El Fuerte
- Address
- Price
- admission per person B$50, guides per group B$55
- Hours
- 9am-5pm
Lonely Planet review for El Fuerte
Designated in 1998 as a Unesco World Heritage site, El Fuerte occupies a hill-top about 10km from the village and offers breathtaking views across the rugged transition zone between the Andes and low-lying areas further east. There are two observation towers that allow visitors to view the ruins from above. Allow at least two hours to fully explore the complex, and take sunscreen and a hat with you. There is a kiosk with food and water next to the ticket office.
Traveller reviews for El Fuerte (1)
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El Fuerte de Samaipata = The Fort (Fortress) of Samaipata
erik07 recommends this,
The town Samaipata and the archaeological site El Fuerte are situated in the southeast part of Bolivia, west of Santa Cruz. By road the distance from Santa Cruz to Samaipata is about 120 km.
El Fuerte was originally a pre-Inca religious site, and the name Fuerte / Fort is misleading.El Fuerte is something special. To me El Fuerte is a unique archaeological site, and in my opinion it is in class with Tiwanaku at the Altiplano west of La Paz. But others can find the site disappointing.
The benefit of going to El Fuerte de Samaipata depends a lot on your interests and expectations, and depends on how things are presented and explained. I / we visited the site in the end of July 2010. We were lucky to have a guided tour: At the site we hired a local guide for about 70 - 80 bolivianos (for our little group). He was good, and we had a great experience.The landscape around is also impressive. A little detail about the landscape was the echo. On our walk round we met a sign telling about echo. If we had walked alone, I doubt that we would have noticed or understood the sign. But our guide stopped and told us. I shouted, and yes, the hills replied.
Most parts of the site are closed off to protect the rock (the carved and sculpted rock) and the ruins. And you have to view and survey most of the rock and ruins from outside and from high (and impressive) observation towers. It may be an idea to bring binoculars.
El Fuerte de Samaipata is known and visited, but not visited as deserved, and as I had expected. We wondered that we almost were the only visitors. Our guide told us the attendance figures, I remember it as 25000 visitors a year, but I am not sure. In an article from 2007 at http://www.eldeber.com.bo/2007/2007-06-24/vernotaescenas.php?id=996 I have found the number 20000.
It sounds many, but it is only 400 - 500 visitors a week and 60 - 70 a day. (But of course not evenly distributed over the year and over the week).But yes, Samaipata is remote. Samaipata can be reached from Santa Cruz, and Santa Cruz is not a top destination. The road from Santa Cruz to Samaipata is not good (status July 2010). The road is paved but with many interruptions and holes, and there are roadworks. There have been many landslides on the road, some parts of the road will be replaced with a new route, and several new bridges are under construction. In maybe two years from now (2010/2011) the road will be much better.
We visited El Fuerte on a one-day tour from Santa Cruz, and we had our lunch in the town Samaipata. So we did not experience the town.
NB: Note that El Fuerte is described twice here at Lonely Planet Destinations:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bolivia/the-southeast/samaipata/sights/archaeology/el-fuerte
and http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bolivia/sights/fortress/el-fuerte
But entirely different.
As El Fuerte is an archaeological site, I have written my review here.
But the Lonely Planet review for El Fuerte in the section "Sights, Fortress" at the address http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bolivia/sights/fortress/el-fuerte is much better and more comprehensive.
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