The road to the Valley of the Moon is paved and follows the river La Paz southeast past the exclusive La Paz tennis Club and some exclusive suburbs of La Paz with luxurious houses.
Valley of the Moon, as the name suggests has an eerie moon-like landscape produced by water erosion, with very little vegetation. The vegetation is of desert type, cactus mainly. The valley, or rather what is left of it, is now protected area. There have been attempts to use the area for real estate development, fortunately that have been stoped. There are short walks through the area with excellent photo opportunities. Weather permitting, one can also see the Muela de Diablo (rock formation) and in the distance top of Mt. Chacaltaya from here. You can also buy some local artesian products here (wood carvings mainly) from the locals. If you are lucky you might get a glimpse of local hummingbirds.
The road from the Valley of the moon continues to follow the La Paz river; we will pass the La Paz zoo and popular recreational area for the paceños (La Paz inhabitants). The area is doted with restaurants and on weekends is fairly crowded, since the climate here is much more pleasant then in La Paz due to its lower altitudes (2900 m – 9514 f). We will pass the Las Carreras village, where many well-off paceños have their weekend houses. Here we will cross the river La Paz, and the paved road is replaced by cobble stones. We will continue along the river La Paz, passing by several communities through a desert like landscape, until we arrive to Huyahuasi community.
 |
|---|
 |