SAVE OR SP LURGE
Toucan, Amazon rainforest
Another area offering excellent value is northern Bolivia, easily accessible from Rurrenabaque, a one-hour flight from the capital, La Paz. Rurrenabaque is awash with
affordable accommodation but the town’s bread and butter is three- or four-day tours into the pampas wetlands around the Yacuma River. Sightings range from toucans to caiman and pink dolphins, with activities including dugout canoe safaris, anaconda tracking and piranha fishing.
Meanwhile, locally run lodges such as the
community-owned Chalalan Ecolodge (
chalalan.com) — a five- to six-hour motorboat ride from
Rurrenabaque, set next to a jungle lake — make a great base for exploring Madidi National Park. LATA members specialising in tailoring such trips include Fremen Tours (
andes-amazonia.com).
Bibiana Garside, director of marketing at Bolivia
AMAZON DELIVERY Peru’s Manu National Park is an ideal destination for
affordable trips. A lodge stay in Manu offers up, everything from nature hikes and trips to parrot clay licks to river boat rides and cosy lodge accommodation. More remarkable still, despite its myriad charms and amazing value, the park is often very quiet.
specialist Geodyssey, points out that the Madidi forms part of the largest protected area in the world — together with Bolivia’s Apolobamba mountain range, its Manuripi-Heath Amazonian Wildlife National Reserve and the Manu Reserve in Peru. And while Garside notes Bolivia’s tourism infrastructure isn’t as developed as that of neighbouring Peru, the payoff is the great value. “If visiting Bolivia, an extension to the Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazon will offer a more rewarding experience in terms of nature, albeit staying at humbler lodges compared with those in Peru, Brazil or Ecuador,” she says. Conditions for viewing wildlife in the Bolivian
Amazon are best during the dry season (May-October), with Garside cautioning that the rainy season months (December-February) “must be avoided.”
FIVE AFFORDABLE LATIN AMERICA EXPERIENCES
The ‘new Machu Picchu’ With its recently opened 2.5 mile cable-car, the
sixth-century archaeological site of Kuelap, found at an altitude of over 9,800ft overlooking Utcubamba Valley, is generating growing interest in northern Peru, with Audley Travel calling it ‘a destination to watch in 2018’.
Colombian graffiti Tucan Travel’s Latin America destination manager, Scott
Marquardt, suggests a graffiti tour in the Colombian capital, Bogotá. “It’s free but runs off tips,” he says. “A local artist takes you around the neighbourhoods of Bogotá and shows you some of the best and most important street art. A lot of the art is based on Colombian traditions that reflect their indigenous culture so it’s a great way to see a mixture of both modern and ancient Colombia.”
Market forces Stocking up on souvenirs at markets attended by locals in
traditional dress is a classic Latin American experience, with prime picks including those held in the old Guatemalan town of Chichicast- enango (Sundays and Thursdays). Ecuador has two great options — Otavalo market (daily but best on a Saturday), an easy day trip from the capital Quito; and less touristy Saquisili, in the Avenue of Volcanos (Thursdays). Other top picks include Pisac, a staple on tours of Peru’s Sacred Valley.
Surf’s up Perfect for novices and experts alike,
Latin America’s Pacific coast has some classic surf resorts backed by great waves, affordable surf schools and
rental outlets. Top picks include San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua; Arica, in north Chile; Mancora, Peru — the focus of a new four-day beach extension at Arennas Mancora hotal from Llama Travel; and Montanita, Ecuador, which mixes challenging waves and tubes with an ‘anything goes’ party town vibe and a low cost of living.
llamatravel.com
Come dancing Learning to tango is a popular pursuit
when in Argentina’s vibrant capital, Buenos Aires. The city supports many tango schools and clubs, or milongas, and lessons can be arranged through operators such as Journey Latin America
journeylatinamerica.co.uk
28 L ATIN AMERICA TRAVEL TRENDS
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