Visiting the Amazon rainforest in Bolivia

Visiting the Amazon rainforest in Bolivia -

This is a guest post by Erin of Never Voyage quit.

A visit to the largest tropical rainforest in the world is at the top of many travelers' to-do "lists, while in South America, and when most people of the Amazon jungle, they think from Brazil. But the Amazon basin covers nine South American countries, which means that you do not take an expensive tour in Brazil to see the jungle. Bolivia offers an amazing affordable alternative to visiting the pool. It is not only cheaper and less crowded with other tourists, but it is just as biologically diverse as Brazil.

starting point for trips in the Bolivian Amazon is the city Rurrenabaque. It is here simply to sign up for tours, and it will be cheaper than if you book in La Paz in advance. In addition, there is a small town, so it's easy to wander around and find a guesthouse for around $ 10.05 per night, while checking a few travel agencies

There are two ways to the Amazon from here to visit .:

the Pampas

the Pampas tours are the cheapest option and are where you will see the animal ~~ POS = TRUNC, including alligators, squirrel monkeys, and the giant rodent capybara. It might not be the classic Amazon jungle experience that you considered, though, as the Pampas is a wetland savannah on the edge of the Amazon basin place deep are in the jungle, but the lack of trees, it is much easier, wildlife to discover.

All tour operators work identically with two nights / three ~~ POS = TRUNC for fee $ 64 USD plus $ 21 USD park entrance. This includes all transport, food and a guide. You get what you pay, so expect a simple room and board, and your guide may not be the most knowledgeable, if you go with an inexpensive operator (I recommend bringing snacks). Since guides are so important to the overall experience, make sure to ask with good, experienced guides for a company.

After a very bumpy three-hour jeep ride into the jungle, you will become a motorized canoe transferred and continue for three hours along the river to your lodge. The river cruise was the highlight for us as we near an amazing amount of wildlife stood up: hundreds of alligators, whole families of capybara (giant semiaquatic rodents), turtles on logs sunbathing and trees full of small yellow squirrel monkeys. All while birds such as herons, egrets, roseate spoonbills, blue kingfishers, eagles and hoatzin flew (pheasants like birds with blue faces and spiky hair) and nested around us.

River Camp is in a quiet place among the trees, with a lot of game viewing opportunities (I had monkeys in my room peering!). Accommodation is in shared log cabins on stilts, and you will wake up to the harsh sounds of howler monkeys. A generator supplies current to 22:00, so you can while lazing the sunset over the river cold beer or cola in a hammock and watch.

The Pampas tours are a great way for a very affordable price to see many animals, but choose and make sure that they have nothing of the animal ~~ POS = touch or feed TRUNC, particularly anacondas your tour operator carefully.

The Jungle

For a more classic Amazon experience, opt for a jungle tour. You live in an eco-lodge in the jungle and do activities from there, but that can be expensive. We (my other half and I) paid USD $ 207 per person for a two-night / three-day tour with Madidi Travel its Serere Lodge, but we have to get a large, comfortable bungalow, good food, and a very professional run trip. Liked also that the profits go back to us by the travel for the area in conservation work. Although the triple price of a Pampas trip, which is still much less than you'd pay for a similar experience in Brazil. is achieved through the jungle

Serere Lodge through a three-hour canoe ride and short hike. You can choose from a range of activities, including canoeing on the lake next to the camp (at night you can see the glowing red eyes of caimans see), day and night tours in the jungle, piranha fishing and making jewelry from nuts and seeds.

jungle tours in the heat and humidity are exhausting, and there are many more mosquitoes than in the Pampas. It is also much more difficult to spot wildlife - you can spend hours and not see a monkey, while we had past dozens of them in the Pampas canoed. It was interesting to see colorful spiders and giant bugs around, and about the medical use of trees and plants, though learning. In general, we just enjoyed the peace of the jungle to be, above all from the comfort of a hammock, even if not a lot of wildlife.

There are cheaper saw jungle tours for similar prices to the Pampas rides with more basic accommodation available. We also have someone who had a guide set independently and hiked and camped in the jungle. This will save money and may be a more authentic experience, but the conditions in the jungle are hard, so do not undertake any of these tours easily.

If the budget and time, I would recommend both the Pampas and jungle tours, but otherwise you will need in the Pampas or the classic jungle experience prioritize wildlife.

Some Bolivian Amazon travel tips

• you can get from La Paz by a horrible, bumpy 20-hour bus ride or take the scenic 35-minute flight over snowy mountains and in the jungle to Rurrenabaque. We flew with Amaszonas for $ 75 each way, but TAM could be a little cheaper. Obviously the $ 10 bus ride is save money, but it might not be worth it for your sanity!
• The best time to visit the Bolivian Amazon is the dry season from May to October, when it is tightened more wildlife to the rivers, and fewer mosquitoes.
• There is no ATM in Rurrenabaque, bring so much money.
• We did our Pampas trip with Indigena Tours. I can not say I recommend it because it was quite disorganized, the portions were too small, and our guide was not very helpful. But at least they do not touch any of the animals, which is a common problem here. There are definitely worse tour companies in Rurrenabaque. Ultimately, it is a cheap trip and you get what you pay (there is no more expensive, better run options), but it was worth it to get us close with so much wildlife.

to visit the Amazon jungle, is a highlight for many travelers in South America, and it would be to miss a shame because you can not afford the high cost of travel in Brazil. For us, Bolivia made for a perfect alternative.

Erin McNeaney and her partner Simon sold everything they owned and left the UK to travel forever in March 2010 to the world. You run a WordPress web design business on the road and have traveled to Latin America and North America; they are located in Asia. You can follow their adventures at Never Ending Voyage , or Twitter and Facebook.

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