Yastaah

Just 3 hours from Cochabamba, Villa Tunari is a whole new world. Tropical, hot and humid, it's the perfect place to enjoy the Bolivian Amazzonia. The small town is a touristic place for the rich people of Cochabamba, with many extra luxurious hotels. But there also plenty of activities to do here for a very cheap price. It's possible to have a swim in the Rio Padresama, or Rio Tres Arroyos. For the more adventurous people instead I'd suggest to do some rafting or ziplining. Pure adrenaline. Beautiful parks just on a walking distance from the town are Parque Machia and Parque Carrasco. Different species of monkeys, such us Capuchin and Spider monkey, are all around these parks. Be careful as some of them can steal your belongings. Well, as you know this is one of my favourite activity: Sabalo and Surubì, with some fried bananas. Villa Tunari is also where the political activity of Evo Morales started. So if you want to know more about hi

The National Park of Torotoro a magical place. There are few holes to do in 3 or 4 days. Once you bought the ticket for the park than it's needed a guide to go trekking. The very first day I did the Huellas de dinosaurios, the Vergel and than the canyon. It's a full day tour. In the morning we've walked through the dinosaurs footprints and then went for a swim in the river. The second part is along the canyon, where there are more footprints of some different species of dinosaurs. Very spectacular landscape. The second day it was about Ciudad de Itas and Caverna de Umajalanta. In the morning you will be able to see some prehistoric drawing on few rocks. You will heard the history of people living these regions much earlier than the arrival of the Inca. The afternoon is devoted to an excursion in a cave where stalactites and stalagmites are growing since billions of years. It can be hard to do. Not recommended for people with claustrophobia.

Cochabamba, like Santa Cruz, is a modern city far from the stereotypical imagine of Bolivia. It looks like a vibrant and dynamic city, which enjoys a booming, both in terms of population and economy. The most important attraction is the huge Cristo de la Concordia. With its 34 meter, it's the tallest statue of a Cristo Redentor. About one meter taller than the one in Rio de Janeiro. It's reachable by a "teleférico" which costs 13BOB return. Or, it's possible just walking up 2,000 steps, altrough it isn't suggested as some tourists have been victims of robberies. I've done it and I felt very safe tough. The city center is between Plaza Colon and Plaza 14 de Septiembre. Here there's the Baroque cathedral, encircled by arcades of some colonial buildings. One of these is the convent Santa Teresa, where few cloistered nuns still live. One more beautiful building to visit is finally the Palacio Portales, decorated with the European materials.

"La ruta del Che", the Che trail, will make you feel part of the history. Che Guevara spent his last months in Bolivia. With the fantastic tour I joined in Vallegrande, I was able to see the "Lavandería" of the local, and still running, hospital.  It's here that the body of El Comandante was officially identified and where the iconic picture of him looking as Jesus was taken. People who saw got the chance to see his body said he got his eyes still opened, so that looked like he was watching them. Here some people still considers him as a sort of Saint. The murales are new but the structure is the same. After the hospital, we went to visit a place where few "guerrilleros" were buried in a mass grave. Here there's also the body of the only woman fighting in Bolivia, the Argentinian Tamara Bunke. Just across the road there is the Mausoleo "Ernesto Guevara". The body of El Che was found here after almos