Altitude:
2558 mt
Population: 517.367 (city); 1.455.711 (department).
The city of Cochabamba lies
in a large fertile valley with a very pleasant climate,
mainly characterized by agriculture, so was named "the
granary of Bolivia". You can visit religious buildings
from the colony epoch, museums and other monuments: Catedral,
Iglesia & Convento de San Francisco, Convento de Santa
Teresa, Iglesia Santo Domingo, Hospicio, Museo Arqueológico,
Palacio Portales (Centro Cultural Simón I. Patino).
The lookout Cristo de la Concordia. The Mercado La Cancha
shows customs and local handicrafts.
Fiestas
Virgen de Urkupiña (August
15), great religious fiesta with folk dances in Quillacollo.
Surroundings
Near
Quillacollo, you can visit the ruins of Inka Rakay, beyond
Sipe Sipe, besides the odd mansion of Patiño in Payrumani.
On the north of Cochabamba,
it lies the Parque Nacional Tunari, a beautiful mountainous
region with nice views, lakes with trouts and aquatic birds.
Mountainers may climb the Cerro Tunari (5035 mt) from the
road that runs from Quillacollo to Morochata. The most accessible
section of this park contains the Lagunas de Huara Huara,
which makes a well visited area with nice options for hikes
and climbs to some lower peaks.
The village of Tarata, at 33
Km from Cochabamba, displays an interesting colonial architecture.
The usual visited places are the church of San Pedro, the
Franciscan convent of San José and some history buildings.
In Inkallajta you'll see the
ruins of a great Inca fortress, which was built on a strategic
elevation. The site is at 142 Km from Cochabamba (by car
and a long walk).
Another interesting colonial
settlement in the Cochabamba's valley is Totora, at 140
Km from the city. Unfortunately most of the buildings of
colonial architecture were destroyed by an earthquake in
1998.
At 7 hrs from the city
(by bus or truck), you'll get the Parque Nacional de Toro
Toro (department of Potosí), which is a fascinating
area, where you may explore the caves of Umajalanta, the
biggest in the country. You'll also see dinosaur footprints,
ancient rock paintings and ruins.
Chapare
Incachaca lies at 93 Km from the city, on the new highway
to Santa Cruz. It's a beautiful subtropical spot where you
would like to walk to nice waterfalls, just at the gate
of the Chapare region.
Villa Tunari is at 4
hrs trip by bus from Cochabamba. It's the most visited village
in the region. There are tropical forests, rivers and interesting
options to walk, like the Parque Machía.
At the same time, Villa Tunari is an access way to the Parque
Nacional Carrasco, which protects a large area of rain forests.
Usually, the visit gets Cuevas del Repechón, which
are home of an odd nigh bird kind.
The Parque Nacional Isiboro-Securé protects natural
resources and indigenous territories, but is less visited
due to the hard access and drug traffic troubles.
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