Cordillera Apolobamba, 19-day expedition in Bolivia

Pick up at the airport and transfer to the hotel. Rooms are available starting from midday (or other time to be arranged upon request). Free day.

Departure to K’Illi K’Illi to enjoy a magnificent panorama of La Paz and the majestic Illimani mountain (6,400 meters/21,100 feet in elevation). Then we visit Ramon Tito’s studio, a sculptor and watercolorist from La Paz. He works mainly with stone he finds in the surrounding mountains, like basalt, marble, sandstone, alabaster, granite. Then we go to the Pedregal Canyon, where we can enjoy fairy chimneys, and finish the walk at the foot of the Muela del Diablo. For those that want to walk more (1h30 additional walk), you can go for a trek down the ridge to the edge of Calacoto. In the afternoon, we explore the colorful markets and historic center of La Paz city by foot.

Departure to the village of Chuquiñapi located on the shores of Lake Titicaca. We stop first in a Monastery overlooking the Lake. After lunch, we drive to the island of Sunata, from where we start an easy hike to explore the island. The we return to the monastery on foot. Possibility to continue hiking or relax and enjoy the tranquility of the place. Dinner at the monastery.

We drive to the bay where our catamaran awaits us for a tour on the lake surrounded by breathtaking views of the glacial massifs of the Royal Cordillera. Back to the monastery for launch and then leave for the village of Santiago de Okola. We settle with the families and go for a hike along the shore of Lake Titicaca to Tortuga Island, where we hike to the top to get a beautiful view of the bay. We return to Santiago de Okola and have dinner with our local hosts.

In the morning, we hike on the Sleeping Dragon mountain overlooking the bay and visit some cave paintings in the rock. Then we visit local artisans known for traditional weaving. For lunch, we try a traditional meal of the Andean countryside collectively prepared by local families, called Apthapi. It includes pancakes, donuts, shortbread quinoa, corn, potatoes and small fried fish from the lake. Possibility to sail on the lake in a traditional boat in the afternoon.

We drive towards the Apolobamba Mountain. We arrive in the afternoon to the Lake Pojo Pujo. We will set up camp near by.

From the lake, we continue on an easy path up to a first pass at 4950 meters/16,200 feet, then a second one at 5000 meters/16,400 feet. Here, the views of the Cololo and Huanacuni glaciers and the entire range are amazing. We continue walking and set up camp on the shore of a lake (4680 meters/15,300 feet above sea level). Trekking here can be a bit tricky because of the “bofedals”. Before heading back to camp, we reach the lake at the bottom of the Cololo glacier.

From the base camp, we make an easy ascent towards the valley then reach the lake at the foot of Cololo glacier, where we set up camp.

This is a technical and advanced ascent (D+/III). The climb to it is gradual (40º-45º) and has some technical crevasse crossings. After 3 hours ascent, and to get to the main peak, the ascent is steep (55º-60º). After about 2 hours, we reach the foot of the summit wall, which is 150 meters/492 feet high with a 70º slope.

Resting day.

Trekking towards the valley, we take a llama path, offering an easy ascent to 4850 meters/15,900 feet above sea level. We continue up to a pass at 5250 meters/17,200 feet and set up camp.

This is a technical and advanced ascent (AD+/III).
We start our ascent towards the glacial massif. The glacier slopes gradually go up to 5330 meters/17,500 feet. It gets progressively steeper (45º/50º). We ascend over the ridges and reach a plateau below the main peak at 5615 meters/18,400 feet, then continue until the summit (5790 meters/19,000 feet). We descend by the same route to return to the Cololo camp.

We progress north (not technical) to a pass at the foot of the Huanacuni glacier (5790 meters/19,000 feet). There is a long descent taking us into a large valley. We pass through the main glen to reach a plateau at the foot of the glacial summits of Huanacani. We cross three green lakes, then a perpendicular valley, and we climb up to a large lake at 4750 meters/15,600 feet).

Our trek continues up to a pass at 5120 meters/16,800 feet above sea level. While descending, we have a gorgeous view of the Cerro Presidente, Azucarani and Palomani Grande mountain. We stop for a picnic on the lake shore, then hike up to a pass at 5230 meters/17.200 feet. The Chaupi Orco summit, the Cordillera’s highest peak, is visible at some point. The descent to our camp is beautiful, with views of the west face of the Palomani Grande and the eastern end of Lake Suches which borders Peru and has an important gold mine. We get to a stream-fed valley at the foot of the Palomani glacier where set up camp.

We continue towards a valley where we admire a small lake with turquoise water. Then, we climb above a bigger lake – Chucuyo Grande. The view of the glacial massif is unforgettable. we descend and set up camp at the foot of the glaciers (Chaupi Orco high camp, 5135 meters/16,800 feet asl).

This ascent is moderately technical and fairly exposed (AD+/II)
Steep and rocky climb until a pass at 5300 meters/17,400 feet above sea level. The descent is through a moraine, along seracs and then we ascent to the ice field below the south peak of Chaupi Orco (5315 meters/17,450 feet,). A steeper slope (55º) brings us to the crests below the summit at 5850 meters/19,200 feet. We descend to the crests and take left through the glacial valley, until we get to the camp.

We head to a pass at 5295 meters/17,350 feet that leads to the Chaupi Orco glacier, where the view of the glacier is gorgeous. In the afternoon, we head back to Palomani Grande camp. From the rocky barrier, we take the path on a ledge, as it is the only way our mules can take.

We leave Palomani Grande camp towards the Pelechuco pass. We cross the high plateau. The panorama of all the Apolobamba range is amazing. We go towards Lake Titicaca and arrive to La Paz by the end of the day.

Drop off at El Alto’s international airport (3 hours before the international flight departure time).