The Takesi Trail
One of Bolivia’s best and most popular treks, the Takesi Trail (2–3 days) is a fantastic 40km hike starting near La Paz that crosses the Cordillera Real and plunges down into the steamy forested valleys of the Yungas, emerging at the village of Yanacachi, west of Chulumani on the road from La Paz. Also known as the Camino del Inca (the Inca Trail) the Takesi is one of the finest remaining pre-Columbian paved roads in Bolivia, and passes through an amazing variety of scenery. Relatively easy to follow and not too strenuous, it’s ideal for less experienced trekkers and can be done without a guide.
Ventilla to Estancia Takesi
The Takesi Trail starts at Ventilla, a small village set at an altitude of 3200m some 20km east of La Paz. From Ventilla, turn left off the main road and follow the clearly signposted track that winds up the valley northeast to the village of Choquequta, ninety minutes away. Here you can usually hire mules for the ascent to the pass or the entire length of the trek. Follow the track uphill for another ninety minutes until you reach a crumbling wall with a map of the route painted on it. Turn off the road to the right along a broad path which winds steeply uphill, with fine pre-Columbian paving soon evident along its length. After ninety minutes or so you reach the highest point on the trail, a 4600m pass marked by a stone apacheta from where there are fantastic views of the looming glacial peak of Mururata (5868m) to the east. From here the trail continues about ninety minutes northeast down a broad valley, through llama pastures to the herding hamlet of Estancia Takesi, passing an abundance of good camping spots along the way.
To Kakapi and Chojila
Below Estancia Takesi, the path crosses the Río Takesi onto its right bank, where it winds along steep slopes high above a thundering gorge. The air gets warmer and more humid by the minute as the trail drops below 3000m, and the sides of the valley are soon covered in lush vegetation. After two to three hours you’ll reach the village of Kakapi, after which the path, now heading east, again crosses a river. Continue uphill for half an hour to Chojila, a small and friendly settlement with a campsite (see Achachilas and Apus). It’s still over three hours from here to Yanacachi, so if you’re not in a hurry, it’s the perfect place to stay overnight.
Chojila to Yanacachi
From Chojila, descend for 45 minutes until you reach a concrete bridge; cross it and turn to the right. After a while, you’ll reach an aqueduct, which leads straight to a road. Be careful if you’re following the aqueduct in the dark – there are holes in the concrete slabs underfoot. When you reach the road, follow it around the bend and take the left, uphill fork. Soon, the road passes an unpleasant sulphur mining settlement known as the Chojlla mining camp. Unless you get a lift from a passing vehicle, you’ll have to follow the road for another two hours to get to the tranquil village of Yanacachi, just off the La Paz–Chulumani road.
The world’s most dangerous road
Few highways have as intimidating a reputation as the original road linking La Paz with Coroico in the North Yungas. A rough, narrow track chiselled out of near-vertical mountainsides that descends more than 3500m over a distance of just 64km, it’s still widely referred to as the world’s most dangerous road, a title bestowed on it by the Inter-American Development Bank. Statistically, the sobriquet is difficult to dispute: dozens of vehicles went off the road each year, and with vertical drops of up to 1000m over the edge, annual fatalities reached into the hundreds.
Following the route in its entirety from Unduavi, the first 40km are the most perilous and spectacular of the entire route. At times the road is only 3m wide, looming over deep precipices. To make matters worse, the road is often swathed in cloud, and in places waterfalls crash down onto its surface. About 86km from La Paz, the road reaches Yolosa.
After years of construction, however, a new multi-million-dollar bypass around the most perilous stretch opened in 2006, following a route that looms high over the old road on the opposite side of the valley and which tunnels intermittently through the mountainside. While some of the concrete and supporting rods have fallen prey to the elements, it’s still a huge improvement – at least space- and safety-wise – over the old route.
The 106km bypass has also slashed the journey time from La Paz to Coroico to about three hours by bus (2hr 15min by car); the old road took about four and a half hours. From Villa Fátima in La Paz, the road to the Yungas climbs northeast to La Cumbre, a 4800m pass over the Cordillera Real. From here it descends to the hamlet of Unduavi, where the road forks, one branch descending southeast towards Chulumani in the South Yungas, the other heading down northeast towards Coroico and the Amazon lowlands.
The nueva carretera (new road) initially follows the original northeast fork before splitting off and climbing high above it, following a similar trajectory along the spine of the mountains before descending to join the original road north of Yolosa, a hamlet set at about 1200m. Here, a newly cobbled side road climbs up to Coroico, 11km away, while the main road continues 74km north to Caranavi and beyond to Rurrenabaque.
Cycling down
What the statistics don’t tell you is that the old route – and to a certain extent the bypass as well – is among the most beautiful roads in the world. Starting amid the icebound peaks of the Cordillera Real, it plunges down through the clouds into the humid valleys of the Yungas, winding along deep, narrow gorges clad with dense cloudforest.
So spectacular is the descent that travelling the old Yungas road by mountain bike is one of Bolivia’s most popular tourist attractions, an exhilarating 5–6hr ride that’s easy to organize with tour companies in La Paz – Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking has one of the best reputations (see Tour operators). Local operator Cross Country Coroico, on Pacheco 2058 (
t
7127 3015),
was one of the first to ply the route, and it also offers several less infamous but equally challenging rides, plus less taxing trips for beginners.
The re-routing of most traffic to the bypass means – in theory, at least – cycling the route is now safer than it’s ever been, especially if you go with a reputable tour company with good guides and well-maintained bikes. Of course, the road is not entirely without risk, and people have been hurt and several even killed during the descent in the past, forced off the edge by traffic.
The Yunga Cruz Trail
Connecting Chuñavi, at the foot of the mighty Mount Illimani, with Chulumani in the Yungas, the three to four-day Yunga Cruz Trail (see map) is at once the toughest, most scenic and most pristine of the three Inca trails that link the Altiplano with the tropical valleys. Instead of following a river, like most Bolivian trails, the path leads along the spine of a giant ridge nearly all the way, giving trekkers a condor’s-eye view of the dramatic landscape. Water is scarce and the weather unpredictable, with heavy rain a possibility even during the dry season: carry at least two one-litre water bottles per person and take waterproof clothing. Route-finding is fairly difficult, so ideally go with a guide, and take a machete, as stretches of the trail may be overgrown.
Chuñavi to Cerro Yunga Cruz
The trail starts in Chuñavi, a small village on the northeast slopes of Mount Illimani, six hours by road from La Paz. From here a path with Inca stonework heads east to a small lake about ninety minutes away, before curving left along a broad ridge with plenty of decent places to camp, but no good source of water. The path then continues for about two hours along the ridge and around the side of the 4378m Cerro Khala Ciudad (Stone City Mountain) – look out for the condors that nest amidst its soaring towers. After a sharp turn to the right, the Inca stonework suddenly stops and Illimani disappears from view. Look out for the faded white arrow painted on the rock and turn uphill – after a few big steps, you should be climbing an impressive stone staircase. Another two hours further on, the path curves to the right, leading along the top of a broad green valley. Half an hour later, a stream crosses the path. Fill up with enough water for the night and continue for another hour until you reach a soggy campsite, just below the summit of Cerro Yunga Cruz, the last place to pitch a tent for several hours.
Cerro Yunga Cruz to Chulumani
Soon after leaving the campsite, the trail is crossed by a stream which is the last reliable water source before Chulumani. From here, the trail descends some 2000m through dense cloudforest. After two hours, the trail splits in two; take the right fork. Half an hour later, you’ll reach a clearing. Go to the end of it, then turn right, leaving the peak of Cerro Duraznuni behind you to the left. Chulumani should be visible in the distance to the northeast, perched on the edge of the ridge across the valley on your left. From here it’s another three to four hours to the main road just southeast of Chulumani, past deforested hillsides patchworked with bright-green coca plantations.