Culture and gastronomy

Pick up from the airport (flight number and arrival time to be confirmed) and transfer to hotel. (please consult us for an early check in). Rest of the day open. In the evening, discover one of the city's best restaurants, Gustu.

Morning visit to the Manq'a school. Manq'a is now a veritable institution in La Paz, with two locations in the Bolivian capital. But more than just a restaurant, Manq'a also has a real social dimension, as it trains many disadvantaged young people in gastronomy. Lunch at Manq'a. In the afternoon, your guide will take you to the historic city centre of La Paz. The tour starts at the central station of the red cable car. In addition to our team of English-speaking guides, a "special" guide will show us around the city in his own way. A "shoeshine boy" will accompany us throughout the morning. After a cable car ride, we set off to visit various markets. Our first stop was the potato market, where we discovered the dehydrated variety of potato, las tuntas and los chuños, a local species with a very special taste and smell. The next stop is the fish market, where most of the produce is trout, straight from Lake Titicaca. Fish arrive every morning between 3.30am and 5am, and the cholitas start preparing their stalls. We then visit the district where all the shops where the cholita paceña buys her uniform are located: fabrics, clothes, hats and jewellery. Cholitas are very coquettish, even going so far as to match their jewellery to the colour of their contact lenses. It's easy to see why it's more profitable for a cholita to pay a bodyguard than to take the risk of having an earring stolen. A vicuña jacket, for example, can fetch up to 15,000 dollars. In the evening, enjoy a true Bolivian culinary experience at the Ali Pacha restaurant. Its fine, refined cuisine is sure to surprise you.

We leave La Paz in the morning for the community of Santiago de Okola, on the shores of Lake Titicaca (around 3 hours' drive). We receive a warm welcome from the families of the Santiago de Okola community. Rooms are allocated (2 people per family) and we set off on a lovely walk along the shores of Lake Titicaca to La Tortuga Island, at the other end of the bay. It's a lovely, pleasant walk along the shore. We can see all sorts of birds, ducks, Andean geese and even pink flamingos. The island of Tortuga is now accessible on foot. Our guide explains that, when he was young, it wasn't possible to reach the island on foot. The level of the lake has dropped considerably in recent years. So we take the opportunity to walk around the top of this little island and enjoy the view over the bay once again. Return by the same route. Dinner with local families.

After breakfast with our hosts, a walk to the Sleeping Dragon, which dominates the bay. Discover the cave paintings below the Dragon's head. The walk begins with a gentle climb to the Tunupa cave. Once you reach the summit (4,095m), the panorama is superb. The view is unobstructed over the lake, a veritable inland sea, and the Bay of Santiago. Then it's off down the other side of the mountain... a truly beautiful hike not to be missed! Back to the village and a meeting with a local weaver to discover the traditional weaving technique. It's not an easy task and requires a great deal of patience and dexterity. It can take up to a month to weave an "aguayo", a traditional Andean fabric. To round off this immersion experience, there's a tasting of Apthapi, the traditional lunch of the Andean countryside. Families from the village bring along local specialities and cook them together: pancakes, fritters, shortbread made from quinoa, maize or potatoes, or small fried fish from the lake, which are shared in a convivial atmosphere. In the early afternoon, return by private vehicle to La Paz, then fly to Sucre. Arrive in Sucre in the evening and spend the night there.

Morning departure for the village of Chataquila (3,725 m altitude). From here, we begin our trek along an ancient Inca trail to the village of Chaunaca... the surrounding landscape is magnificent. We take a break in Chaunaca to enjoy a picnic in the countryside, then head for the village of Maragua. Maragua is surrounded by the Cordillera de los Frailes mountains, a geological gem created by compression.... Discover the Devil's Gorge waterfall, just a few metres from the village. In the afternoon, walk through the crater to the town of Irupampa. Return by vehicle to Sucre, stopping en route at the Maragua lookout overlooking the crater. In the evening, you will dine in one of the city's best restaurants, the Proyecto Nativa.

A day dedicated to gastronomy and discovering the White City. What better way to immerse yourself in Bolivia's constitutional capital than through gastronomy. You'll stroll through the city's various markets, sampling a range of dishes and drinks emblematic of Sucre and Bolivia. Then fly to Santa Cruz. Arrive in Santa Cruz in the evening and spend the night there.

Departure for the mission of San José de Chiquitos, lunch and check-in at the hotel La Villa Chiquitana (4h30 to 5h drive). Arrival at the Villa Chiquitana hotel. A lovely, pleasant hotel with a Provençal feel! It has a terrace restaurant and a magnificent garden with swimming pool. During your stay, you will visit various cultural pascanas on the SaboreArte Chiquitos route, workshops and meetings with craftsmen and artists from Bolivian Chiquitania. You'll learn different craft techniques and sample the local cuisine. After lunch on the terrace, at around 3 p.m. you'll head off to the pascana "La Siesta del Posoka" to meet Juanita and her wood-burning stove. She will teach you how to bake rice bread, how to grind the rice grains to obtain rice flour, and then how to make traditional breads from this flour. At the same time, you'll learn about the customs and daily lives of the villagers. You will learn how to cook "maté" in the traditional way and enjoy it with "Pan de arroz". We then set off for a short hike in the Serranía El Riquío mountain range. A short stroll to discover the Chiquitana dry forest and admire the sunset from the Montañeta lookout (an easy, very accessible walk). Magnificent views of the Chiquitana forest, the town of San José and Cerro Turubó. Overnight stay at the Hotel La Villa Chiquitana.

In the morning, we set off for the village of Chochis (1 hour's drive). This village is famous for the Davide Tower, a red rock formation 800 metres in circumference. The tower is tooth-shaped and is known as the Muela del Diablo. At the foot of this imposing tower stands the sanctuary of the Virgin Mariano de la Torre or Sanctuary of Chochis, adorned with extraordinary wood carvings. A haven of peace at the foot of the Chiquitos mountain range. It is here that devotees of the "Virgen de Asunta" (Virgin of Assumption) faithfully venerate the Portón Tower, built at the foot of the Portón in memory of those who disappeared in the devastating floods and landslides of 1979. Inside the sanctuary you can see a collection of wood carvings that show the great legacy left by the Jesuits, who taught part of this art to the natives of this city, as well as evangelising them. It was built in 1988 under the direction of architect Hans Roth. It is considered a sample of the Chiquitano art of woodcarving. It was inaugurated on 15 August 1992. . We then set off again for Tucabaca Park (1hr), a nature reserve surrounded by greenery and mountains. We'll take a beautiful hike to the Antesala del Cielo viewpoint. Magnificent views over the whole region (1h30 hike, accessible to all). We then head for Santiago de Chiquitos (20 minutes), where we'll have lunch. Visit to the church of Santiago de Chiquitos, one of the Jesuit Misiones churches, with a brief explanation of the history of the place and the festivities celebrated. To round off the day, we'll head off to the thermal waters of Aguas Calientes or Los Hervores. These waters have medicinal properties due to their concentration of minerals, and are made up of water spurts or bubbling springs. The water temperature is between 41º and 45ºC. You'll see holes forming under the water, like quicksand. You can sit down and venture in with the impression that the earth is beginning to swallow you up, but there's no risk of that; on the contrary, you'll enjoy a delicious natural massage. At the end of this tour, we return to the hotel (2h30) where you can enjoy the magnificent swimming pool.

In the morning, we head to the pascana "La Tranquera", to the house of Pythagoras Luis, whose real name is Pythagoras. He'll tell you how he learned to cook as a child and how it became a passion. You'll understand why he's nicknamed Pythagoras! In fact, he still has a little stall in the street where he sells his traditional dishes. But his main passion is making Abuelo masks, which come from the Abuelos Chiquitanos dance, a dance in which they mock the "white men". It's a ritual that reflects the cultural syncretism of the region, and these characters show the cultural richness of the communities of San José and Santiago de Chiquitos. He will show you step by step how to make this traditional mask, typical of the region and made from the roots of the Toco tree. You will also taste the famous chicha. It is made from maize, peanuts, manioc or rice, sometimes with the addition of fruit. Fermentation can last from a few days to two months before it becomes alcoholic. Afterwards, you will visit the church of San José de Chiquitos, in the company of Friné Torric, a restorer by profession. Guided tour of the stone church and the mission museum with its unique murals. It is the only building made of stone and limestone. The mission houses paintings dating back over 300 years. Over 2,000 square metres of restored paintings. This is also where you can discover how the Jesuits were organised. Gourmet lunch featuring local specialities. Afternoon free for a stroll around the village or simply to enjoy the swimming pool.

After breakfast, we'll take you to the last pascana, "Las Hamacas", where you'll meet Marialuz. She will show you all the stages of production, from the cotton flower to a hammock, a handbag and so on. She learned this ancestral technique of horizontal weaving from her grandmother, who brought her up alone after being abandoned by her parents. You will also taste cuñapé and a typical Chirimoya-based drink. At the end of this visit, you will leave for Santa Cruz, where you will discover a typical restaurant in Bolivia's economic capital: La Casa del Camba.

Snif Snif, time to go! Departure from the hotel for a transfer to La Paz airport (3 hours before international departure time).