COROICO is a Bolivian village situated 100km from
La Paz and is the capital of the province
Nor Yungas.
It has a
temperate to warm/hot climate depending on the season and is one of the principal tourist destinations of the provinces of La Paz.
The population is a mix of
aymaras (indigenous peoples),
afro-bolivianos, mestizos and foreigners.
The town has all necessary amenities, also the town itself is
picturesque and one can appreciate from whatever point the
majestic mountains.
Some minutes away in an automobile and an hour walk, you will find yourself along the
flowing veins of mother nature's Black rivers and Coriguayo.
Also you can enjoy the surrounding furtile energy of the
coca, banana, coffee and citric fruit plantations, which are the means of survival for this region, along with tourism too.
The
Afro-Bolivian community Tocaña is located near this area.
To arrive at Coroico from La Paz:
· Take the normal highway
· Take the famous highway "
The Highway of the Dead" with
breathtaking views and panoramas.
· Walk following the
precolombian tourist path "El Choro" that last 3 days.
The
Yungas is a region of Bolivia located to the northeast from the city of La Paz.
It's situated at the downhills of the
eastern cordillera of the Andes towards the
amazonian basin with a varied altitude that varies from
600 to 2.500 meters above sea level.
Yunga belongs to an
ecosystem that is characterized for being
humid with fog and precipitation, also it's home to
succulent green hillsides, cliffs, rivers, waterfalls, and exuberant vegetation.
Of the entire country, Yunga is one of the
richest eco-regions that contains an abundant quantity of species of animals and vegetation. For example,
the tapir, peccary (wild hog), agouti (rodent), otter, weasel, monkeys, jaguars, foxes, ferrets, coati raccoons, guinea pigs, mouse opossums, and birds.
In the warm Bolivian Yungas valleys it's common to see
terraces carved out to cultivate
coca, coffee, sugar cane, bananas, papayas, lacayotes (squash), lúcumas, amaranto (kiwicha), achupallas o bromelias (flowers), corn etc.
Ethnologically, the Yungas is the name given to mixed peoples of the region with
melanoafricanas origins; who were descendents of African slaves brought to the Americas to work in the "mitas", the Peruvian mines during spanish colonialism. Later they estableshed themselves in the warm, damp and humid valleys of the eastern Bolivian region of the Andes.
See: "Volunteer in Coroico"