Deep immersion into Andean Life

Your driver will pick you up at the international airport of El Alto. You spend the night at the Anami Hotel.   Included: arrival transfer, room & breakfast

We leave for a day of exploration of La Paz. We meet, for the morning, our guide "lustrabotas" at the central station of the cable car. The lustrabotas are shoeshine boys, who walk the streets to earn their living. The association Hormigón Armado leads the project to highlight these guardians of the city, and to encourage them to share their secrets of the popular La Paz. We visit the general cemetery, colored with flowers and murals. Far from being scary or sad, this unique cemetery is animated, colored by large murals and decorated by the families of the deceased. Here, death is celebrated: people sing, dance and make offerings to honor their departed loved ones. We pass by the various streets around, transformed into giant market, of the street of fish, to that of the medicinal plants, while passing by the hardware stores in any kind. We then pass by the Calle de Los Andes, street of the carnival costume makers, stores and dressmakers. We could watch for hours the meticulous work of the mask makers of the Diablada. Further down, in the direction of the market, one finds custom-made hats, jewelry of all kinds and petticoats of cholitas.   We are introduced by our local guide to the different merchants and caseritas. For a few hours, we dive into the popular reality of a Paceño, a moment of rich and authentic exchange.   We leave the popular district and our guide of the morning by arriving on the Sagarnaga where we take a mate de coca, or leaves to chew, efficient remedy against the altitude sickness. We cross the Mercado de Las Brujas, where we buy a miniature to please the Ekeko, the benevolent god of abundance. The tradition wants that one projects all his hopes in the purchase of the coveted object in miniature, which will be then ritualized.   We have lunch at one of the common tables of the market, among the Paceños. The choice of dishes is rich, and the smells of grilled meat with aji sauce mix with those of fried food and other spicy soups.   La Paz is a mixed and contrasted city, a perfect sample of a whole country. From the market district, full of colors and smells, we cross a few streets to find ourselves in the heart of the historical district, now a business center. Two worlds that coexist 200 meters apart and whose only common point is the permanent and noisy chaos that characterizes them.   In the historic district, we walk down Calle Jaen, one of the last colonial streets of the city, with its cobblestones and its colorful houses. We take the time to push all the doors to discover small interior courtyards, galleries, the museum of musical instruments.   We reach El Alto by cable car, we fly over houses as far as the eye can see, we step over the inner courtyards, the terraces where traditional clothes and dance costumes dry... The shamans who lead the ceremonies of offerings to the Pachamama are perched on the cliffside. Shall we venture to one of them to have the coca leaves read ?   For dinner, we will provide you with a list of restaurant suggestions of all types. In Bolivia, we are lucky to have varied and quality food, we eat well. It's simple, here confluence the products of the Amazon, the Yungas (tropical fruits and vegetables), the products of the Altiplano (potatoes, quinoa, llama), the meat of the Beni, and the products of Lake Titicaca. The meal can be accompanied by a good local wine from Tarija with a high altitude grape variety.   🧐 El Hormigón Armado has been working since 2005 with children and young people who work and live in the streets of La Paz, Bolivia, in particular with shoeshine boys, a particularly marginalized population. Part of the informal economy, the activity is not protected by labor laws, many are minors, have a low level of education and live in poverty. El Hormigón Armado strives to defend and highlight the dignity of the shoeshine trade. The association edits a weekly newspaper.   You spend the night at the Anami Hotel.   Included: entrance fees mentioned in the program, english speaking guide, lunch (no drinks), local guide, room & breakfast

We leave La Paz and drive about 1.5 hours to the archaeological site of Tiwanaku where we discover the pre-Columbian remains which are among the most important on the continent. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tiwanaku is recognised as having been an extremely influential spiritual and political centre, particularly between 500 and 900 AD. The buildings were built according to the cardinal points, and the stones were carved with techniques that defy belief. The architectural configuration of this city lets us guess the importance of religion and spirituality for the inhabitants of Tiwanaku. We then follow Lake Titicaca, where we enjoy a splendid view of the Cordillera Real until we reach Copacabana. At the end of the day, we can walk up the calvario path to admire a magnificent sunset over the lake.     You are spending the night at the Las Olas hotel.   Included: box lunch, entrance fees mentioned in the program, local guide, private transport, english speaking guide, guide expenses, room & breakfast

Today, we're heading for the Sun Island. We'll be able to admire the pre-Inca terraces, built for agriculture, as well as a unique panorama of the entire Cordillera Real!   We visit the north of the island, reaching the archaeological site of Chinkana, or labyrinth in the Aymara language, a place venerated by the Incas and which marks the spot where, according to legend, the god Viracocha gave birth to his son Manco Capac, the first Inca and Mama Ocllo.   Then we're back on the boat to discover another island, one that is much less frequented.   Doña Esperanza opens the doors to her kingdom, the Isla de la Luna. This tiny island, home to around twenty Aymara families, is an important part of Inca history: for centuries it was here that the Virgins of the Sun lived, priestesses who dedicated their lives to the Inca sovereign. We will of course visit the magnificent remains of this glorious past.   You spend the night at Doña Esperanza's. For lunch we will share a traditional meal called “Apthapi”. This tradition of the Aymara people probably takes its source into the Tiwanaku pre-Inca culture. It is a moment of sharing within the community: everyone brings some products of it land or livestock to the "table" and the meal is shared around a piece of traditional cloth (Aguayo) laid on the floor. Traditionally you will find corn, cheese, fish, fried or dried meat, quinoa and a great variety of potatoes from the Altiplano.   After our lunch, a traditional healer (“Yatiri”) will realize a ceremony dedicated to Mother Earth (“Pachamama”). We will enjoy these unique moments in the heart of the pre-Inca and Inca traditions: the Isla del Sol (“Island of the Sun”) owes its name to its important role in the cult to the Sun God “Inti” during the Inca Empire area. Here the people care about preserving the nature and their traditions. Included: box lunch, dinner (no drinks), entrance fees mentioned in the program, english speaking guide, boat transfer, guide expenses, room & breakfast, lunch

Doña Esperanza has a busy day: she sets her fishing nets, cultivates her potato and bean fields, looks after her house, weaves bonnets and is constantly moving from one side of the island to the other, which fortunately is not very large. We try our hand at preparing wallaque, a fish soup simmering with spices in an earthen vessel? We can also ask Esperanza to help us prepare an offering to the Qutamama. Together we'll gather flowers and prepare various foods that we'll put in a sack, then set off on a fishing boat to give it as an offering to the waters of the lake. Doña Esperanza smiles from morning till night at these long days of work, and loves to share her knowledge. Let's get weaving! She'll explain the meaning of the patterns that we'll weave together. And if we're in the mood for a bit of exercise, a helping hand in the fields is always welcome! You feel like you're on another planet here, with the constant swirling of the waves, and the snow-capped cordillera in the distance... No dogs or cars disturb the tranquillity of this site, which seems frozen in eternity by the sacred virgins.   Our boat then takes us back to Copacabana. The crossing takes around 1h30, enough time to enjoy the immensity of the lake and the Cordillera Real.   From Yampupata we take a vehicle to reach the village of Santiago de Okola, on the other side of the lake. We are welcomed by Don Thomas from the community, who will receive us in his home to spend the night or with a family from the community who will be delighted to share their daily life with you far away from traditional tourism.   Included: box lunch, english speaking guide, local guide, boat transfer, private transport, dinner (no drinks), local spanish-speaking guide, room & breakfast

Santiago de Okola is a community on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Families of fishermen and farmers, the inhabitants of Santiago de Okola benefit from the richness of their environment between the lake and the Cordillera. They are a people open to the outside world, and with a strong will to share their culture: fishing on the lake, climbing or a short hike to the Dragon Dormido, cooking, work in the fields... We spend the evening in the village. We share a few drinks, and taste the Andean festive evenings. The golden rule, before bringing a glass of alcohol to your mouth, is to pour a few drops on the ground. This custom is directly related to the cult of the Pachamama, to whom we reserve this first sip as a sign of respect and reverence.   The Pachamama is the central deity of the Andean cosmogony and, in the pre-Columbian religions of South America, is the "Mother Earth" that governs the environment of the human being in its entirety (on the material as well as on the spiritual level). A deity without a temple or any kind of place of worship, it can be worshipped at any time and in any place.   Included: dinner, local spanish-speaking guide, room & breakfast

Let's enjoy the tranquility and serenity of this microclimate so characteristic of Titicaca. We embark for a navigation aboard a catamaran built by the community of Santiago de Huata. For lunch, we can choose between the lake trucha with butter, garlic, tomato, or llajwa - a spicy sauce not to be missed in the Andes... or a fresh fish ceviche with tiger's milk and sautéed corn.   We leave the lakeside towards the heart of the Cordillera, to meet the Quispe family. Jaime and Marisol welcome us at their home in Tuni, an Aymara hamlet at 4400m altitude, inhabited by about ten families. You spend the night at the Ecolodge Tuni.   Included: local guide, lunch (no drinks), private transport, dinner (no drinks), room & breakfast

The Aymara culture, so singular, attaches great importance to solidarity and community life. It rests on four founding pillars: community, festivals, rites and Pachamama. The ancestral Aymara traditions are still very present and the Tuni community is committed to keep them alive and share them. No staging, no disguises, the Quispe family opens its doors and lets us live a few days with them, in all simplicity, with the Pachamama at the center of beliefs and offerings. The agency has family ties with the community for a very long time. Fabrice, the founder of Terra, is the godfather of a little girl from the village. The families of Terra are used to spend the weekend there from time to time. They know that sharing a few moments with Jaime and Marisol brings a lot to our children. Only happiness and an undeniable opening to the world.   We have 4 days, and before us the choice of discoveries. It is urgent to take our time, to exchange, to let ourselves be surprised by the unexpected, by the encounters and by what we are going to learn.   We propose you to choose your program and let you live at the rhythm of the Cordillera:   Want to crawl towards high snowy summits? Trek of the Condoriri lagoons   Jaime, a high mountain guide trained by Chamonix instructors who came to deliver the training and certifications, takes us on a trek around the lagoons and the Condoriri. We take care of preparing the itinerary, the equipment and the food and we take our place next to the muleteers. They will accompany our journey at the foot of the glaciers with our mule caravan. It is a real know-how to guide the mules and men in the scree slopes and steep passages. Jaime and his brothers have managed to develop Andinism in the region and participate in the organization of great expeditions, accompanied by cooks, porters and muleteers.   Want to settle down and discover life "like a local"? At the heart of everyday life in Aymara.   We follow Vicky to the village school, why not try an Aymara language course. The transmission of ancestral traditions also involves the teaching of this language still spoken in the villages. We then offer ourselves as a kitchen assistant with Denys and Marisol. The speciality here is Huatia, cooking in the oven dug in the earth. One of the flagship foods is chuño, a dehydrated potato. On the Altiplano, the soils and climate allow some communities to harvest only one potato a year. As a method of preservation, the Andean people use a dehydration process during the coldest months to extract starch from the potatoes. The taste is ... peculiar, but the method is ingenious and one would do well to learn the technique. To complete our Andean meal, we go fishing in the icy rivers and lagoons, rich in trout. We participate in different tasks depending on the season and the needs: making straw mattresses that will be sold in the surrounding area, collecting animal excrement for fuel in the houses. The shearing of the llamas is a real test, a little muscular, whose first challenge is to immobilize the animal. With the spun wool, we can learn how to weave and make warm clothes that are very appreciated in the mountains.   Included: all inclusive, english speaking guide, guide expenses

Program "à la carte" to the rhythm of the Cordillera Option: Trek of the Condoriri Lagoons Option: At the heart of the Aymara daily life Included: all inclusive, english speaking guide, guide expenses

Program "à la carte" to the rhythm of the Cordillera Option: Trek of the Condoriri Lagoons Option: At the heart of the Aymara daily life Included: all inclusive, english speaking guide, guide expenses

Program "à la carte" to the rhythm of the Cordillera Option: Trek of the Condoriri Lagoons Option: At the heart of the Aymara daily life     We hit the road towards La Paz. You spend the night at the Anami Hotel.   Included: all inclusive, english speaking guide, guide expenses, private transport, room & breakfast

We descend from our heights to the pre-tropical Yungas. We find there the heat and a green and luxuriant vegetation. We start from La Paz and climb to almost 4,600 meters above sea level in La Cumbre. This is where the descent by mountain bike begins. From here we leave the Altiplano and enter the Amazon basin. From now on, we will lose 100 meters of altitude and gain 1.6 degrees every 10 minutes. We leave the llamas, the snow, the rock, to reach Yolossa, water, mangoes, coffee, parrots, monkeys, at 1,200 meters of altitude. The green replaces the grey, it is an explosion of colors, smells, oxygen.   This road is the only one that links the Andean capital to the producers of Amazonia, in case of social conflict, blocking it with a few trucks means stopping the transport of goods (meat, citrus fruits, coca, coffee) to the capital. The control of this route is essential.   Night at Villa Kiki. Included: entrance fees mentioned in the program, local english-speaking guide, lunch (no drinks), private transport

This morning, we set off for the "Cafetal" in San Felix, 4.5 km from Coroico on the Cascades road. On arrival, we are greeted by Mauro, who takes us on a tour of the property. This is a family-run coffee plantation and packaging center, where we'll discover every stage of coffee production, from the hand-picking of the beans and their meticulous selection to the cup you're served. We'll be intoxicated by the rich aroma of the toasted beans and savor their aromas... The Yungas region is renowned for its quality coffee, with small-scale, family-run production. It does, however, face competition from coca cultivation, historically important in the region and which has grown considerably over the years.   After this visit, how about a short stroll and, for the more adventurous, a swim in the waterfalls?   A meal awaits us on the terrace back at the cafétal.   We enjoy the lush vegetation and mild climate for a while longer, before heading back to La Paz, where we arrive at the end of the day.   Tour duration: 3/4 hours   Night at Villa Kiki. Included: entrance fees mentioned in the program, local guide, lunch, private transport

We are heading back to La Paz. You spend the night at the Anami Hotel.   Included: private transport, room & breakfast

Your driver will pick you up at your hotel and take you to the airport.   Included: departure transfer