Amboro National Park, cloud forests, and misty heights: it was the D-day of my first hike in the Andean range. I was based in Samaipata, a charming village at the foothills of the Andes and the gateway to the national park and Che-based tours. I had booked a hiking tour with a local agency and was eagerly looking forward to the experience. So, the next morning started quite early, and I walked towards the tour office with a brilliant sunrise behind me.
Upon reaching there, I found that there were 2 extra people in my group, thus exceeding the number of travelers from 5 to 7. Although I believed in the more the merrier, the cramped safari vans did not make the concept seem enticing. That was a clear sign that Samaipata tours did not believe in keeping their word, but my frustratingly limited Spanish and getting hustled by the tour operator lady made me depart without any further queries. The safari jeep was a rusty, uncomfortable contraption with jagged edges, and 7 of us (along with backpacks, camping equipment) huddled inside a space meant for 5.
Up to the Amboro National Park
We drove out of the village, left Samaipata’s tranquility behind, and bumped up the unpaved, steep road toward the Amboro National Park gate. A stunning panorama unfolded as we went higher, and Andean beauty rendered us speechless. It was a breathtaking vista of deep blues and greens as beautiful rolling meadows spread widely under a huge open sky. Steep green mountains cradled picturesque villages, and fluffy clouds dotted the sky like masses of candy floss.
However, it was a disappointingly short drive, and we reached the park gate soon. We loaded our gear on our backs, trudged behind our guide, and started the trek. The walk immediately went completely uphill, and the Andean sun burned down fiercely. Our backpacks soon grew heavier by the minute, breaths got laborious, and sweat poured off like rivers. Immediately on cue, as if tailor-made to make our experience more difficult, the trail got narrower until only a sliver of space remained off a steep precipice. Tangly undergrowth scratched us to ribbons, and cow dung and fallen leaves made us dangerously slip and slide.
The trek begins
The undergrowth at times became too thick, and while cutting it down, we imagined the famous Andean poisonous snakes coiling around us. It was a harrowing imagination, but we welcomed the tunnel of green more than trekking in the open. Without their cover, the sun seemed too close and burned us till we turned red. The mountain air, in contrast, was chilly, and the alternating heat and cold made our heads hurt. We trekked through the lower slopes constantly for what seemed like forever, stopping only to take brief breaks in shaded spots. Wading (even knee deep) through endless streams made us wet, and our heavy jeans clung to our skin uncomfortably.
The trail was strangely winding, and we constantly went up and down endless forested mountains.
´´Dinosaur food´´ at the spectacular Amboro National Park
Soon, the famous Amboro cloud forests arrived, and their beauty magically made our aches and exhaustion melt away. Although Amboro National Park is one of the most botanically endowed national parks in the world, it was the photo of its enchanting cloud forest that had attracted me into its depths.
A park with a dramatic and surprisingly different landscape, Amboro spreads over 4,425 square kilometers and was home to many spectacular indigenous plants and animals like jaguar, spectacled bear, ocelot, and giant anteater. Although our fauna sighting was restricted to only grazing cows, the diversity of its flora mesmerized us. From dry scrubland, palm forests, and cactus groves, we suddenly found ourselves in an area that looked straight out of the movie “Jurassic Park”. Giant ferns grew tall and covered the sky, and moss tangled down spookily. Dew dripped constantly, making the forest cold, and wafting fog made it look beautifully eerie.
Touted as “dinosaur food”, tree ferns were older than most of the other flora of Amboro and often took hundreds of years to attain full maturity.
Trek, break, and trek higher
We rested under the giant ferns for some time, caught falling dewdrops on our hot, sweaty faces, and freshened up in the misty, cool air. The arduous trek continued deeper into the forest, and we soon lost track of time. We were so exhausted that the sun and mist no longer bothered us, and the entire experience got rolled into a numbing, nonstop zombie walk. The watch showed us later that for 8 hours we had trudged nonstop, up and down the Andean heights, scraped our way through rocky cliff faces, waded over mossy cloud forest floors, jungle streams, and rough dirt tracks. Lunch happened sometime around noon, and by that time, we had left the cloud forests behind. We were higher than the cloud cover that surrounded us, and peering down from our Andean heights, we saw the majestic condors glide effortlessly. We were dirty, exhausted, badly scratched, and swollen from bug bites. Hunger made us ravenous, and the meal of cold sandwiches, apples, and orange juice seemed like a princely feast. The guide handed out generous wads of coca-free, and we stuffed our cheeks like chipmunks with the world’s most controversial natural stimulant.
Coca, the source of cocaine, is a shrub cultivated in parts of the Bolivian Andes. Highly controversial (heavily sanctioned), it’s a cash-rich crop and, at one time, had been the backbone of the Bolivian economy. Evidence of coca use (not abuse) has been found in most ancient cultures of South America, including Nazca, Moche, Tiwanaku, Chiribaya, and Inca. Mummies of these cultures have been found, buried with coca wads in their mouths, and coca leaf has always been considered sacred by Bolivian indigenous people. When US-backed UN sanctions on coca were imposed on Bolivia, it was the indigenous community who had fiercely (often with huge fatalities) fought for their right to chew coca.
The sanction caused a historical moment in the UN and triggered the famous “coca” speech from ex-coca farmer and Bolivian President Evo Morales. The President had famously snuck a coca leaf into the United Nations General Assembly to educate the diplomats and change the international opinion on coca. Holding up a coca leaf to help emphasize his message at a United Nations anti-drugs meeting in Vienna, Morales declared that “We are not drug addicts when we consume the coca leaf. The coca leaf is not cocaine “. While coca is an essential ingredient for manufacturing cocaine, it is also a rich source of nutrition, an integral part of an ancient faith, and a way to make a living.
Coca has been found to have excellent medicinal qualities and is a good antidote for fatigue and hunger. It is beneficial for gastrointestinal illnesses, eases the pain of arthritis, headaches, sores, fractures, nosebleeds, asthma, and cures impotence. The ancient method of Andean coca use involved folding coca leaves into a “quid” and placing it between the teeth and the inside of the cheek. An alkaline substance, such as powdered wood ash or baked and powdered seashells, was then transferred into the quid using a silver awl or pointed tube of limestone. Nowadays, it is consumed by placing huge quids inside the cheek and adding sweet potato ash for taste.
Our growing coca wads as we hiked higher
As the hiking trail became harsher, our coca quids got bigger and our cheeks expanded to their limits. I soon overcame my initial reservations about chewing coca when fatigue nearly made me crumble down. While it never gave me any high, the constant chewing distracted me from concentrating on my aches and cuts. After trekking for 8 hours or more, we finally reached our camping site and pitched our tents. We were again inside the cloud forests, and strange beauty surrounded us. Sunset happened shortly, but due to the fern cover, the sky was hardly visible to us. Shrieking of parrots and rapidly falling dusk made us rustle up a quick rustic dinner of meat and potatoes on a roaring bonfire. Night fell fast, and drowsiness took over as we listened to the rhythmic night sounds of the jungle. Slivers of a cool night sky were visible from the forest, and stars shone with a cold, hard glitter. We crawled back to our tents as the fire died and tried to get comfortable on a bug-infested camp floor.
A sheer vertical climb
It rained at night, and millions of insects crawled inside the tent. Moisture dripped from the palm ferns, and only our flashlights glowed eerily in the dark. We spent a difficult night, imagining snakes and strange bugs crawling inside our tents, and in spite of our fatigue, we found sleep difficult. The morning, however, broke beautifully clear, and we woke up to a stunning panorama outside. Strange colorful flowers bloomed profusely, noisy parrots flapped, and green curtains of moss draped wispily from hanging giant ferns. We sat enjoying the morning freshness for some time, and after a quick breakfast, continued with our trek. It soon turned into a horrifying nightmare as our guide took us up on a more difficult trail, and suddenly, a stony, wet cliff face stood in front of us like a huge, vertical, impenetrable wall. Completely untrained for it and with no equipment, it looked most dangerous, and our hearts stopped beating with each step. The trail disappeared soon, and we found ourselves again cutting undergrowth to make way. A sheer precipice fell on one side, and condors circled over the cloud banks. Sharp cold winds tore at our jackets, and we kept our eyes strictly fastened on the cliff face. There was nothing to hold on to except for wet and slippery tree branches to pull ourselves higher up, and we were soaked and scared with our backs breaking from the heavy strain.
A crazy, scary hike
The guide climbed higher and helplessly we followed him, fighting the strong winds which grew fiercer as we went up. Drizzling rain stung our eyes, and while holding onto only the shrubs for life, our tears got mixed with the rain. One slip would have meant sheer death as there was a free fall of nearly 2000 meters. We climbed on, shivering in the cold as clouds swirled menacingly around us and condors brushed by. Andean condors belong to the vulture family, are one of the longest living birds, and fly at dizzying heights. It was the worst nightmare coming true for all of us, and we immediately canceled the continuation of our trip to the Volcans, the moment we came back to safety. All of us seriously feared for our safety, our lives, and a broken ankle got me laid up at Samaipata hospital, where I craved the familiar urban comfort of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Amboro National Park travel tips
While this Amboro National Park with Volcans trekking tour was cheap- 400 Bolivianos, it was not worth risking our lives. After this horrifying experience and incessantly trawling the net, I found this to be quite a common Amboro trek experience. Based on recommendations from other travelers, I would suggest these treks be done with Ben Verhoef tours. Although a bit more expensive, the Ben Verhoef tours are considered the most professional of them all and offer many interesting trips around Samaipata.
The Che Trail
Try their Che trail and follow the final steps of the iconic daredevil guerrilla hero. This trail includes Vallegrande, Pucará, and La Higuera, the laundry of the Señor de Malta, the hospital, and the famous landing strip in Vallegrande. Pucará, named after a pre-Inca ruin, is a picturesque town famous for its traditional architecture, and Quebrada Del Churo is the unfortunate place of Che’s capture and houses the school where he was executed.
The pre-Columbian ruins at El Fuerte
In Samaipata, don’t miss the El Fuerte and the archaeological museum. El Fuerte de Samaipata (Fort Samaipata), also known simply as “El Fuerte”, is an archaeological site and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is situated on the eastern foothills of the Bolivian Andes and is generally considered to be an important pre-Columbian religious site. Built by the Chane people, a pre-Inca culture, it is quite impressive and provides beautiful bird’s eye views of the region. Although very much a DIY thing, opt for available guided tours to understand its mysteries. El Fuerte is one of the most enigmatic places on Earth and has been forever mentioned as the launch pad for extraterrestrial cultures and their spaceships by alternative theorists.
La Cuevas
Also consider a day trip to the pretty three waterfalls of Las Cuevas, where you can swim and hang out at the little beaches, pick oranges, and go for picturesque little hikes. These are situated in a lovely forested area where parrots, hummingbirds, and other species of birds can be seen. Bella Vista and Volcans mountain ranges (Sandstone mountains with different types of forest, rivers, and jungle in canyons and valleys) are also great options for trips around Samaipata. For Condor Watch, try hiking up the Condor Mountain on clear days. Condors almost always appear around midday, and it can be combined with the nearby La Pajcha waterfall, which is great for camping too. The most unique option, however, is a visit to the little neighbouring town of Mataral, about 60 kilometers from Samaipata. It has some caves where our human predecessors left interesting rock paintings (believed to date back to about 4000 B.C.), and the area is home to some pretty waterfalls and natural pools. Nearby is the vast desert of San Isidro and Pulquina, famous for giant cacti and exotic cactus flowers.
