Page 76 - Cross Country Travel Guide 2019

Bolivia’s Mountains
Bolivia is a traveller’s dream – you can be in
the tropical jungle lowlands in the morning

tracking jaguars and on the freezing cold
4,000m altiplano by the afternoon. Higher
still, the snow-capped mountains tower to
over 6,000m – you can drive to the base of
many of them before trekking higher.
If you are here with your glider you
will most likely be travelling through or
embarking on some sort of adventure travel.
The flying scene is more remote and rugged
than Colombia or Brazil. However, there are
lots of trekking agencies in the main towns
and cities like Sucre, Cochabamba and La

Paz (where the site is south of the city in
Huajchilla) where you can talk to local guides
and organise transport or support.
Look out for the unique experience of
soaring the “sea breeze” off high altitude Lake
Titicaca in the small town of Copacabana on
the border with Peru, too.
andesxtremo.com
Photo: Ueli Neuenschwander and Thomas Rüesch

Patagonia’s Epic Sky

In the north of Patagonia San Carlos de
Bariloche, Bariloche for short, is a picturesque
Argentinian tourist town that has been
drawing visitors for decades. The city sits
on the edge of a large lake – Lake Nahuel
Huapi extends 70km to the northwest – on
the eastern slopes of the Andes. In winter
Bariloche is one of Argentina’s biggest winter
ski resorts, in summer the climate is hot, dry

and windy.
Almost exactly 100km due south is another
outdoor mountain town based around a lake.
El Bolson retains some of its hippie vibe from
the 1970s, attracting high-spending Argentine
tourists as well as international backpackers.
There are paragliding and tandem scenes
in both laid-back resorts, and you can easily

base yourself at one or the other to fly the
surrounding area. However, the classic route
for ambitious XC pilots is to connect the two.
Prepare well as landing out can be remote.
facebook.com/parapente.bolson
Photo: Parapente Bolson

76 CROSS COUNTRY TRAVEL GUIDE 2019 SOUTH AMERICA