Essential Cochabamba will enable you to sample the very best of Bolivian daily life and history combined with breathtaking landscapes in and around Cochabamba, and featuring privately guided tours.

Capital of the Bolivian valleys, Cochabamba is a corn producing area populated mostly by Quechua Indians who have inherited all of their ancestors' traditions: typical dress, ritual ceremonies, and their legendary friendliness and hospitality.

The « valley of eternal spring » lies in the heart of Bolivia half way between the tropical plains of the east and the high altiplano. On our way from Cochabamba, we rise up from this fertile, golden valley to the Andes and then drop down into the Amazon rainforests of the Chapare, all within a few kilometers.

This excursion presents a wide range of tropical mountain ecosystems, such as premontane forests, moist evergreen cloud forests, semi-humid montane forests and semi-humid Puna (herbaceous highland vegetation). Also the Andean slope forests from Cochabamba to Villa Tunari and into Carrasco National Park, are among the richest on Earth in terms of diversity and endemism.

Essential Cochabamba has it all, from tempered countryside, landscapes of high mountains, and humid tropical valleys for here lie the many rivers that drain towards the Amazon Basin.

In option #1 you will spend three nights at hotel in Cochabamba. In option #2 you will spend one night at hotel in Cochabamba and two nights at a rainforest lodge at Carrasco National Park.

Throughout your stay you will have the opportunity to explore Cochabamba's incredible mix of both natural and cultural features. This trip promises to satisfy the interests of everyone!

WHERE?

• COCHABAMBA - Cochabamba is known as the city of "Eternal Spring". The name itself is derived from the Quechua words Cocha, or lagoon, and Pampa, or plane. The population of 900,000 makes Cochabamba the third largest city in Bolivia. In town, wander the indigenous markets admiring the variety of items on sale. Here one can find everything — from agricultural products to ceramics, crafts to animals, cars to electronic goods. Don't miss the opportunity to visit the Archeological Museum of the university, one of the best in Bolivia.

• AROUND COCHABAMBA - Explore around Cochabamba. Visit picturesque towns and Quechua villages at Tarata, Cliza, Punata, Arani... Look for condors and exotic flora at Condor Huachana. Hike the Tunari mountain range, home of Polylepis trees, llamas, vicuñas and the rare Spectacled Bear... Search for Inca remains at the archeological site of Incallajta: with a surface area of 67 hectares, this site is among the main Inca sites in Bolivia... Explore the Puna Highlands and Evergreen Montane Forest along the "Road to the Clouds" (Camino a las Nubes), formerly the main access road to the nearby lowlands, now converted in a trekking route...

• CARRASCO NATIONAL PARK - River tributaries flow from the highest cloud forests in the world to the immense Amazon basin. The park covers more than 620,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) fom an altitude of 4.700 m. down to 300 m. (15,000/900 ft). It is one of the richest ecosystems on the planet with an extraordinary variety of flora which includes dozens of palms, ferns, and other plants as well as extremely rare and protected animal species. From monkeys to rare orchids... Carrasco National Park has it all!

WHAT?

Cultural Exploration - Wildlife Viewing - Adventure Touring - Hiking - Photography

WHEN?

Year-Round Departures (depart virtually any day of the week).

May - October is dry season.

Option #1 - Easy Cochabamba

Day 1 - Arrive Cochabamba; Tour the city.

Days 2 & 3 - Explore the valleys around Cochabamba. Choose among a variety of cultural excursions and nature-oriented activities to suit your taste: Travel to the small Quechua towns in the nearby valleys and visit some of the most colorful local markets in the country... Look for epiphytes and giant ferns at Incachaka... [BL]

Day 4 - Day at leisure in Cochabamba for optional activities; Transfer to airport. [B]

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Option #2 - Cochabamba Andes & Amazonia

Day 1 - Arrive Cochabamba; Tour the city.

Days 2 & 3 - Discover Carrasco National Park—a world-class wildlife sanctuary that offers refuge to a number of tropical animals and birds. Spend two nights at a local Rainforest Lodge. Easy walks, for all ages, developed for people interested in learning about the Amazon flora and fauna, and the ecological relations among the great variety of species living in the rainforest. Close encounters with monkeys guaranteed! [BL]

Day 4 - A last excursion in the rainforest and back to Cochabamba in the afternoon; Transfer to airport. [B]

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Meals Included: Breakfast [B], Lunch [L], Dinner [D]

Accommodation:

Prices shown above are per person, in US Dollars ($), based on 2 people traveling together (double room basis).

Please note:

• Upper class accommodation is not available outside the city of Cochabamba.

• Hotel names and descriptions by city and category are subject to confirmation at time of booking.

Depart any day! Custom dates and prices available.
Contact one of our travel consultants for details.

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