Southeast to Paraguay
A fully paved highway, in excellent condition in 2008, runs south from Santa Cruz to Yacuiba on the Argentine border . It crosses the Río Grande near Abapó, 125 km south of Santa Cruz, and continues 150 km to Camiri, about halfway to Yacuiba.
CamiriCamiri is a small city that grew to prominence because of petroleum deposits in the surrounding area. These have since been exhausted but it remains the hub of eastern Bolivia's oil and gas pipeline network. Camiri has several places to sleep and eat, and is home to the
Chacarera
, possibly the most energetic dance in the country. It is is also the jumping-off point for the southern section of the Che Guevara Trail, see below (and page for the northern part).
North of Camiri, 33 km on the highway to Santa Cruz, is
Ipati
, where a road branches west and soon thereafter divides. Along the right (northwest) fork is the village of
Lagunillas
(population 6150), near which was Che's base-camp at Ñancahuazú. Along the left (southwest) fork is
Mayupampa
(population 3000, clean simple
residencial
two blocks from the plaza), about 1½ hours from Ipati. There is awesome scenery along the way but the road may not be passable in the wet season. Che's companion, French journalist Regis Debray, was captured in Muyupampa in 1967. (He survived and years later became advisor to President François Mitterand.) It is a three-hour climb from Muyupampa to the summit of Incahuasi, with spectacular views. From Muyupampa the road continues 55 km to
Monteagudo
passing through Bolivia's newest national park:
Iñao
.
From Camiri the paved highway heads southeast 62 km to
Boyuibe
(population 4250), on the rail line from Santa Cruz to Yacuiba. Here, a very poor road branches east towards the Paraguayan border at
Hito Villazón
(Bolivia) and
General Eugenio A Garay
(Paraguay). Abandoned since the completion of the paved Trans-Chaco Highway via Villamontes , this route is dangerous and not recommended. The main highway continues south 100 km to Villamontes.
In the department of Tarija, 280 km east of the city of Tarija, Villamontes is a friendly spread-out town on the edge of the Gran Chaco. It gets hot - very hot - with temperatures around 50°C reported in January. The main street runs east-west with the bus terminal and train station at the east end, 1 km from the main square Plaza 15 de Abril. At another plaza called 6 de Agosto is the
Museo Héroes del Chaco
Villamontes is on the north shore of the Río Pilcomayo, at the base of the Cordillera de Aguaragüe, part of
Parque Nacional Aguaragüe
. The river cuts through this range - the last hills before the endless flats of the Chaco - thus forming
El Angosto
, a beautiful gorge. It makes a pretty but long, hot and dusty, day-walk; mind the traffic.
Ambio Chaco
, ambiochaco@gmail.com
, is a local NGO working with environmental conservation and community development. They are helpful with general information and may offer volunteer opportunities. Villamontes is renowned for
sábalo
(shad) fishing and holds a
Fiesta del Pescado
in August.
Villamontes is also a transport hub, located on the paved highway and rail line between Santa Cruz and the Argentine border at Yacuiba. A narrow road runs west from Villamontes to Tarija, cut into the cliffs along the El Angosto gorge and lined with crosses in memory of the occupants of vehicles that have gone over the edge. The Trans-Chaco Highway heads east from Villamontes to Paraguay.
The Trans-Chaco HighwayAfter decades of notoriety as one of the worst roads in South America, paving of most of the Trans-Chaco was completed in 2007. From Villamontes east, the first 30 km are paved and the remaining 100 km to the border are good gravel, with paving in progress in 2008. On the Paraguayan side, the road is fully paved to Asunción but some parts were already reported badly pot-holed. Climatic conditions are harsh, there is little traffic and almost no population on route, hence no assistance case of a breakdown. Motorists and even bus travellers should carry extra food and especially water. There is daily international bus service from Santa Cruz to Asunción and you can get on one of these buses in Villamontes .
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This is edited copy from Footprint Handbooks. For comprehensive details (incl address, tel no, directions, opening times and prices) please refer to book or individual chapter PDF
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