Discover Nor Yungas

When planning a stay in Nor Yungas, you can also consider the wider La Paz destination. It offers a protected area with ecological, scenic and archaeological features, a trail bearing visible traces of earlier use, and the ancient city of Tiwanaku, each appealing to different interests. The following travel ideas can help you consider access options, the trail experience and settlement history as distinct points of focus.

Travel ideas in the wider La Paz destination

Cotapata: protected area and access routes

The Cotapata National Park and Integrated Natural Area Management Area is suitable for environmental education and tourism thanks to its ecological, scenic and archaeological features. By road, the protected area can be reached via the La Paz–Coroico road or through the Río Huarinilla valley. A private vehicle is recommended for this journey.

By bus, you can travel as far as Coroico or La Cumbre; from there, the trekking route continues to the village of El Chairo. The pre-Columbian El Choro trail can be used to access the protected area on foot. Your options therefore differ between travelling by bus followed by a trek and accessing the area on foot. Conditions on the El Choro trail and access logistics may change; check these before setting out on a hike.

Camino Chairo–Socosani: traces along the trail

The Camino Chairo–Socosani continues from Puente Inca en Chairo along the lower slope of Cerro Nogalani to the ruins of Socosani. Along the way, you can see old agricultural terraces, retaining walls and paved paths. The terraces point to earlier agricultural use. Retaining walls are structural features that provide support; together with the paving, they bring the design of the trail into view. This means the focus is not only on the ruins at the destination, but also on the visible traces along the route. For travellers interested in archaeological landscapes, this combination of a trail and historic features is a distinct point of focus.

Tiwanaku: location and ancient city

Tiwanaku lies near the southern shore of Lake Titicaca in the Altiplano, at an elevation of 3,850 m, in Ingavi Province in the Department of La Paz. Its highland location and proximity to the lake provide two points of reference for placing it within the La Paz destination. The ancient city was built mainly of adobe; most of it is covered by the modern settlement. The ancient city’s construction and its spatial relationship to the present-day settlement together form part of Tiwanaku’s distinctive character.

These travel ideas highlight different archaeological themes: at Cotapata, archaeological features are part of a broader profile encompassing ecology and landscape; along the Camino Chairo–Socosani, the focus is on ruins and traces along a trail; and Tiwanaku brings together its Altiplano location and the history of an ancient city amid the modern settlement. When planning your trip in the La Paz destination, you can therefore weigh whether to focus on access routes, historic traces along a trail or the development of a city.

Discover more destinations: Coroico, Cercado, Pacajes, Caranavi Province, Larecaja, Franz Tamayo, Omasuyos.

Return to the wider travel overview: La Paz.