The Amazon Basin and Eastern Lowlands

V!VA User‘s Description

Taking up almost 70% of the country’s landmass, Bolivia’s sparsely-populated ‘Oriente’ includes the northeast rainforest of the Beni and Pando departments and the lowlands of Santa Cruz department. Compared to other South American countries, the region has suffered relatively little deforestation, making it an excellent place to venture off the beaten track and into virgin jungle.

Relatively untouched by settlers and tourists, wildlife still abounds; in fact, three of the country’s best-known national parks, Amboró, Kaa-Iya, and Noel Kempff Mercado, all of which lie in this area, have one of the planet’s highest biodiversity rates, with more species of birds, mammals and plant life combined than any comparable area in the world (at 55,945 sq. kms., roughly that of Croatia).

Despite its remoteness, the Oriente is gradually becoming easier to access – some parts more than others – although travel is very much dependent upon the season (during the rainy season from mid-December through March, many roads and air strips are impassable). The closest entry point to the Amazon is Rurrenabaque (often referred to simply as “Rurre” by locals), Bolivia’s most visited Amazonian settlement, which has regular air and bus services from La Paz. The town itself is also a tourist hotspot, where people tend to stay longer than they planned, and serves as a base from which to take river trips into other parts of the jungle. Many tourists use this as a base for taking day hikes or boat rides into the rainforest – this is a comfortable way to visit the Oriente, with most tourist services close at hand in the town. Keep in mind that to really see the flora and fauna of the Bolivian Amazon, you’ll want to allow at least three days, and bring plenty of insect repellant!

Although Rurrenabaque is the most popular starting point for jungle trips, you can also fly to one of the Oriente’s other towns, which are served by flights from La Paz. These include Trinidad, Reyes, San Borja, Santa Ana de Yacuma, San Joaquín, Magdalena, Guayaremín and Riberalta. The last three also serve as crossings into Brazil. Getting off the beaten track is easy once you reach one of these outposts, especially if comfort isn’t an issue. One way to do this is to hop on one of the cargo boats heading through the far-reaching river network (the bigger towns have more traffic passing through) or take a guided canoe trip along some of the narrower rivers – if you want to see wildlife the second option is a better bet, as the noise from motor boats can scare animals and birds away. However, there is growing number of companies offering more comfortable wildlife-watching tours, with boats that keep noise to a minimum. These trips can be organized on the spot in Rurrenabaque, but a better alternative is to plan them from a recognized travel agencies or tour service in La Paz, where prices are generally slightly better.

The Santa Cruz region – the lowlands to the east and south known as the Chiquitania – is another real gem, its highlight being the painstakingly restored Jesuit Missions, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. You can visit six of the famed Jesuit Missions independently by bus from the regional capital of Santa Cruz, or book a tour from there. Alternately, the infamous tren de muerte—technically one of three different trains operated by Bolivia’s Red Oriental: tren rápido, Expreso Oriental, or a ferrobus—runs from Santa Cruz eastward to the Brazilian border, crossing the mysterious, mostly unexplored landscape of the Chiquitania, and stopping midway in San José de Chiquitos, another Jesuit mission town and gateway to the Chaco and regions southward.