The most outstanding walk I have ever done - far better than any walk in Peru. From start to finish Trek Apolobamba organised everything perfectly - skilled and committed guides, wonderful campsites, excellent food and unforgettable scenery.

The walk is tough enough to be memorable but well within the reach of anyone moderately fit, and who has spent a few days at altitude beforehand. Don't be afraid - give it a go. It will be far the best thing you do in Bolivia!

 Julian Glover (UK)

Walk incomparible. Would be very dependent on weather: glorious for us. We had total confidence in Luis and Javier, who paddled very stenuously beneath the surface to make it smooth for us.

Depending on the particular clients, the bus home could be a downer (not for us), and I wonder whether, depending on the fitness/up-for-it-ness of clients, there could be a built-in option to do an extra leg/climb as circumstances allow.

A BRILLIANT EXPERIENCE, PROFESSIONALLY ORGANISED.

Matthew Parris (UK)

Transportation to and from the area is - at first glance - pretty daunting. But the five day experience makes it all totally worth it. The trek, the camping, the food, the guides, made it one of the most breathtaking experiences of my life.

It is extremely well organised, and I felt completely safe the entire time. There were no nasty surprises on what to expect.

The guides' local knowledge was brilliant - it totally makes it worthwhile when they can point out local legends or even just demonstrate knowledge of wildlife (spotting condors etc).

The most brilliant experience!

Paul Twinn (UK)

Harjeet Johal (UK)

Despite the exhausting hike, we are only keeping good memories of it! The guides were friendly and very helpful, and the Apolobamba region was magnificent. We saw lots of llamas, alpacas, viscachas and condors.

It was absolutely unforgettable!

Anke Herremans and Jan Leyssens (Belgium)

Beginning in the cold, dry Qutapampa and ending in the lush Charazani, the Pacha Trek was a beautiful and extremely interesting trek. Everything from the Kallawaya ceremony to the incredible amount of stars at night was captivating and serenely beautiful.

Definitely a highlight of my trip in Bolivia. 

Daniel Solomonson (USA)

Pacha Trek was a great experience overall. The scenery was beautiful, the night skies clear and starry (more so than I have ever seen) and the cultures very interesting. The Kallawaya 'mesa blanca' ceremony was an incredible thing to take part in. While a good handle of Spanish isn't necessary, I can't imagine you could get the full experience without it. All in all I would recommend this to anyone with a sense of adventure, a willingness to rough it a bit and an interest in learning about rich, fascinating cultures.

Eric Solomonson (USA)

Thursday afternoon: Sam came to see us at our hostel in La Paz in order to discuss the tour. We had already made treks in Peru and Bolivia completely on our own a couple of years when we carried just a minimal supply of food and cold water only, so we decided to hire a mule and a muleteer in addition to the guide in order to carry the tent, the food and the cooking gear (an old-fashioned camera with 4 kg, water and sweaters would still rest on our own shoulders). But we did not want to do the cooking either, so finally we needed a cook – three persons serving two! Sam did all the preparations for us: organizing the people, the tent, the food, the bus tickets to Charazani. Our only task has been to leave the hostel at 5.15 Saturday morning where Sam has already been waiting with the taxi for us. At the bus station we were welcome by our guide Javier and his brother, who helped loading the bus with our staff.

In Charazani a muleteer with two horses took over the luggage. For quite some time we walked along a hot road before choosing a shortcut up the hill to a nicely situated chapel – a good place for a break. Curva-Lagunillas looked down to us from a high ridge beyond a creek. Following a good path downhill for about another hour we reached a small bridge where we had a second break. The ascent to Lagunillas 600 meters above us has then been really tough, and it was already dark when we finally arrived at the lodge. We had a big room with 6 beds just for us, another couple of backpackers took over the other room. Light in the rooms was dim and we have been tired, so we went to bed early. Great that we did not have to care for the preparation of our dinner, and fine it was!

Sunday was easy. Starting at 10.30 we had just a few hours of hike until we reached a nice pasture with alpacas at about 4.000 mm, crossed by a creek an with Viscachas jumping around the rocks, an ideal camp site at the foot of the snow-capped mountains of the Sierra de Apolobamba. The tent was almost a castle: an “entrance hall” with an apartment for us, big enough to accommodate three, the other side served as kitchen and “dining room”. Our cook prepared a wonderful dinner while the hobbled horses left to explore the surroundings on their own, not to return before the next morning. Later the guide, cook and muleteer went to sleep in the nearby farmhouse, leaving the tent under the brilliant stars just for us two.

The following day, Monday, had the longest route, but it was easy to walk. Muleteer, cook and the horses returned directly to Lagunillas, while we ascended to a crest of about 4.300 m, always with a marvellous view to snow-capped Akhamani, the holy mountain of the native Kallawaya people. From the top of the crest we had an exciting sight to a lonely situated lagoon with turquoise gleaming water. Lamas and alpacas were grazing around. Dismounting between green pastures we looked for a nice picnic place. Javier, our guide spread a pretty coloured cloth on the ground, and from the edge of the hill we viewed down to the little peasant village Canisaya which we passed afterwards.

The 1000 years old village of Curva with about 600 indigene inhabitants is exposed on the nose of a steep ridge and was our last destination of this unique walking day. The little community is surrounded by a wall, and you are looking down the flanks to hanging gardens and to the declivities of the mountains opposite the valley, where the rural road is looping along. Higher buildings of old stones testify the high age of the place.

Arriving in Lagunillas we made use of “our” room and bed as two days before. Once more we were served with a delicious evening meal prepared by our friendly familiar cook. Other members of the family of Javier were around, and the youngest one (Luis, 4 months) was introduced to us.

Tuesday was the leaving day. That meant leaving a remote, overwhelmingly beautiful region singular in the world. First we made the proposal of descending on our own. But our very responsible und helpful guide didn’t admit it. He accompanied us to Charazani, looking there for our bus and waiting for his own vehicle to return to Curva, which needs four hours on this track.

Once more we crossed the breathtaking Andean region covered by smooth pastures, and looking back we could recognize the mountain chains with their white crowns and wild ridges.

After seven hours we finally arrived at La Paz, taking care as Sam had advised us because it has already been dark. Though Sam had another appointment the day after she managed to meet us this next morning and was happy to hear of our exciting, successful and unforgettable trekking tour in the Cordillera Apolobamba.

Surpassed our expectations!                                                                                                          

Gertrut and Hermann Weidner (Germany)

The Curva-to-Pelechuco trek is THE classical trek in the Apolobamba Mountains. Already upon arrival at Curva, it is clear why. Incredible, such an impressive landscape we went through. For 5 days we walked between immense mountains with snowcapped tops, crossing the whole Apolobamba range. Before departure, we did the much easier - but also impressive in completely different way -  Pacha Trek. This appeared to be the perfect approach to get acclimatised for this high-altitude trek.  Though Curva-to-Pelechuco is a classical trek, this does not mean that we met with hordes of tourists. Whereas the hordes instead consisted of viscachas with their long tails, we have hardly seen any human being except for our group, some local villagers, miners and shepherds. Though we normally try to hike without guides, the desolation of this area confirmed our choice for a guided trek. Asking directions in this area is hardly possible. Our guide Javier, cook Luis and muleteer Umberto of Trek Apolobamba, all had their roots in these mountains, which made them a very good choice. Being fully accepted in the villages where we started and ended, they made all possible arrangements for us. For us it felt decadent to have horses carrying our luggage, but we needed them. Hiking across passes of 5100 meters with food and supplies for a whole week in our backpacks would have been too much.  The food and supplies of Trek Apolobamba were better than we would have been arranging ourselves. Sam Wilson of Trek Apolobamba took care that we had the best food, based on our own preferences and in large quantities. Our kitchen tent could compete with a top-restaurant! Camping at elevations up to 4800 meters, temperatures at night went down to -15 degrees Celsius, so we needed our high-isolation sleeping bags from sunset to sunrise. However, during daytime the strong sun brought it back to comfortable temperatures. We would recommend Trek Apolobamba to everyone, with its caring guides, cooks, and muleteers (and healthy horses to carry our luggage!), and with Sam Wilson feeling extremely responsible for us having the best possible circumstances.

 Antheia and Martin (The Netherlands)

Subscribing to the Pacha Trek organised by Trek Apolobamba, was one of the best decisions we made during our holidays in Bolivia. We returned to a part of Bolivia which is hardly affected by time. People still live their traditional lives, and by staying in the communities you get a great impression of that. Participating in a Kallawaya ritual, visiting small schools, walking to the next village guided by a local man in his colourful poncho, the lama’s with our backpacks being guarded by a shy village girl, it all made an unforgettable impression.  The hiking was relatively light, as every successive village was at a slightly lower elevation. This made it a perfect trip after limited acclimatization and a good preparation for heavier hikes. Distances were not too long, such that we had sufficient time to watch all the things we wanted, guides always being completely customer-oriented. The food was traditional but perfect and prepared with love for the visitors. Of course this was not a luxurious trip according to our western standards. No running hot water, mostly no electricity. But that was part of getting the best impression of the unspoiled live of the Apolobamba people. Very important for us, our holiday money went were we wanted it to go, to the villages in Apolobamba. That was an important argument for us, making use of Trek Apolobamba. The heart of Sam Wilson of Trek Apolobamba is clearly with the people in Apolobamba

Antheia and Martin (The Netherlands)

     Blandine Bouniol (Belgium)

I had an amazing time on the Pacha Trek. I think by far my favourite experience was the Kallawaya Ceremony. I was completely fascinated for the 3 hours. The surroundings were absolutely beautiful and the guides and hospitality were great. The one thing I regret is not bringing photos of Canada to show the students that I met in Chacarapi.

But thank you for everything! I really had an amazing, very memorable experience. Great way to learn about the traditional cultures of Apolobamba.

If I know of anyone venturing to Bolivia in the future I will definitely tell them about the Pacha Trek.

Thanks again Sam!

Tara Weir (Canada)

Our journey through South America started near the Equator and ended up among penguins in the Subantarctic zone at the very south end of the continent. There were five of us, happy Moravians (Czech Republic) and we followed the backbone of the Andes for five long months. Apolobamba trek was one of the highlights of the trip. This was one of the places on the Earth which really make you think! ...about your journey, about life, about yourself.  That’s why we appreciated this trek so much! And we had a lot of fun too. Big thanks to Sam and really lovely natives from the mountains.

 Eva Palatova (Czech Republic) 

My time on the Pacha Trek was one of the two experiences I would do again from my year RTW trip. I went as a solo trekker and was excited by the whole trip. Seeing the indigenous people close up and their animals and my gift of balloons to the school children on the second day made me feel like a film star the way they rushed at me. If (or maybe when) I go again, I'd take small gifts for school use.  

I loved Bolivia when my friends asked where my 'Best' place was my answer was truly BOLIVIA.

Debbie Smith (UK)

First of all it was great. It was very cool to be with only indigenous people without seeing any tourists.
When we arrived we got food and it was very good. We made a nice walk and even the dinner was perfect. It was super, super cold, but we survived due to the amount of blankets. We were very content about our guide. We loved to walk with the animals and the route was beautiful. 

You did a great job and we liked it very, very much!
Thank you again for your great work. You were fantastic and we will definitely recommend the tour to other people.
Good luck with everything.

Mariska & Mariolein (Netherlands)

Martin Hanzálek (Czech Republic)

Our trek was extraordinary. It took a little while to adjust to the altitude in Qutapampa but the moon-like countryside was spectacular. Wrap up warm and prepare for the staggering night sky (it really was cold). Walking down from the top of the Andean world to lush valleys of Charazani over three days was great. Not the trip if you want luxury but not to be missed otherwise.

John Stibbs (UK)

Hello! I also want to give a strong recommendation for the company "Trek Apolobamba". My husband and I travelled in SA for 5 months and last April we were in Bolivia. We wanted to try something a bit different and liked the idea of the Apolobamba. We wanted a guide because the area is unmapped (wow!) and because we were going during April which is a bit outside the normal trekking season. However, because we had to be somewhere in a few weeks, the idea of showing up in Curva or Pelechuco and hiring a guide on the spot (as the LP suggests) made us a bit nervous. So, while in La Paz, I emailed and stopped by probably 10 different tour agencies asking questions about the weather, transport, guides, prices etc. Most tour agencies were willing to do the trek but did not seem to know much about the current weather/trail condition. They were also all very adamant that they used local (local to La Paz) guides and not guides actually local to the Apolobamba region.

"Trek Apolobamba" seemed to be the exception to that. We were impressed with, not only their commitment to only hiring local Apolobamba guides and the goals of their organization (promoting sustainable tourism in the Apolobamba region), but also that they were SO much cheaper than everyone else! After at least 10 emails with Sam, who co-coordinates the trek, we felt well prepared and were excited for the trip that we were doing; the Pelechuco to Curva route. Sam was extremely helpful. All things considered, we were pretty last minute (first talked to Sam about a week prior to the trip) and then we had the trip confirmed maybe 2 days ahead. She rolled with our last minute-ness. She escorted us up to El Alto early in the morning to catch the bus (as she warned us, there was nothing easy about finding your transport in the early morning madness of this “bus station”, especially when you are getting nervous when the bus is a couple of hours late) and sent us on our way with notes to the owner of the Albergue in Aguas Blancas (near Pelechuco) detailing food the guide should buy, etc. In fact, because we are make-things-more-difficult-vegetarians, she was worried about what food we would get and sent veggies on the Aguas Blancas bus the day before so we wouldn't be eating bread and potatoes the whole time. I doubt all of this is standard service but needless to say, Sam went out of here way to make things work.

Considering how last minute we were and that many of the villages in the Apolobamba area each have one shared telephone and much of the communication is done by letters, the trek was well organized. The morning after we arrived (after a very long bus ride due to a 5 hour flat delay) we met our guide and had a donkey with a muleteer and everything was ready to go. Our guide looked about 16, he said he was 20, but was really the sweetest kid. Perciliano had guided trips before, but never cooked on them. He did an amazing job cooking (having our gear carried by a mule and eating all that food we think we actually gained weight on the trek), and knew the trail like it was his backyard. We had total confidence in him as a guide. From my understanding, previous NGOs working in Apolobamba, led classes for guides in the region on food handling techniques, environmental awareness, etc and it definitely paid off in Perciliano. Perciliano works in the mines (which is the major source of income for many/most in the region) when he is not leading a trek. We brought TONS of coca and definitely kept Perciliano and Hannibal (the muleteer) happy with that.

The trek included 2 nights at Albergues at either end (well, we actually had to pay for the one in Lagunillas, near Curva, again as there was some communication mix up, but that was a couple of extra dollars), food for about 5 days, a guide, a muleteer, mule… Very little of this money went to the organization Trek Apolobamba (it actually did not seem like enough considering all Sam’s help), while most went to the guide and muleteer.

We had an amazing time. The trek was lovely. We never hike with guides and never ever with a muleteer but it made the trek probably the easiest we had done is South America (but we were pretty well acclimated by then). We definitely appreciated having a guide as the first day we got rain/snow/hail/serious fog and without being able to see anywhere, we would have had absolutely no way of knowing which way we were supposed to go. Also, we felt more comfortable walking through some of the mining areas with a guide rather than by ourselves. We left our guide in Lagunillas and continued on and dropped down to Charazani with some folks we met who had done the Peace Core in the area and knew it very well. This was a lovely addition to the normal trek.

This was long, but you get the point: I definitely recommend this trek and the organization "Trek Apolobamba".

Allison Wickland and Chris Hammersmark (USA)

Marc et moi étions en voyage au long cours en 2007/2008 et de passage pour un mois en Bolivie quand nous avons été attirés par l'expérience de tourisme communautaire mise en place par les villages des hauts plateaux à travers le Pachatrek.

Cette approche nous convenait parfaitement puisque nous étions en recherche de contacts le plus étroits et simples possible avec la population, et déjà adeptes d'un tourisme responsable et solidaire.
Action bien relayée sur la Capitale, Tract de communication clair, contact facile et organisation très efficace grâce notamment à Sam et sa collègue, correspondantes à La Paz.

En 7 h de bus dans des paysages de plus en plus dépouillés et sauvages, nous sommes montés au premier des quatre villages que le Pachatrek permet de relier. L'accueil est fait avec sérieux et chaleur par un responsable qui nous explique le mode de fonctionnement des villages à cette altitude (+ou-4500 m), leur projet commun de développement d'un tourisme maitrisé, intelligent, qui amène aux uns et aux autres : ouverture culturelle, échange d'idées et de savoirs, débouché commercial pour leur production artisanale, rétribution pour leur travail : guide, cuisiniers, (à tour de rôle pour que les familles volontaires puissent avoir leur part ; danseurs, musiciens, si l'animation est demandée...).

Au cours de quatre jours nous découvrirons avec intérêt et satisfaction, les batiments modestes mais bien pensés et écologiques qui servent à accueillir les petits groupes de voyageurs (toilettes sèches,  chauffage solaire,..), les repas et boissons traditionnels préparés par une famille du village, la diversité et le bien fondé du parcours (environnements naturels et habitats, activités agricoles, spécificité de chaque village rehaussée par l'apport des mini éco-musée créés pour illustrer et compléter de manière pédagogique et concrète les thématiques abordées : faune et flore, artisanat, vie sociale et culturelle, santé et alimentation)

Une soirée plus spirituelle pour célébrer la Pachamama. Magie des lieux, du feu et de leurs rituels auxquels nous sommes invités à participer. 

Une animation de découverte de livres et de jeux ( fil conducteur de mon voyage), que nous leur offrons en plein alpage en stoppant les lamas en cours de rando et descendant nos sacs pour partager nos "richesses" avec enfants et adultes curieux et rieurs. Ils sont en demande et en besoin d'outils et/ou de médiateurs pour tout ce qui concerne l'accés à
l 'écrit et à l'éducation / instruction. 

Pas de difficultés particulières dans ce trek car le parcours est presque toujours descendant (ce qui aide car souffle un peu court lié à l'altitude), confort très simple mais propre, parfois de la neige inattendue (mais ils vendent d'excellents bonnets et gants en alpaga !), des lamas de bât très faciles et pas cracheurs, une langue anglaise ou espagnole pas toujours bien maitrisée par les guides ou nous mêmes mais qui permet quand même la communication, un contact réservé voire en retrait d'une partie de la population encore timide mais attentif et sérieux pour ce qui est des porteurs de l'action et des habitants associés.

Bref de très bons souvenirs, bon séjour, dépaysant et intéressant, dans une éthique et un rapport plus sain aux habitants de cette région.

Une expérience et une initiative à découvrir et à encourager ....

 Joëlle Lacroix-Desmazes et Marc Vanhoenacker. France (Lille)