The Circunvalación

 

Circumventing Coroico lays an almost perfectly flattened patch of land, which is on parts used as a road, as a trail, or not used at all. It was constructed in the 1940s, as a part of the never finished rail connection between La Paz and the Yungas. You can even make out the spot where the Coroico Railway Station was planned. Even though there is no train, it now makes one of the easiest walks in the area. It lacks spectacular attractions like waterfalls and rivers, but it makes up for that in being a great introduction to local gastronomy, agriculture, forest, wildlife and landscapes. Some parts of the trip follow rarely taken trails, where you might meet snakes, peculiar birds, squirrels and abundant butterflies. You’ll walk through coffee and banana plantations, see terraced coca fields and grasslands, and walk under mango trees and along citrus plantations. Whenever the weather and the trees allow, you’ll get great views of the Rio Coroico Valley. And on your way back to the village you can treat yourself to homemade ice-cream in Villa Bonita.

 

How to visit the Circunvalación:

 

A two and a half hours walk starting at the soccer field. Some parts get very muddy in the rainy season.