I'm spending about 4 weeks in Bolivia from 12 august to 7 september.
I'm worried about the Altitude Sickness, I've read through the posts, now I know that I need to take it easy but still have a few doubts.
My travel will be roughly divided into 2 parts: los salares and Amazon.
So, I arrive in la paz, it'll take 2-3 days to get used to the altitude, is it a good idea to go to Rurrenabaque for a week and then go back to la paz and head to uyuni? Does this mean that I will have to get used to the altitude twice?
I 'd prefer not to go to rurrenabaque in the second part of the trip cos I've read flights to/from la paz are not that reliable...and I dont want to miss my international flight on the 7th! If I had to choose this option, is there a more reliable way to go back to la paz from rurre?
Also: what is the spanish name for (soroche) pills?
Thank you!
Elise
soroche pills are called diamox or acetazolamide just like in english.
you need to take 4/day for 2 days prior to arrival and 2 dys after (diamox). also go slow, lots of water, etc. you might also ask your doc for some sleeping pills for the first bnight or 2.
as to whether or not you have to "acclimatise twice" this will depend on you individually, there is no way to know, but generally, the longer you are away from high altitude, the more symptoms you have on going back to altitude
Just be aware that if you take altitude meds you can mask sometimes serious effects. Some doctors will argue that it is better to allow your body to feel and be able to respond accordingly otherwise you may push yourself beyond your limits without knowing it.
Yes flights into and from Rurrenbaque are unreliable. I would also recommend doing that trip with some grace time before your international flight. Sorry don't know of any more reliable way back to La Paz. You won't really be used to the altitude in 2/3 days anyway so don't worry about acclimatising twice. It will probably just feel the same. Like harihari said, go slow, rest lot's and drink lot's of water.
I wouldn't worry much or avoid doing things I want to do because of the fear of altitude sickness.
Yes it can happen and yes it can be serious sometimes but thousands of tourists visit La Paz or other high cities and don't get anything other than a mild headache.
chewing Coca leaves can help alleviate the symptoms, I was reluctant at first, but they really do take the edge off feeling crap!
why not get a connecting flight to Santa Cruz or Sucre and work your way up to the higher altitude a bit more slowly. There are plenty of things to see in those areas for a few days so it wont be wasting your time and you will feel the impact a bit less if you visit places around the 2000 to 2500 metre range first. If you went from La Paz to Rurre after a couple of days you would lose any aclimitisation you had started and have to start again upon your return.
You could also just travel over to the yungas after arriving in La Paz which are lower and a nice place to start acclimitising a bit.
In Bolivia soroche (altitude sickness) is called soroche (altitude sickness) - just ask for tablets for this. If you dont like the idea of chewing coca leaves then drinking coca tea also helps and is more pleasant for most people and also helps.
This probably isn't recommended but I took a dip down to Rurre and had no ill effects. As people have posted above, it depends on you. We were on a tight schedule so we didn't take any time to acclimatize. Arrived in La Paz, took overnight bus to Cochabamba, headed out to Torotoro, did 3 days of hiking and caving (about 2800m, I think), back to La Paz, flew to Rurre, 3 days there, then flew to La Paz, flew to Tarija, bus to Tupiza, a couple days there and then the Salar tour ending in Uyuni. The only time I ever felt a bit bad (other than generally being out of breath hiking in Torotoro) was the 1st night of the Salar tour...found the air too thin to breathe with all the heavy blankets and sleeping bad on me! I chewed coca a bit in Torotoro, and otherwise had the tea almost daily, no pills.
You know, I just remembered I WAS uncomfortable in La Paz after Rurre! But not suffering terribly...still just a breathing issue, no headaches or other discomfort. At the airport, I guess the highest point, it was a bit of a struggle just using the stairs for the bathroom! We had a few hours in the city before our flight to Tarija for lunch & the coca museum, just took it slow and was fine. We were totally comfortable the second time coming back from Uyuni, of course.
I actually didn't have any problems returning to La Paz after Rurre, but met people who did have headaches...so there you have it.
You definitely want to have 2-3 days btw your flight home and Rurre, b/c I didn't and had to change my int'l flight home b/c the airport was closed for 3 days this past week. I ended up having to take bus back to La Paz...it took 22hrs or so. And there were loads of other people who missed their flights home. They tried renting jeeps to get back, but in reality they don't get you there faster than the bus and is $50..almost as much as the plane. The jeeps ended up getting stuck behind the bus and a whole line of trucks that were stalled in the mountains just outside of La Paz. There was ice on the road and some trucks couldn't pass, so we were all lined up behind them, just waiting. PS, the jeeps are supposed to take 12hrs, and bus= 16hrs...again supposed to in SA= yeah right.
trusted partner
