For the full complement of photos
corresponding to this blog entry, use the following link to the set of photos
in my Flickr pages:
The Torotoro National Park is
situated approximately 140 km (88 miles) south of the city of Cochabamba. The
countryside around the village of Torotoro is a geologist´s playground with rock
formations in many different shapes and colours as well as caves and canyons.
Palaeontologists would be similarly entertained by numerous fossils and
dinosaur footprints.
The most convenient base for
visiting Torotoro is Cochabamba, which is a pleasant city and a far nicer place
to spend some time than La Paz. The seven hours by coach from La Paz to
Cochambamba is made along the altiplano and through other spectacular scenery.
Amazingly, along nearly the whole route of nearly 400 km (250 miles), there was
litter scattered along the roadside, and in some of the small towns that I
passed the litter was truly terrible. The reason was obvious as the Bolivians
on my bus regularly threw it from the window. Sadly, Bolivia is the worst of
the South American countries I have visited for litter, with many other
visitors noticing it too.
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| Bus Journey Across the Altiplano - La Paz to Cochabamba |
Getting to Torotoro from Cochabamba
is a task in itself, with a five hour bus journey each way. The reason for the
bus´ high suspension and heavy tread tyres became clear during the bumpy
journey through the beautiful countryside on a semi-paved road. A mechanic
travelled in the bus as breakdowns seem to be common enough to warrant this.
Indeed, during the return journey, our bus broke down and the mechanic and
driver spent half an hour getting us moving again.
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| Bus Breakdown Malarkey: En-Route from Torotoro to Cochabamba |
I was fortunate to meet two fellow
travellers on the bus to Torotoro – Martin from Germany and Vienna from Hong
Kong. I enjoyed their company during tours of Torotoro National Park as well as
subsequent destinations in Bolivia.
The National Park
The village of Torotoro is flanked
on either side by mountains that are made of amazing semicircular creases in
the earth´s crust. Above the town are spectacular views looking down the line
of such mountains, like a series of vast waves in the rock.
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| `Waves´ in the Earth´s Crust Near Torotoro |
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| The High Plain Near to ´Ciudad de Itlas´ |
On top of the plain at an altitude
of around 4,200 metres, the earth and rock is a rich red colour, and we
explored its cracks and crevices on the way to Ciudad de Itlas where a series
of natural arches and columns create a small natural feature reminiscent of the
slender columns and curved arches in gothic church architecture. Later in the
day we walked and scrambled in the Humajalanta cave. The spectacle was marred a
little by the fact that every reachable stalactite and stalagmite had been
snapped off as a souvenir. Deep in the cave is a pool where some tiny blind
fish live, having adapted to the complete darkness. Their blind state was clear
as they did not respond to the presence of our head lanterns shining on them.
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| ´Ciudad de Itlas´ |
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| Rock Detail - ´Ciuadad de Itlas´ |
The next day we made a tour that
included many dinosaur footprints and the Torotoro canyon. At various locations
in the valleys around Torotoro are places where sedimentary rock has been
lifted to the surface or exposed by the action of a river. Here one can see the
progression of huge beasts as they walked across a muddy plain. Some of the
footprints are very large and in places there is a long line of footprints of a
lumbering herbivore.
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A Fossilised Dinosaur Footprint
(With My Boot There to Show How Big it is) |
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| An Inverted Fossilised Dinosaur Footprint |
The view of the Torotoro canyon from
above is spectacular, but the experience is even richer when one walks and
scrambles around and over the creamy red rocks and boulders at its base, with
the high canyon walls and greenery far above. After stopping at the El Vergel
waterfalls, we made our way to one of the lesser visited upstream sections
where the canyon became thinner and more beautiful as we headed towards a great
swimming spot. During the wet season, water plunges from the start of the
canyon high in the plains above – things where more tranquil during my towards
the end of the dry season. I swam in the thin stretch of (very cold) water only
a few metres wide between high vertical walls of rock before warming up in the
afternoon sun. We then climbed to the top of the canyon and headed across the
valley to the village to finish a great day.
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| The Torotoro Canyon Viewed from Above |
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| Following the River Course in the Torotoro Canyon |
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| Lying Down & Looking Skyward from the Floor of the Torotoro Canyon |
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| Red Earth, Red Sky Near Torotoro |
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| Moonrise Near Torotoro |
The village of Torotoro and the
national park by the same name is a relaxing place to be and the countryside is
both spectacular and beautiful. I would have happily spent more time there, but
as I am in the latter stages of my travels, time is becoming a diminishing
commodity with many places to visit remaining on my wish list.
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