After our lunch, we shall depart for the village of Sorata. First we will follow the road to La Paz all the way to the village of Huarina, where we turn north and leave the lake. Road continues north through typical Altiplano countryside. After passing a town of Achacachi, the road continues trough marshes, where wide scale of birds can be observed and then it starts to rise to a low ridgeline from which it starts to descent into the valley of San Cristobal River. In good weather we will be able to see amazing views of the majestic Mt. Illampu (6368 m – 20892 f). This is typical Andean road, sneaking along gullies and ridge lines through small hamlets with very little space for two passing cars. Eventually we will see Sorata perched on the other side of the of the valley just below Mt. Illampu. The whole valley of the San Cristobal River is fairly fertile and is covered with hamlets and small fields of peas, wheat, corn and other produce.
Sorata is a quiet and pleasant town which lies in a beautiful valley with a mild climate. It used to be quite a rich town in the days long gone due to gold mining activities in the area, now it is a base for lots of tracking trips and climbing expeditions in the region of the Mt. Illampu and Mt. Ancohuma. We check into the Hotel ex-Prefectural (Gran Hotel Sorata), and take a scroll through the town and its surroundings. Latter on we can have a diner either at the hotel or at he town square.
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