Tourist Attractions

Management Category

National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area.

Extension

It has a surface area of 40,000 ha (400 km²).

Location

Cotapata Park is located northeast of the city of La Paz, next to the mountain wall. It begins on the road to the Yungas in the La Cumbre – Sacramento section, which corresponds to the southern limit. It is located in the Nor Yungas and Murillo Provinces of the La Paz Department. The municipalities involved are Coroico and La Paz.

Biogeographical Subregions, Altitudinal Range and Climate

Puna and Yungas Humid Montane Forest; the altitudinal range varies between 1,000 and 5,900 m a.s.l.; physiographically it comprises parts of the Cordillera Real. The climate varies according to the altitudinal gradient from cold (freezing) in the heights to warm temperate towards the lower limit (near Coroico). Precipitation fluctuates between 1,000 mm in the upper part to more than 3,000 mm in the Cloud Forest of Ceja.

The population is of Aymara origin in the highlands and mestizo peasant and Aymara migrants in the Yungas valleys. Human occupation in the highland areas of Cotapata Park dates back many centuries, while the population settled in the Yungas is much more recent. The settlement pattern is central, as communities concentrate mostly along the Huarinilla River valley.

Among the most important are: Achura, Chucura, Choro, Tiquimani, Sandillani, Huancané, Chairo and Pacollo. Inside the Park, the total population is approximately 1,600 inhabitants (about 250 families). In the external buffer zone, the most populated urban center is Coroico (1,660 inhabitants); in total, a population of about 300 families is estimated (not counting Coroico). The PN ANMI Cotapata is located just 20 km from the city of La Paz.

204 fauna species have been recorded, some of which are in a threatened state, such as: the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), the Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruviana), the mountain eagle (Oroaetus isidori), the oilbird (Steatornis caripensis), the black spider monkey (Ateles paniscus), the puma (Felis concolor), the titi or Andean cat or pampas cat (Felis jacobita), the taruca or Andean deer (Hippocamelus antisensis), the taitetu, peccary or collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu), the agouti with tail (Dinomys branickii), the red agouti (Dasyprocta punctata), the mountain guan (Penelope montagnii), and the little guan (Chamaepetes goudoutii).

Endemic bird species also stand out (Grallaria erythrotis, Schizoeaca harterti, Aglaeactis pamela, Myrmotherula grisea, and Hemitriccus spodiops), as well as the highly threatened species Anairetes alpinus, from the Tyrannidae family, and Cinclodes aricomae from the Furnariidae family.

820 plant species have been recorded, and the existence of approximately 1,800 higher plant species is estimated. The Area includes high mountain ranges and snowfields, periglacial environments, High Andean Grassland, peatlands and bogs, Yungueño Páramo, Ceja de Monte Rainy Cloud Forest, and Lower Montane Humid Forest of Yungas.

In the High Andean Grassland, hard and silicified grasses and rosette, creeping, and cushion plants predominate. In the peatlands of the wide glacial valleys, dense cushions of Distichia muscoides, Plantago tubulosa, and Oxychloe andina exist. Regarding the flora and vegetation of the humid forests, the relict woodlands of Polylepis pepei in the Páramo and the patches of Podocarpus spp. in the Ceja Cloud Forest stand out. Additionally, Cotapata National Park hosts many orchid species, including some endemic ones.

One of its greatest values is the pre-Columbian path of Chucura or Choro, which is part of the commonly known "Inca Roads"; Choro crosses Cotapata from the Cordillera region to the warm Yungas of the Huarinilla River. Currently, one of Bolivia's most visited tourist destinations is "The Death Road," also known as "The Most Dangerous Road in the World." It is a 65 km route from "Cumbre," a high mountain pass in the middle of the Andes Cordillera at 4,000 m a.s.l., until 15 years ago this route was the main access road to the Los Yungas forest.

This road became legendary due to its extreme danger, because of its steep slopes, very tight curves, with a road width of only one lane in many segments (3 meters wide). Currently, access to Los Yungas populations such as Yolosa and Coroico is through a new paved highway, so "The Death Road" is today an open route and almost exclusively consolidated as a tourist circuit for mountain bike descent.

This road gained even more notoriety in February 2012 when the international channel "History Channel" filmed the reality show "Dangerous Roads" on the road to Coroico. The series "Dangerous Roads" became famous due to the feats performed by a group of experienced truck drivers on dangerous routes in the Himalayas and Alaska.