Old Trade Road
from Samaipata to Sucre or v.v., private tour, 4 days

On the first day we will focus our attention on the legendary Che Guevara. In Vallegrande we will visit the Sr. de Malta Hospital. Here you can see the laundry basin where Che Guevara's corpse was shown to the world press and his farewell letter to his children painted on a wall.
Next visit will be to the well documented Che Guevara Museum and the mausoleum where Che was buried for over 30 years. We will also visit the place where Tania Bunke, the only female guerrilla fighter that was killed during the combats, was buried.
We'll have lunch in Vallegrande as well.

In the afternoon we'll drive via picturesque Pucará to the community of La Higuera. This is a beautiful part of the day where condors can be seen regularly. In Pucará we'll make a stop to stroll through the small streets and maybe you would like to have a chat with the friendly inhabitants.
Time permitting we will take a scenic route with views to the Río Grande via Abra del Picacho to La Higuera.
We will enjoy dinner and spend the night in La Higuera in the quiet and romantic hostel, which used to be the telegraphist's house in Che's time.

The second day, we will visit the school in which Che got executed; nowadays it houses a small museum. We look at the three statues in honour of Che on the Plaza. For after that you have the following choice:

1. We will make a hike of about 3½ hours via de Abra de Batán to the Quebrada del Churo, the place where Che was captured. Followed -after lunch- by another hike to a cave with human skeletons from which the origin is still unknown, this will make a full day program.
2. In about 2 hours you will go downhill biking* from La Higuera at an altitude of 2,040 m to the Rio Grande at 1,000 m. You can have a rest at the riverside or take a swim in the river after which you will be picked up and brought back to La Higuera. In the afternoon we will make one of the two hikes mentioned at the first option.

Dinner and overnight stay are again in La Higuera.

During our drive down to the Río Grande on the third day, you will see a beautifully varied landscape and probably parrots, vultures and other birds. We will make a stop on the impressive bridge which crosses the river.
Between the Río Grande and Nuevo Mundo you can see cacti, black earth, red rocks, river and mountain views. We will pass the community of El Oro with its white houses, red roofs, green banana trees and sugarcane.
Close to Nuevo Mundo we will make a hike to a 90 m high and 2 smaller waterfalls. Later on, we will try to visit a woman in the village who makes hand weavings.
We can either spend the night in an eco lodge near the Nuevo Mundo waterfalls or in Villa Serrano.

If you want to visit the Sunday market of Tarabuco on the fourth day, we will spend the night in Villa Serrano, a pleasant town that is known for the largest charango in the world, which is exhibited there. This instrument, which resembles a guitar, is played a couple of times a year by a group of musicians at the same time.

On the last day, we try to visit the workshop of a charango maker and teacher where he explains to us how the charango is made, from what type of wood, etc.
If this last day of the tour falls on a Sunday, then we drive straight to the famous colourful Tarabuco market.
If it isn't Sunday, we will have more time. On the road again we will appreciate a constant changing landscape, higher mountains, a different style of houses and different customs.
Via Tomina where you can see one of the oldest churches in Chuquisaca, we will continue in the direction of Tarabuco. Just before Zudañez we will drive up the mountain Calle Calle to take a short walk with magnificent views of the area where freedom fighters Padilla and Juana Azurduy had their battles.
Time permitting, we will walk into a beautiful gorge to enjoy nature and to search for the colibri gigante, the biggest hummingbird that exists.
After lunch we'll continue to Sucre where the tour ends.

You can do this tour also in oposit direction, from Sucre to Samaipata!

Included: Private transport; English-, German- or Spanish-speaking guide, depending on availability, or Spanish-speaking driver, at choice; Meals from lunch on the 1st day up to and including lunch on the last day; 3x stay overnight: 2x in La Higuera and 1x in Nuevo Mundo or in Villa Serrano.

Not included: Entrance fees; *The costs for renting a mountain bike (optional) in La Higuera. The bike must be reserved in advance; All costs that are not specifically mentioned.