u/viatua

Hello everyone!

I know many travelers have trouble accessing up to date information on bloqueos in Bolivia, so I am sharing another update to help!

Currently, some of the bloqueos have been broken up and some travel along main tourist routes has resumed.

However, La Paz remains strongly affected by bloqueos so travel by ground in and out of the city remains difficult.

The map above shows some of the active bloqueos as of this morning.

Keep in mind that the situation changes daily and local reports are more reliable then the government maps, which are not always up to date.

Common Routes That Are Blocked!

>>> La Paz - Copacabana (Blocked)

>>> La Paz - Uyuni (Blocked)

>>> La Paz - Rurrenabaque (Blocked)

Common Routes That Are Open :)

>>> Sucre - Potosí - Uyuni (Open)

>>> Santa Cruz - Sucre (Open)

>>> Tarija - Uyuni or Potosí/ Sucre (Open)

Essentially, La Paz is still locked down so any travel through this region will be very difficult. Travel in other regions os resuming, but there is high demand and limited capacity.

We will share any new local reports as we receive them!

Bloqueos are generally not a threat to safety unless you try to cross them or get caught in the middle of a conflict.

Do your best to avoid protest lines and plan travel by air to La Paz until the conflict is resolved.

More updates to come soon! Please feel free to comment any local reports or ask for updates.

Hi everyone!
Just back from the Amazon and sharing some impressions, because our plan completely fell apart but it turned out really great - maybe it'll come in handy for some of you!

Originally we were supposed to fly to Bolivia, to Madidi National Park and then the Pampas (the swampy lowlands near Rurrenabaque). Unfortunately Bolivia has had road blockades going on for weeks now (a political and fuel crisis, long story), and getting there became practically impossible. So we decided to enter the Amazon from the Peru side instead, and it turned out to be a bullseye!
From Peru there are basically three main entry points into the jungle.

The first is Iquitos in the north, the only city in the Amazon you can't reach by car, only by plane or boat. You sail straight into the Amazon river itself.
The second is Manu National Park, and that's probably the best choice if you have more than a week. Logistically it's a bigger project. You can technically only access the first zone, but most of the flora and fauna live deeper inside (in the research zone, where you also pay extra for a permit).
The third is Tambopata Reserve, accessed from Puerto Maldonado (a one-hour flight from Cusco or a 10-hour overnight bus), a great option if you have less time.

We chose Tambopata because we'd already been much deeper into the jungle in Borneo and didn't want to spend several more days just on the road (we're on a multi-week trip and had a few other "highlights" planned :)). Tambopata can be experienced in different ways. You can stay at a lodge (a relatively comfortable option, with electricity (sometimes only for 2-3 hours a day), screens on the windows, and meals taken care of). You can also go for what's called a deep jungle experience, expeditions with local guides where you sleep in a different spot each night, in a hammock under a mosquito net, cook together, and wash in the river. Great option for the more adventurous! 🙂
What you can see: capybaras, macaws at the famous clay lick where hundreds of them gather every morning to lick the clay off the riverbank (a complete visual madness!). Plus monkeys (capuchins, howlers, spider monkeys, the howlers howl so loudly you wake up at 5am thinking it's lions), caimans, giant river otters (you can find them around Sandoval Lake!), toucans, sloths, snakes, and also jaguars (if you're a bit lucky, or not :)).
The best time to go is May-October (dry season).
Get your yellow fever shot in advance (they don't always check, but better to have it).
Malaria risk in Tambopata is relatively low but not zero.
Use only DEET 50% repellent, anything weaker won't cut it, tested on my own skin!
Long, light-coloured clothes, ideally ones you won't mind throwing away when you get back, because you might not get them clean 🙂
Anything you don't want soaked, pack in zip-lock bags, because the humidity is such that everything seeps through!

PS. Bolivia is on hold for a better moment, but the Peruvian Amazon turned out to be a perfect plan B. That's the charm of travel, sometimes you just have to detour and end up with something you didn't expect (in a good way! :)).

📍 Tambopata National Reserve, Peru

Guys, I want to share our experience from the last week in Bolivia because I wish I had seen something like this before (we've already met travelers in similar situation, but it's quite new situation and we were searching any info on a Bolivia Travel Facebook groups as well, but couldn't find nothing - so really want to keep you updated)

There are ongoing protests across the country right now, with road closures affecting a lot of routes (especially north of La Paz) -this already makes any travel difficult, but the biggest issue for us was getting to/from Rurrenabaque. We had scheduled the visit to Amazon with local agency, but ended up with paid flights with airlane that probably bunkrupcted or will soon (EcoJet), so it's tiny chance we will get money back, both for flights like also for a stay in a jungle.

Flights now are extremely unreliable. After Boliviana de Aviación (BoA) reduced/suspended routes, EcoJet is (was!) basically the only option, and it’s now disaster - our flight to Rurrenabaque was first delayed (3 hours) then we actually boarded the plane, put our luggage on the trail, and flight got cancelled 5 minutes before boarding. We didn't get any explanation, few hours later they said they will open another flight next day ... and guess what - it also got canceled!

At the same time, you can't also get out by any bus - operators don't work because of roadblocks, many routes simply don’t operate and local taxi drivers told us it gonna be just worse.

We ended up making a pretty hard decision - we skipped already paid tour tickets (no refund) and changed our plans completely just to leave the country as soon as possible (we just scrolled through the departure tables and get on to the plane to Cusco:)) Staying in Bolivia now doesn't feel stable or predictable anymore! Maybe only Uyuni part is fine, since you can get back to Chile/San Pedro.

So please note:
- internal flights to/from Rurrenabaque are frequently canceled or heavily delayed
- road transport is disrupted or blocked
- tourists are getting stuck for days trying to get out

Bolivia is an amazing country (we started travel from south and it was incredible) but right now, if you’re planning Rurrenabaque / Death Road / Amazon trips, be very careful and have a backup plan or just option to stay longer/go out from country.

If anyone is currently there or recently traveled or experienced the same thing, I would be happy to hear your experience too, especially if you started (or TRIED) any refund process with EcoJet or any bus/tour providers ... we still try to figure out how to get in contact with ours, and it doesn't look promising.