After we had survived riding down the death road we decided to stay in the tropical part of Bolivia, not far from Yungas, our last stop of the road. The rest of the group boarded our Van and went driving up the death road back to La Paz while Britta and I decided to discover the area a little bit more. So we took a Taxi to Coroico, a village close by.
The town lies at an altitude of 1,751 m on a mountain spur above the valley of the Río Coroico. The hotel was small, very basic, and cute. A great place to relax and enjoy the view. It was still so weird that we had gone from super cold and thin air to tropical with high humidity in just a few hours. - we went to bed early and decided to sleep long the next day to recover a bit.
I read that the annual rainfall here in the subtropical Yungas is 1100 mm and has a clear dry season from May to August and a rainy season from December to February. The monthly average temperatures fluctuate only slightly between 20 °C and 25 °C; it is summery warm during the day and pleasantly cool at night. As we were there in October that meant we could have any weather... we just had to watch the sky and follow our instincts.
The breakfast was out on the terrace with a great view towards the green. My friend Britta always loves to go out and go for adventures, so with that view, it was clear that we wouldn't relax, but go out and explore yes or yes haha.
So with our stomages full and some water in our bags, we decided to search the Uchumani hike trail to find the San Juan waterfalls. We had heard that it was only a 1.5-hour hike to get there and that they are quite nice so we started walking. - Remember back then we didn´t have internet everywhere, so no Google Maps 😅
I loved to be back in the "green". Don´t get me wrong, the Andine part of Bolivia is stunning. The mountains, the views, and the lagoons are just unique.. but the cold and the thin air is not my favorite. I just love it when the humidity is high and you have plants and live everywhere! so much flora and fauna!
We walked along the sandy road and passed by some houses but mostly nature. The trial was pretty silent and very fast we felt like being all by ourselves in the middle of nowhere, which was nice but also a bit spooky... it was a little bit clouded and we didn´t know if the weather would change or if we are just at a kind of cloud forest, where its normal to have some clouds 😅
After 20 minutes we reached the part where the road was going very steep downhill. There was a sign with some name of a waterfall, but as far as we could see it was very far down and behind a little hill still.
About 20 minutes after that we were about halfway already and we could see the waterfall far away. It looked awesome and quite big.. but still a little bit far away. The road was very steep and with the humid climate that we were still not used to, we were sweating a lot. Of course, our muscles were still hurting from biking down the death road the day before as well. - So I slowly started to doubt if that had been a good idea.. I was tired and started to get hungry as well. The waterfall was still so far away. And then all of a sudden it started raining!
OMG what a mess but also a relief at the same time. Now there was no doubt, we had to go back. If it would keep raining like that this road could fast turn into a waterfall itself!! 😅😱
What a failure. We were getting so wet! There were not many houses on the road. We passed only about 2 or 3 and at every house, I was checking if there was someone, that maybe could give us a ride or some shelter for 5 minutes... but nothing. Very weird. One of the houses was even abandoned. We thought about staying there for a while but it didn´t seem like it would stop raining any time soon. So we kept walking and were just happy when we were back at the hotel.
Back home, we took a warm shower, backed up our things for the travels the next morning, and decided to relax and play cards instead. I googled the waterfall place and read that many people had similar experiences. The range was from "got attacked and bitten by a street dog pack" to "got totally lost on the way" 😅 And even those who had made it said it would have been much easier to go by taxi 😂
Well now you know - should have been smarter. But on the other hand, I don´t know how smart it would have been to be stuck down there when the rain was starting... Anyway, I searched and found some pictures of the waterfall for you on Tripadvisor.
Really a shame we couldn´t make it. Especially as we only had one day for that. But a day of rest was also good to recharge our batteries.
The next morning we had to leave early for the airport again. A taxi brought us to the Mini Van. And with the Van, we went all the way back to La Paz to board our plane there that would bring us to Santa Cruz. It's so crazy to cross all four climate zones once again but backward - from tropical to cold.
Once we boarded the small plane and took off we could see the difference in the landscape even better from above. The first thing you see is the bare rocks at the top with little vegetation. Then come mountains, valleys, and finally eternal green.
Crossing the highest glaciers I was surprised how close we flew by. It seemed like we were just a few hundred meters over them. - just like in that movie, where a soccer team crashes somewhere in Chile on a Mountain and they have to eat each other to survive 😅😱 - Today I would be a bit concerned with that view, but back then it was just part of the adventure and lots of fun!
Still, I was happy when we finally arrived and went to our hotel in Santa Cruz. The plan for that part of the country was to actually enter the wildlife a little bit more and we didn´t have much time for it, so we searched an agency to schedule a tour for the very next day and then went to bed early.
But more about that soon, so stay tuned! You won't regret it ;)
Cheers,
Liz
Such a cool hike. 😎 A shame it started raining. A good decision you didn’t go further to the waterfall. As it could get dangerous with so much rain and a steep road. Reading the reviews of that waterfall you did chose well to go back.
I can imagine the muscle pains from the day before…
The humidity must have been crazy high too.
The views are stunning, the lines in the landscape and mountains.
The flight was awesome in such a small plane. The views… barren, snow kept mountains 🏔️ the green the further you went. 😊
Looking forward to more 🤩 such an exciting trip.
Thanks for sharing Liz
Yeah, when I was reading the reviews I was glad we didn´t go further haha and the FOMO was 100% gone. - I was young back then but still the break was good. The view alone was already worth it to be there. - next one is already in the making. Let´s see when I can finish it 😜
Hahaha so sounds familiar. !LOL
The views were stunning 🤩
Awesome, I hope you can.
Enjoy the start if this new week 🤗
You too have a great start of the week @littlebee4
Thank you ☺️
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He was kind of a big dill.
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@lizanomadsoul, I sent you an $LOLZ on behalf of littlebee4
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Wow I was very entertained when reading your travel story, this is really amazing
But what makes me wonder why some of the houses you passed to take shelter from the rain were unoccupied.?
Was it just a halfway house or what, that's a bit of a mystery
But this trip was still amazing, I wasn't there, but after reading this post, it was as if I was on the trip
Good evening and have a nice day
Thanks @riyat. Even though we didn´t see much that day, it was still an adventure worthy of sharing 😎☀️ - The next ones will be way more exciting I promise 😎 , but for me it wouldn´t be complete without also sharing the fails we had 😅
Yeah, it is also still a mystery for me why the houses were empty.. super spooky. From the street, they looked all normal and in good shape, but coming closer they were abandoned.. maybe not a good place to live. There was not much going on in that valley.
Good evening and nice day to you too @riyat👍😘 And thanks for stopping by.
You're welcome 🤗♥️
About the abandoned house is the same as my story, when I went into the wilderness in the forest with my uncles to hunt, and we found two houses that also looked empty, but after being checked by my uncle, it turned out that there were some sharp objects and weapons in the house, knowing this made us all scared and immediately rushed to leave the place.
Be careful when doing your activities, prioritize safety and prioritize happiness and satisfaction.
I will wait for a big surprise in your next post ♥️
Oh wow that sounds super scary! Great thing you left 🐝👍
🤗🥰
Wow what a beautiful view 🤩 I love nature, this place is breathtaking! best wishes and Happy New Year 🤗
Thanks a lot for stopping by and for your kind words @mayramalu! I am happy you liked it. Happy new year to you too 😘
Feliz año 2025 bolivia
☀️😎
So sad you didn't make it to the waterfall but I often find this failed hikes happening this way for a reason. I earned some trauma after pushing my limits when I should stop the hike and ever since I stopped taking big hikes anymore. Almost any mountain path comes with lots of fear now :(
Oh really?! what happened?! Yeah, it's hard to let go, but sometimes the better decision. When we were in Thailand last year we went on a big hike as well and on our way back weather was turning, so we were glad to go. A girl came our way, she was not very fit and decided to turn around and go with us... even though she had almost made it to the top.. she just was very responsible. I had a big respect for her. And of course, it was the right decision. Just when we came back it started raining and the weather was really bad. She would have gone into big trouble.
Maybe it was just a good lesson for you to be aware of the risks. That doesn´t mean you shouldn't go anymore. Maybe not alone? ;)
Oh, I wasn't alone. I actually never had a trip on my own but accompanied by either friends or family members.
Usually family is my go-to whenever I hike the mountains and keep my friends for city breaks.
In short, we ventured on a path that we couldn't find much information about on the internet back then, thinking it was going to be a 6 hour long circuit but when we thought we were halfway there we saw a man falling down the rocks and literally dying in front of us. We were already in shock and it was hard to focus on the trail anymore especially since it involved chains, ladders, cables and so on, but thinking that we already crossed the middle of the circuit, we decided to keep going instead of returning. I know it makes no sense but we didn't know what was coming up next, and already had our brains foggy after the shock we got with that man.
That's where the chaos started as the path became very slippery and risky after heavy rain, we couldn't find other tourists on the way, nor had phone signal to call for help, and the 6 hours long circuit turned out into a 16 hours long one... so yeah, the story is a lot longer than this but we learned our lesson and feel like we should take everything on a way lower level than before, especially that my parents are close to 70 years old.
OMG, that is super scary and traumatic. I do understand 100%. That sounds like out of some horror movie.. So sorry to hear you had such a bad experience @gabrielatravels. 😮Did you talk with someone about it? Did you get any information about the guy and what happened when he fell? It´s not good that it's affecting your behavior in terms of anxiety 🥺
I am glad you made it back home all well, well at least physically. I am sure it brought you all more together and you won't get in a situation like that ever again. 😘
The landscape is stunning!! And it’s amazing the aerial pictures that you were able to take. I’d love to have a friend like Britta That could join my adventures! Enjoy! Amazing trip!
Lol, yeah she is very active and wants to go out explore every day 😅 - I am sure here in the community you can find many people that would be happy to join you on any travel @belug🐝🐝
where are you going next?
!PIZZA
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@danzocal(3/10) tipped @lizanomadsoul
Beautiful experience and great photos! I was in Bolivia a while ago and traveled a lot in minivans, if I remember correctly they are called "trufi". It is a country worth exploring.
I look forward to your next adventures!
Thanks @parissousa. Cool! Which parts did you see there? On the map I only see 2 posts of yours, maybe you want to show more as well! I would love to compare my experience with yours and see what I have been missing. 👍😘 Really? I didn´t know they were called like that - or I forgot. 😱 Thanks for sharing that info with me 😘
Hello @lizanomadsoul. I'll tell you about my journey through Bolivia: I landed in Santa Cruz, from there to Vallegrande, La Higuera, Sucre, Potosí, La Paz, Tiwuanaku, Copacabana, Isla del Sol. It was a great discovery, I didn't know there were so many things to do in Bolivia. But I have few posts here. I have to get on with the photos and start posting.
Awesome @parissousa! I am looking forward to reading about your adventures in the upcoming posts 😎☀️
Your tour experience sounds truly amazing! Such a challenging and adventurous journey requires courage, which not everyone has. The way you described each moment made the journey come alive. Wishing you lots of love and best wishes for many more wonderful adventures in the future!
Thanks @josim100! Every day can be an adventure if you are willing to try out something new 😎☀️ - Thanks for stopping by and reading my post.
Bueno que mal que no hayan podido llegar hasta la cascada pero que bueno que igualmente había fotos en internet jaja. La verdad que Bolivia es muy lindo, también tiene paisajes de todo tipo y contrastan mucho entre ellos, además de la curiosidad de tener que adaptarse a la altura para no pasarla mal. Un buen destino para ir a conocer, me alegra que hayas podido ir 😃.
Si, a veces no se puede lograr lo planeado... pero es parte de la aventura y para mi no debe faltar 😅
haha si, que bueno que lo podiamos ver allí. Muchos dijeron que no valió la pena de todas formas, asi q al final no me sentia tan mal por no ir. A mi me gustó más la parte de la jungla y de Uyuni.. pero eso les voy a contar en los próximos posts 😎 Era un viaje super especial. A mi me encantó! Definitivamente un pais que tiene mucho que ofrecer. Una pena que no me quedó tanto tiempo.
Too bad you could not get to see the waterfalls, it is a beautiful landscape and the weather very nice to walk, I really liked the pictures, thanks for sharing your adventure in these beautiful mountains, greetings from Venezuela.
Thanks @cetb2008.
Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Travel Digest #2424.
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Such an honor @ybanezkim26 😘
You are very welcome @lizanomadsoul! it was well deserved. ☀️
Keep up the great work 💪
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I always look forward to your posts. They are always amazing. Please be more careful in your adventures. Wishing you the best of luck !BBH
Awww that is so nice of you @day1001. I give my very best to show you around.
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Thanks for using @worldmappin 😘
@lizanomadsoul! @day1001 likes your content! so I just sent 1 BBH to your account on behalf of @day1001. (20/20)
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