Places and Destinations-Bolivia's National Parks

Western and Central Bolivia

Bolivia, South America's highest landlocked country (see map from Expedia) has some of the most pristine, wild and rugged national parks, with a tremendous variety of wildlife species in their natural environments, on the continent.

In western Bolivia:

The Andes and the altiplano are the scene for Sajama, over the border from Chile's Lauca National Park,

Sajama volcano, at 21,391 feet (6,522 m), is Bolivia's highest mountain and is one of several in Sajama park. Visitors enjoy the varied wildlife of vicuñas, llamas, vizcachas and flamingos plus the geysers and hot springs after hiking the area, known as the "Lost Garden of the Incas." ( South America : Bolivia Sajama - Lauca)

Apolobamba Comprehensive Management Natural Area, now known as Ulla Ulla National Park, located northwest of La Paz on the Peruvian border, was created to protect the endangered vicuñas, and is home to Kallawayas: The Nomadic Medicine Men of Bolivia.

Also on the southwest border with Chile, the Eduardo Avaroa Andean fauna reserve is high, dry and cold, and the location of lakes colored by mineral sediments. The best known are Laguna Colorada and Laguna Verde for the pink flamingos.

Close to La Paz, Cotapata National Park, Parque Nacional y área de manejo integrado Cotapata, (photos) has terrain varied from Andean peaks to upper rainforest. The Tunquini area is one of Bolivia's favored birding sites. (See Bolivia – Additional sites, including a bird list for Tunquini

In central Bolivia:

The altiplano and Andes give way to the Amazon Basin, Yungas, Savannahs. Here the Andes bend in what's known as the "Elbow of the Andes."

Amboró National Park, Parque Nacional y área natural de manejo integrado Amboró, Carrasco Ichillo and Isiboro Secure (see map) between Cochabamba to the west and Santa Cruz to the east, are marked by steep mountains, deep valleys, fast rivers and both the mountainous cloud forest and the Amazonian tropical valleys.

Toro Toro National Park, Parque Nacional Toro Toro, located close to Potosí, is a dinosaur lover's delight. There are dinosaur footprints and fossils, the unexplored caves of Umajalanta and cave paintings here.

Carrasco National Park is a 1.5 million-acre rainforest park in the Andes foothills rich in varied flora and fauna.

Madidi National Park Parque Nacional y área de manejo integrado Madidi, spanning 4.5 million acres from the Andes to the western Amazon basin was created in 1995, and is surrounded by other parks: Manuripi Heat, the Apolobamba Comprehensive Management Natural Area and the Pilón Lajas Biosphere Preserve. "National Geographic has rated 1,895,750-he Madidi National Park with its 988 listed species as one of the world’s most extensive biodiversity reserves." Madidi National Park. Read Madidi Diary from National Geographic. Located near Rurrenabaque, the park has Mollo and Inca archaeological sites, and is home to several indigenous groups. plus the Chalalán lagoon and Ecolodge

Eastern Bolivia

In eastern Bolivia:

The tropical rainforest gives way, south of Santa Cruz, to the savannahs and the plains of the Chaco, shared by Paraguay and Argentina.

Kaa-Iya National Park, Parque Nacional y área natural de manejo integrado Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco, may be the largest national park in South America, and is dedicated to protecting the wetlands and the indigenous peoples living there.

Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado, ( map and photos) "Due to its unique bio geographical location, the rich, extraordinary diversity on species and habitats found in this National Park are unequaled in the New World tropics. Sponsored Links

Nowhere else in South America can you see such a wide variety of habitats with so little effort - humid tropical rainforests, seasonally flooded savanna, Cerrado, gallery forest, thorn scrub, dry forest, and large expanses of wetlands similar in appearance to the famous Pantanal formation found in eastern Bolivia and south-western Brazil." (About Bolivia)

Beni Biosphere Reserve and Biological Station, Reserva de la Biosfera Estación Biológica del Beni, "was designated a Biosphere Reserve with the purpose of promoting conservation in a context of balance between people and nature. 215,000 inhabitants (1988) live in the biosphere reserve, engaged in extensive cattle raising and increasing timber extraction activities, affecting natural forests ecosystems." Biosphere Reserve Information"

Like, Beni, Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve, Reserva de la Biosfera y Territorio Indígena Pilón - Lajas, protects an "impressive biodiversity. The park contains four distinct ecological regions, and is home to several threatened species, including the Giant Otter, and extraordinary floral diversity." Protected Areas.

Tariquia fauna and flora reserve Reserva nacional de Flora y Fauna Tariquía, protects the "biodiversity of the Andean Yungas, or Bolivian Tucumanic Jungle, ecosystem."

At the time of writing, Unrest rocks Bolivia and travel may be difficult. Please use caution and investigate the situation before traveling to or in Bolivia.