El Choro Trek Bolivia: How to do it Self-Guided (2024)

The El Choro Trek is one of Bolivia’s most known hikes. Starting not far from La Paz at ‘La Cumbre‘ (4725m) the trek descends from the heights of the Cordillera Real over 50 kilometers to the humid and green Yungas and the village of Chairo. Be prepared for a lot of going down! Many tour operators offer this trek as a three days (2 nights) tour but we recommend to take one day more. This post will describe how we hiked the El Choro Trek by ourselves without a guide in 4 days.

Preparations for the El Choro Trek

What to Pack

The trail starts in the high andean terrain and drops down to the humid and wet yungas. Therefore you need to be prepared for a range of climates:

• Layered Clothing: It can be cold in the beginning of the trek, and hot wet and humid in the end.
• Camping gear: It’s nessecary to bring a tent, mattress and sleepingbags.
• Offline Maps: We use Mapy.cz
• Good Shoes & Hiking Poles: It’s a lot of going down and there are steep sections. Your knees will thank you! Especially in the shoulder and wet season as it might be muddy and slippery.
• Water filter: There are animals around, so better filter the water.
• Food & Snacks: We took food for all days. It might be possible to get snacks and drinks in some of the camps, but we would not rely on it.
• Insect Repellent: Mosquitos and sand flies in the lower elevations!
• Sun Protection: Take a hat and sunscreen!

When is the Best Time to Go

The best time to go is the dry season from April to September/October. In the wet season the trail can get muddy and slippery.

We hiked the Trail in the middle of October and got some rain which made parts of the Inca-cobblestone roads quite slippery and therefore slow to descend.

How to get to the Trailhead of the El Choro Trek

The trailhead is La Cumbre on the La Paz-Yolosita road. From the northern Terminal in La Paz (Villa Fatima) you can take any Yungas bound transportation: Just ask to be dropped at La Cumbre which is about an hour from the terminal.

We stayed in Coroico before we started the hike. From here it takes about 2 hours to La Cumbre. We paid 25 Bolivianos per person which was a bit more expensive than normal due to fuel-shortages in the whole country.

What are the Yungas?

The Yungas are a region of montane forests and high-altitude valleys located in the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains, primarily in Bolivia and parts of Peru and Argentina. It's the transition zone between dry highlands and humid wetlands. This area is known for its rich biodiversity and unique ecosystems, characterized by a combination of tropical and temperate climates. The Yungas are also significant for agriculture, particularly for the cultivation of coca, coffee, and various fruits. The region is important for conservation due to its ecological diversity and the presence of numerous endemic species.

Campsites along the Trail (October 2024)

When checking the map you can find many Campsites along the trail. Some of them are abandoned and not operational anymore:

• Chucura Village: Here used to be a hospedaje. It looked abandoned when we passed by. It might be possible to camp somewhere else in the village, but we wild-camped a bit before the village next to the river.
• Challapampa: No one lives here anymore, but it’s possible to camp. There are some roofs to build the tent in the dry. The camp is directly next to the river and there is a another stream close by where you can take water.
• Villa Loa: Operational. We could set our tent in a shed to be protected from the rain. We paid 25 Bolivianos for one tent and two persons. Water access at a waterfall nearby.
• El Choro: Very close to Villa Loa, looked operational from the far but we did not take a close look.
• Buena Vista: Operational. Looked nice and welcoming.
• San Francisco I: Abandoned and overgrown. Not possible to camp here. NO water.
• San Fransisco II: Abandoned but still possible to camp here. As far as we saw: there is NO water here!
• Bella Vista: Abandoned and NO water, but there are grass areas where you could still set your tent.
• Supervista: Operational. Great view. We camped here for 15 Bolivianos per person.
• Sandillani: Operational. Looked nice.

The El Choro Trek – Our Itinerary Day by Day

Day 1: From La Cumbre to Chucura

After the minibus from Coroico dropped us at La Cumbre we started following the gravel road to the highest point of the hike. We heared that you need to register in the beginning of the hike and pay an entrance fee but when we passed by there was nobody there.

After reaching the highest point of the hike at 4859m the long way down starts… Some people go all the way to the Challapampa camp on the first day (18km, 2000m down), but this seemed to much for us and we set the village of Chucura as our day’s goal.

• Distance: ~13km
• Height Profile: Elevation Gain 390m, Elevation Loss 1270m, Min Elevation 3695m, Max Elevation 4859m
• Map: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/el-choro-day-1-189410846

Day 2: Chucura to Villa Loa

From Chucura you’ll follow the ancient Inca road along the river, while the vegetation starts changing and it becomes more and more green.

• Distance: 13.5km
• Height Profile: Elevation Gain 480m, Elevation Loss: 2050m, Min Elevation: 2200m, Max Elevation 3730m
• Recorded Trek: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/el-choro-day-2-189410841

Day 3: Villa Loa to Camp Super Vista

This was our favorite part of the trail. Through rich vegetation with great views of the green valleys and far waterfalls.

• Distance: 17km
• Height Profile: Elevation Gain 650m, Elevation Loss 1000m, Min Elevation 1680m, Max Elevation 2322m
• Recorded Trek: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/el-choro-day-3-189411194

Day 4: Super Vista to Chairo

The last day of the El Choro Trek. We started early because we were not sure how easy it will be to catch a taxi from Chairo to Yolosita. The way goes mainly through bush with viewpoints where you can see down to the river and the valleys. We were lucky and saw a family of monkeys on the way.

• Distance: 9.6km
• Height Profile: Elevation Gain 690m, Elevation Loss 1240m, Min Elevation 1270m, Max Elevation 2000m
• Recorded Trek: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/el-choro-day-4-189410840

From Chairo to Yolosita (and on to La Paz or Coroico)

In Chairo there is a small store right where the trek ends. We rewarded ourselves here with a cold Coka Quina, the Bolivian version of Coca Cola and the store owner helped us to organize a Taxi to Yolosita. The normal price should be 100 Bolivianos but we paid 120 due to fuel-shortage (or at least they used it as excuse to charge us more…).

Yolosita is basically a junction with a few houses on the road from La Paz to Rurrenabaque. From Yolosita you can catch minibuses to La Paz or Coroico. We headed to Coroico as all our stuff we didn’t take on the hike was in a hostel here. The normal price for this ride should be 5 BOB per person.

Coroico

We came to Coroico before the hike because we had enough of big La Paz and wanted to go to a more tranquil and small village. When we came to Coroico it turned out that there was a fiesta ongoing: There were parades, music and a lot of drinking.

We did not do a lot here but mainly relaxed before and after the hike and watched the green landscape and valleys around and a lot of birds from the porch of our hostel (after a long time we’ve been in the altiplano and had not seen a lot of green…).

We stayed in El Rincon del Jucumari and liked it, but it was not very social (there were days we were the only guests…)

If you want to continue from Coroico to Rurrenabaque, check out this post: How to get from Coroico to Rurrenabaque.

More Hikes in Bolivia

• Near Samaipata: Codo de los Andes Hike without Guide
• Next to Sucre: How to do the Maragua Crater Hike without a Guide (2024)
• Sajama National Park: Lagunas de Altura Hike – Sajama National Park Bolivia
• Cordillera Real: How to hike the Condoriri Trek and climb Pico Austria without a Guide