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Introducing Sorata
Sorata wins many travelers’ votes as the most relaxing spot in Bolivia. This laid-back place preserves a crumbling colonial atmosphere in a spectacular natural setting, perched on a hillside in a valley beneath the towering snowcapped peaks of Illampu and Ancohuma. It’s a great spot to chill for a few days, and also a popular base camp for hikers and mountaineers.
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In colonial days Sorata provided a link to the Alto Beni’s goldfields and rubber plantations, and a gateway to the Amazon Basin. In 1791 it was the site of a distinctly unorthodox siege by indigenous leader Andrés Tupac Amaru and his 16, 000 soldiers. They constructed dikes above the town, and when these had filled with runoff from the slopes of Illampu, they opened the floodgates and the town was washed away.
In September 2003, Sorata hit the national headlines. A blockade further up the La Paz road, expression of an overwhelming wave of campesino dissatisfaction that eventually led to the downfall of the government, trapped hundreds of Bolivian and foreign tourists in Sorata (hardly a nightmare). In a misplaced show of force, the army busted them out, killing a campesino and inducing a riot. The town suffered in the wake of this, as tourism abandoned it, but it is now picking up again.
The main town fiesta, a great time to visit, is held on September 14.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
