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Published: September 30th 2014
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Mind blowing canyon
I could have spent hours looking at this view and watching the birds swooping and diving The national park of Torotoro is a hidden gem in Bolivia, if not the whole of South America.
It's treasures include beautiful rivers, spectacular mountains, breathtaking canyons, scary caves, masses of wildlife and.....dinosaur footprints!
Getting to Torotoro is an adventure in itself. With no real instructions in guidebooks it's left down to travellers to pass on the information.
Even though Torotoro is in the department of Potosí the main access is from Cochabamba. You have two options; firstly taking a big bus from Cochabamba terminal for B$30 pp each way which leaves at 6pm most days except Thursdays and Sundays or to take a mini bus from Av. Republica which costs B$35 each way and leaves everyday at 6am (although it doesn't actually leave until the vehicle is full). For the latter option you buy your tickets from a lady with a small desk selling on the street. This is how we chose to get to Parque Nacional Torotoro.
The drive is extremely bumpy and pretty uncomfortable but don't let this put you off. The sore backside is worth it.
Torotoro is a tiny town within the park where you will find several hotels and hostels.
We stayed in Hotel Asteria which is probably the nicest building in the town. It's also the most expensive accommodation in the town at B$80 per person excluding breakfast. This hotel is a bit like staying in somebody's house with children running around and a baby crawling up and down the stairs. It's seen better days but it's a good option if you have slightly more to spend. More economical options are around B$60 pp including breakfast.
Amenities in town are quite simple. They are in the process of construction a food market where locals will prepare meals for customers. While we were there 2 stalls were operating offering breakfast (egg sanwiches and a deep fried batter served with syrup - try it, it's delicious) and meals in the evening. The best meal we had was from a very small restaurant opposite the market which offered roast chicken from their rotisserie with chips and rice for B$11. This is where locals ate and it got very busy around 7.30pm so get in quick before they sell out of chicken and ask for 'pecho' which is the breast - the legs and wings are too small. Service isn't their strong
point so get a seat and make sure you are seen, otherwise you might be ignored. There is a restaurant close to the plaza on the corner of Charcas which sells pizza, pasta, burgers etc. but their prices are too high - it's aimed at tourists. Don't get sucked into this fancy place. It's over priced (B$60 for a pizza) and you can get better authentic meals in and around the market for a fraction of the price.
Organising tours is straight forward. Between 7am-11am and 2pm-5pm you need to go to the tourism office where you register and pay the national park entrance fee (we paid B$30 pp valid for 4 days). At 8am the guides arrive at an office opposite the tourism office and this is where you arrange everything else. If you are lucky there will be other tourists there to split the cost of each tour with you. The charges per guide are as follows:
B$100 per guide, per location (sometimes you will cover more than one location per day), per group
B$450 transport per group
Group size are between 1 and 7 so you will either pay the full B$550 as
a solo tourist or divide it by up tp 7 of you.
*worth noting that the guides do not speak English other than a few simple words and you do need a guide to visit any of the sites. See it as a good opportunity to pick up some Spanish.
During our time in Torotoro we visited the Ciudad de Itas and Caverna de Umajalanta the first day and Cañon de Tortoro (which includes the El Vergel and dinosaur tracks trips) the second day. If you only have time or money to do one excursion, go to the Canyon. It's a beautiful 7km round trip walk and the canyon is breathtaking - up there with one of my 'nature' highlights of the entire continent. You will walk down into the canyon and swim in a beautiful but cold lagoon - the water is fed by a waterfall. It's gorgeous! Given the altitude, heat and general mountainous landscape the trips are quite physically demanding. Take plenty of food (you need to take your own lunch), water and sunblock. The stores in Torotoro are limited - it's worth buying food from Cochabamba before hand. Stock up on fruit, sugary things
like chocolate, biscuits etc. even cans of tuna and bread to prepare tuna sandwiches for lunch.
Generally speaking there is no wifi in town but Hotel El Vergel does have connection for 2 hours a day for B$5 per hour.
Thanks again for reading - Parque Nacional Torotorois really worth visiting. Add it to your itinerary!
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