Charazani and Apolobamba
La Paz Department · Culture and history
Charazani is a remote mountain village at the heart of Kallawaya country, the traditional Andean healers who treat with plants and whose culture is recognised by UNESCO. You can soak in hot springs, then walk from village to village to meet the communities, or head for the snowy peaks of the Apolobamba range, one of the wildest in the country.
3,250 maltitude
2 to 4 daysto spend there
Things to do
- Charazani hot springs
- Pacha Trek: Kallawaya villages (Curva, Chari)
- The big Curva – Pelechuco trek (4 to 5 days)
- Vicuñas and Apolobamba landscapes
What to eat
- ChuñoPotatoes freeze-dried in the sun, an Andean technique thousands of years old. A surprising taste, worth trying at least once.
- Quinoa soupA hot soup of quinoa and vegetables, served in refuges and high-altitude comedores. Perfect when it's cold.
- TroutTrout from Lake Titicaca or the Cordillera rivers, fried or grilled, with rice, fries and salad. Eaten on the beach in Copacabana and in the small restaurants of mountain villages.
Tip. A long bus ride from La Paz (8 to 10 h). Simple lodging. Treks from June to September, with a guide.
Also here
- UNESCO Andean cosmovision of the Kallawaya
- Crafts and markets Kallawaya weavingAround Charazani, weaving goes hand in hand with traditional medicine: coca-leaf bags and brightly coloured ponchos, made in the communities.
How to get to Charazani
La Paz Road (bus, car) · 8 to 10 h
Bus from La Paz's cemetery district, few departures a week.
Long road, partly unpaved.
Photos of Charazani and Apolobamba
More places in this region
La PazThe world's highest seat of government, in a bowl at the foot of Illimani.
El AltoThe big Aymara city on the Altiplano, right above La Paz: a giant market, cholets and cholita wrestling.
Valle de la LunaMoon-like clay formations in the southern suburbs of La Paz.
Valle de las ÁnimasA forest of earth spires on the edge of La Paz, bigger and wilder than the Valley of the Moon.
ChacaltayaA former ski area at 5,400 m: the highest view of the Cordillera Real.
Huayna PotosíA 6,000 m peak known as one of the most accessible, with a guided 2 or 3-day climb.
Cordillera Real: CondoririGlacial lagoons and snowy peaks, two hours from La Paz.
TiwanakuUNESCO-listed pre-Inca site: the Gate of the Sun and the Kalasasaya temple.- Uru community of IruitoAn Uru community on the Desaguadero river, keepers of a very old lake culture.
Jesús de MachacaAn Aymara Altiplano village and its 1706 church, south of Lake Titicaca.
Comanche and its Puya raimondiiA forest of Puya raimondii, the world's largest bromeliad, on the Altiplano.- Viscachani hot springsWarm-water baths on the Altiplano, on the road to Oruro, about 1 h 30 from La Paz.
SorataA quiet village at the foot of Illampu, a base for treks.
Death Road (bike)The world's most famous mountain bike descent: from 4,650 m to 1,200 m in a day.
Choro trek (Inca trail)Three days on a pre-Hispanic trail, from the snows of La Cumbre down to the Yungas forest.
Takesi trek (Inca trail)Two days on one of Bolivia's best-preserved Inca trails, down to Yanacachi.
Yunga Cruz trekThe wildest pre-Hispanic trail down to the Yungas: 4 to 5 days below Illimani.
Coroico (Yungas)A hilltop village in the subtropical Yungas: coffee, waterfalls and pools with a view.
Chulumani (South Yungas)A small South Yungas town among coffee, coca and cloud forest, away from the crowds.