Just 30 miles east of La Paz lies Coroico, a small hilltop town surrounded by leafy greenness and nature. It is a wonderful place to escape the hustle and bustle of La Paz. Funnily enough, Coroico was never originally in our plans. In fact before going to South America we hadn’t even heard of it, but the name Coroico began to filter down the backpacker grapevine towards the end of our journey in Peru and on arriving in Bolivia.
We ended up googling Coroico and it turned out to be well located for our travel plans. Given that we could end our Death Road biking tour there and it was more than a few steps (a few hours!) in the right direction for Rurrenabaque and the Amazon, we decided to go.
It turned out that the weekend we were planning to be in Coroico was, according to our guidebook, the yearly Fiesta de la Virgen celebrations. We didn’t know how much of a fiesta it would be. From my time in Spain, I had an inkling fiesta really meant fiesta. And it did! The actual Fiesta de la Virgen day is the 20th October which fell on a Saturday. We got to Coroico on the Friday evening and the celebrations were already in flow. Locals lined the streets as parades full of brass and percussion bands and dance troupes marched through them in costume. It was great fun to witness.
Celebrations continued into the night and were in full force on Saturday with the parades marching and dancing again. On Saturday, we decided to find some calm amidst the celebrations and went to walk to the three waterfalls.
Walking to the three waterfalls
Coroico is surrounded by greenery and nature and we wanted to do a short hike. Walking to the three waterfalls seemed like a good short hike. To join the path, we walked from Coroico’s centre uphill to the church at the top and then branched off to the left along the path. The route isn’t signposted and we relied on MapsMe to guide us. That said once you’re on the path you pretty much follow it.
The path hugs the hillside and the views over the fields and farmhouses are lovely. The disappointing and unsuccessful part of the walk was the waterfalls themselves. I think my friend and I were constantly unlucky with waterfalls – see my Sucre post for another underwhelming waterfall experience.
The first waterfall was surrounded by concrete, cables and a fence. In short, definitely not the beautiful waterfall we were expecting. It seemed to be the water supply for the nearby towns.
Not what we were expecting!
Not to be deterred, we continued on to the second waterfall thinking anything would be an improvement on the first. We didn’t make it, halted by a padlocked gate and private property no entry sign.
At that point we turned and retraced our steps back to Coroico. I’ve since found out it’s the third waterfall which is the one to visit. It has a small pool to swim in and there is a small entrance fee. To get to it, you’re best bet is to walk along the roads or go by taxi/colectivo.
Although the waterfalls were another flop, the walk itself was lovely. I really enjoyed getting into the countryside, fresh air, the beautiful views and just doing an independent walk in our own time.
We spent the rest of our short time in Coroico relaxing. If you’re looking for a place to chill, the Sol y Luna lodge on the outskirts is recommended. There are plenty of other walks to do and if you fancy an adrenaline rush zip lining is available. Speaking of adrenaline, if you haven’t already biked Death Road you can do it from Coroico. If you’re an animal fan, La Sende Verde is an animal sanctuary and eco lodge you can visit and even volunteer at.
Getting to and from Coroico
Getting to Coroico
Catch a minivan or minibus from La Paz’s northern bus terminal in Villa Fatima throughout the day. They leave when full and cost around Bs 30. The drive takes around two hours. Alternatively if you’re biking Death Road, instead of returning to La Paz you can tell your tour agency you’d like to end in Coroico and they’ll sort a taxi for you.
Leaving Coroico
Most people leaving Coroico will either be going to La Paz or Rurrenabaque, we were Rurrenabaque bound. I reckon we got a slightly skewed view of how buses and minivans run because of the fiesta. The office for buying bus tickets was closed so we couldn’t book tickets in advance. This resulted in us spending our second day in Coroico waiting around in Yolosita, a small crossroad traffic control area with a handful of food stalls, so we wouldn’t miss a bus going to Rurrenabaque.
Turns out buses to Rurrenabaque didn’t start passing through until 5/5.30pm so we had a long long wait during which we made friends with a policeman/traffic warden on duty. I’m not sure who was more relieved when the bus finally showed: us or him! If you’re getting a bus at a non fiesta time, you’ll probably have been able to book tickets in advance saving you the seriously long wait. If you like to wing it, there’s no need to get there super early!
Final thoughts on Coroico
I enjoyed our time in Coroico. It was fun seeing it during a fiesta with the locals wearing traditional dress, parades through the streets and lots of music and dancing. It did make sorting our onward travel harder as everyone was celebrating. If you’re looking for some peace, quiet and nature, Coroico is a nice small town to stop off at and put your feet up.
