for today at an altitude of 4.420 meter.
9th day: The next pass is "only" 4.600 meter and you will be there quickly. Shortly afterwards you will come into the area around Cheqapa where you can find old and nowadays closed goldmines. Hang around a while maybe you are lucky and find some gold?! Then it goes up again towards the campsite called Ajwani tonight you will sleep at 4.700 meter. An incredible place to spend the night, not a sound of civilization you can hear.
10th day: Today you need 6 hours to get over to high passes, the 4.860 meter high Janchallani Pass and the Juri Quta Pass which is a little bit higher 4.900 meter. You are getting closer to the more known region of the Cordillera with the steep uprising Condoriri Range. Another night at 4.700 meter, camp is called after the Juri Quta.
11th day: The highest point of your crossing through the Cordillera Real is waiting for you today. It is the Apacheta Pass 5.100 meter right in front of the respect inspiring ice walls of the Condoriri. If you want you can go from here up to the top of a mountain called Austria 5.300 meter. The summit is easy to reach, there is no mountaineering involved. Then it is time to descend to the 4.650 meter high basecamp of the Condoriri Range where you will spend the night. Picturesque situated at the shore of Lake Chiara Quta. From this campsite all the climbs of the "important" summits of the Condoriri Range start. If you are lucky you might be able to buy a beer here! And those wooden sheds what are they? Toilets? Yes that right small toilet houses!
12th day: This beautiful spot is so nice that you will spend a day here, you can relax or wander around the lake and the campsite. An alternative is climbing one of the "smaller" mountains in the Condoriri Range or explore the glacier, which is not dangerous at all.
13th day: Today you continue, 6 hours hiking time ahead of you. In those 6 hours you will cross 2 passes of approximately 5.000 meter. After climbing the last pass you go down into the Liviaosa Valley, that where you last campsite is. It is at only 3.750 meter another picturesque place in the untouched nature.
14th day: The last day of your wonderful trekking goes mainly downhill, your goal is Chacapampa in the Zongo Valley. Here puma and spectacled bear still roam around. Chances are very small to see one of these magnificent but very shy animals. The vegetation for sure is very interesting. In the Zongo Valley you will be picked up by the car that drives you over the Zongo Pass, passing the most famous mountain of Bolivia, The Huayna Potosí to La Paz where you arrive in the afternoon.
Prices Tours in and around La Paz Prices Trekkings in the Cordillera Real
Top