The Route
Seven days, La Paz to the Tuichi
From 15,000 feet in the Andes down into primary rainforest, every stop chosen for what moves through it.
DAY 01
La Paz: Arrival & Acclimatization
16.5°S, 68.15°W · 10,200 FT
Met at El Alto and settled into the Calacoto district to adjust to altitude at your own pace. An afternoon city tour through the witches' market and colonial quarter, easy on purpose. Your body needs the runway before the descent into the Amazon.
DAY 02
Over the Andes: La Cumbre to Rurrenabaque
15,000 FT → 800 FT IN ONE DAY
Cross La Cumbre Pass by 4×4, then descend the Yungas cloud forest along a stretch of the "Death Road," moving from alpine tundra to dense jungle in a single afternoon. Arrive in the Amazon gateway town of Rurrenabaque by dusk.
DAY 03
The Yacuma Pampas: Dolphins to Night Eyes
BENI SAVANNA & WETLANDS
A full day on the Yacuma's narrow channels: pink river dolphins, capybaras, caimans, and dense birdlife by daylight. After dark, we go back out with flashlights. Caiman eyes glow on the waterline, and the pampas becomes a different place entirely.
DAY 04
Into Sadiri: Jaguar Ridge
SERRANÍA SADIRI · TACANA TERRITORY
Ascend into the mountain rainforest corridor at Sadiri Lodge, an award-winning ecotourism project run by the local Tacana community. This ridge is prime ocelot, puma, and jaguar habitat. We settle in, then go straight into a guided night hike.
Jaguar Territory
DAY 05
Sadiri Trails: Full Day Tracking
PRIMARY FOREST · CANOPY LOOKOUTS
A full day on foot through Sadiri's trail network with local Tacana guides who know this forest by name, not map. Ridge-line lookouts, dawn and dusk movement windows, and an optional second night hike for those still hunting for eyes in the dark.
Jaguar Territory
DAY 06
The Tuichi River: Bullet Canyon to Mashaquipe
TUICHI RIVER CORRIDOR
Upriver through Bullet Canyon and deep into lower Madidi's primary rainforest. The sandbars along this stretch are where jaguar sightings happen most. Settle into Mashaquipe Lodge, a Tacana community ecolodge, with an evening hike into the surrounding forest.
Sandbar Territory
DAY 07
Santa Rosa Lake: Otters, Then Home
LAGUNA SANTA ROSA → LA PAZ
An early push upriver to Santa Rosa Lake for the resident family of giant river otters, curious, vocal, and one of the rarest sightings on this route. Then back down the Tuichi and Beni to Rurrenabaque, a flight to La Paz, and a farewell dinner to close it out.
Otter Territory
