Villa Tunari

Last Friday, we took our second trip to Villa Tunari. Villa Tunari is about 3 hours North East of Cochabamba and is known for it’s tropical weather, swimming holes and beautiful rainforests. Villa Tunari is located in the Chapare region of Bolivia, a region that is known for producing coca leaves, and is one of the main cocaine producing regions within Bolivia. Since the 1970’s the DEA has attempted to squash the farming of coca in the Chapare, and thus resulted in conflicts between the DEA, coca farmers and the Bolivian government. It has calmed down since President Evo Morales was elected in 2004; Morales has promised to protect the coca farmers of the Chapare and encourages the making of coca products such as tea and other food products, except cocaine. In recent years, local authorities have worked to turn the sleepy rainforest town into a tourist destination, and it’s working!

Our first visit was in July, and since July it has really heated up in Villa Tunari! Part of the reason we love Villa Tunari so much is that there really isn’t much to do but walking along the river, cool off in the swimming holes, pozos, and relax and read in the hammocks. We did leave our hotel sanctuary to walk in to town, enjoy some ice cream and stop by Parque Machía, an animal sanctuary where we saw small monkeys swinging in the trees. We stayed at the same hotel where we had stayed the first time, about a 30-minute walk from town, tucked in the forest, very quiet and a great bird watching post.


We’re hanging out in Cochabamba this weekend, planning to check out the Botanical Gardens and check out some restaurants on our Cochabamba bucket list. I hope you have a great weekend!