By far the most beautiful place in the Department of Cochabamba: The spectacular Northern Tiquipaya Wildlife Reserve or better known as Yunga Pampa. The region of spectacular wildlife with Andean Deer, Andean Fox, Andean Cat, Andean Condor, Puma and the most spectacular one, the Andean Bear, better known as Jucumari.
Day 1:
We leave Cochabamba very early, around 5:00 am, we drive from the Cochabamba Valley to the Tunari mountain range, heading north, after about 4 hours drive we arrive at the small community of Huari Pucara (4260 masl), in this mountain village we are welcomed with a traditional lunch. After lunch we will continue our journey by car for about 15 minutes from where our first trek of the expedition begins. Here we change the 4×4 vehicle for mules. Around 10:30 am we start our trek. Before arriving at our campsite we will walk through magical mountain scenery, the group will marvel at the incredible beauty of this mountainous area, when we enter the Rumy Plaza sector we will visit some enigmatic paintings of ancient civilizations.
We will visit some of these cave paintings, which according to archaeological studies are about 3500 years old. Our campsite for the night is half an hour from this site,
Rumy Plaza (4150 masl).
Camping in tents, our tents are of the proffesional brand Doite (Pro-Aconcagua) designated for 4 seasons. We provide with 3 person capacity tents; however, just 2 trek participants use it! In this way, we provide you more space and comfort.
Walking time approx. 3 to 3,5 hours. (Breakfast/Boxlunch/Dinner)
Day 2:
We leave the camp early in the morning, about 5:30 am, We make a short walk of half an hour until we arrive to the to the viewpoint of Rumy Plaza (4120 m.a.s.l.), a spectacular site from where we can see the sunrise over a sea of clouds. after enjoying this marvellous natural spectacle, we return to the camp to enjoy our breakfast, afterwards we break up camp and start our second day of trekking in northwest direction, the final destination of this day is the Yungapampa eco lodge (3630 m.a.s.l.). But before before arriving at the refuge we will pass through the canyon of Sala Cueva. visit the Cascada del Infiernillo waterfall, the Totolima viewpoint and the mountainous region of the Yungas del Infiernillo. At the end of this second day of trekking. Lodging in a communal refuge.
shared bathroom. Walking time 5 to 6 hours approx.
Meals (Breakfast/Boxlunch/Dinner)
Day 3:
This day we will wake up more relaxed enjoying the view from the the terrace of the Refugio and if we are lucky we will see condors flying over the refuge. Around 9:30 we start the hike back to our vehicle, enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery and old Incatrails. Finally we move back to the city of Cochabamba.
Walking time of 3 to 3 and a half hours approx. (Breakfast/Boxlunch/Dinner)
More about the possibility to see the special endangered Andean Bear (Jucumari)
After the tapir, it is the largest South American land mammal: the male Jucumari can grow to over two metres in length and weigh around 200 kilos; females are usually a third smaller.
The spectacled bear is the only bear native to South America and is the largest land carnivore on that part of the continent
The spectacled bear’s sense of smell is extremely sensitive. They can perceive from the ground when a tree is loaded with ripe fruit. On the other hand, their hearing is moderate and their vision is short.
The species is found almost entirely in the Andes Mountains.