Cochabamba
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Cochabamba (or just called Cocha by the locals) is Bolivia's 3rd biggest city. It is located about 240 km south-east of La Paz. The city is located in a high valley and is surrounded by mountains. The city is known for it's nice climate and is also called "Garden city" or "City of eternal spring".
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Orientation
The main Avenue in the center is Av. Heroinas (east-west) and Av. Ayacucho (north-south). Near to those streets is the main square (Plaza 14 de Septiembre). More to the north there is an other nice Plaza (Plaza Colón). Avenida Ballivian, commonly called El Prado, is a tree-lined boulevard running north from Plaza Colon, with many of the city's better restaurants and hotels nearby. Getting around in the city is quite easy, north you can always see the mountains and east there is El Cristo.
Getting there
By plane: Cochabamba's Jorge Wilstermann Airport connects to other large cities in the country. A taxi to the center of town from the airport is about Bs 25.
By bus: The terminal is about 10 blocks south of the center, just next to the market called Cancha. Take care when leaving the terminal as it is not the safest area!
- to La Paz: 7 hours, high frequency
- to Santa Cruz: 10 hours
- to Sucre: 11 hours by overnight-bus
Get around the city
There are busses (micros) and shared taxis (trufis) and a trip in the city costs Bs. 1.50 Taxi: for a trip downtown Cocha (about 10 blocks) costs around Bs. 5.00 or more during the night.
Travel Bolivia by Bus The Green Toad Bus is a door-to-door service to the best hostels in the land, giving you the freedom to choose your own accommodation and food options, helping to cut costs as you travel. [1]
Attractions
- Cristo de la Concordia: The statue is just a bit higher than the famous one in Rio de Janeiro. There is a good view of the city. The best way to go up is by Cable Car. If you want to walk, go in a group, otherwise it can be dangerous.
- Palacio Portales & Centro Cultural Simón Patiño on Av. Potosí 1450: Includes the Palacio Portales mansion, gardens, and an art museum. The mansion was built by Patiño, a tin magnate and in his times one of the richest men on earth.
- La Cancha: The city's biggest market, and even one of the biggest in South America! You can find anything and cheap. Take care with your belongings, as there are a lot of pickpockets around!
- Corner Ayacucho / Heroinas: there is a small souvenir market
Going out
There are a lot of bars on Av. España and Discos on Av. Pando.
Excursions and Surroundings
- Pairumani: The park offers nice trails through a forest with pine and eucalyptus trees and into a valley in the mountains. From Cochabamba you take any bus or trufi heading to Quillacollo (Bs. 1.50) and from its Plaza you take an other Trufi to Pairumani (Bs. 2.00). Ask the driver if he really goes up to the Parque Ecoturístico Pairumani, as there are Trufis only going to the village. Usually the trufis going up have a small red flag. Entrance fee: Bs. 1.50
- Cochabamba is Paragliding Capital of Bolivia! Many agencies offer Tandem flights or courses of several days. You might try AndeseXtremo[2] (Also has other outdoor activities) or Parapente Bolivia
- Visit Punata on it's market day - tuesday. It's very nice due to the presence of a lot of indigenous people who are selling animals (cows, pigs, sheep etc) It's a very authentic market and not touristic at all! Trufi: about 1 hour
- Tarata, a very picturesque and colonial town. Trufi: 5.00 Bs, 1 hour
- Quillacollo on it's fiesta (Virgen de Urkupiña - 15 de agosto) and it is famous for it's Chicha (Chernobyl)
- Cochabamba is also a good point for excursions into the Chapare Region: There is Villa Tunari at about 4 hours. There you can visit the Machia Park and the Inti Wara Yassi Community [3], it's a refuge for wild animals and they are always looking for volunteers to feed and take care of the animals. There is a charge of about USD 170.- for two weeks, plus costs for accommodation and food.
- Furthermore I would like to recommend the following tour to Isiboro Sécure National Park. The non-profit organization Fundacion Delpia[4]"Fundacion para el desarrollo local de los pueblos indigenas amazonicos-andinos"] organizes visits to local indigenous communities (4-5 days). Visitors can choose to get either integrated into the daily life of the local families (fishing, cooking, hunting, sleeping in traditional hut etc) or touring the national park with an indigenous guide by foot or canoe (sleeping in tents)By participating in one of the tourist programmes, the visitors contribute to the conservation of the rainforest, the appreciation of the Yuracaré and Trinitario cultures and the strengthening of the indigenous communities.
