Tarija's Altiplano

West of the Valle Central lies Tarija´s Altiplano, a beautiful area of high mountains and dry inter-Andean plateaux between 3500 and 4000 m, bound by the Río Guadalquivir and the Río San Juan de Oro. This is also where most of Tarija's native Quechua-speaking people live. Just south of San Lorenzo, the main Tarija-Potosí road climbs steeply from the Valle Central to reach the Altiplano. Just west of the town of Iscayachi a road branches south and crosses the high plateau on its way to Villazón. This road provides access to the main attractions in the Reserva Cordillera de Sama. The main road continues northwest and descends from the Altiplano to El Puente on the Río San Juan de Oro.

Reserva Biológica Cordillera de Sama 

The Reserva Biológica Cordillera de Sama is part of the national park system. This 180,500-ha wildlife sanctuary between 1950 and 4710 m has some spectacular scenery. In the Altiplano section of the park to the southwest are the Sama wetlands, four large lakes, the Lagunas de Tajzara, a Ramsar site and home to 34 species of water bird including three types of flamingo, coot, duck and many migratory birds. This area also has Bolivia's highest sand dunes. In the south of the park are the Lagunas Bravas, small lakes nestled within high rocky peaks. The eastern edge of the park, where the land drops abruptly towards the Valle Central has progressively more lush forests and waterfalls.

The park boasts 174 species of bird including condors and 40 mammals including vicuñas, deer and pumas, as well as several types of forests: quewiña (Polylepis tomentella) in the higher areas, pino de cerro (Podocarpus parlatorei) and alder in the lower elevations and cardonales (Trichocereus tarijensis), large cacti just below the Altiplano. It is one of the main water sources for Tarija and the surrounding valleys. Within the park are 80 archaeological sites including petroglyphs, cave paintings, burial sites, fortresses and pre-Hispanic roads. One of these roads, La Patanka, was a trade route used by the Chichas people and later the Incas between Tupiza and Tarija. It is a side branch of the main Inca road from Cuzco to Argentina. A 20-km part of this route between Pujzara and Pinos Sud is now used as a one- or two-day trekking route and called Camino del Inca(Inca Trail). It is a demanding walk, the pass at Abra Calderilla is at 3823 m, from where you descend to 2212 m, which can be hard on the knees.