Tell me everything

Bolivia is filled with wonders, truly! Even though we visited Sajama as the Bolivian weather changes from wet to dry, as it’s part of the desert plateau we experienced days of cloudless sunshine and nights perfect for stargazing. We spent four nights in Sajama, and 2-3 days is the perfect amount of time to tick off all of the standard activities in this little village.

Sajama National Park is named so for the towering volcano right next to the village – the highest peak in Bolivia at 6542m. You can certainly attempt Sajama – but so soon after Huayna Potosi, we weren’t mentally ready for an even harder challenge. There are other summit options in the park – the three common peaks are Acotango (6052m, another ‘easy’ 6000+m summit), Pomerape (6282m, more technical) and Parinacota (6380m, less technical). While the national park is a popular place for mountaineering, and is a great learning ground, it isn’t compulsory!

If you are considering doing a summit, there are a couple of the day hikes around Sajama are good ways to acclimatise more. Sajama village itself is at 4200m, so sleeping a few nights and doing some daily walking will definitely help. The easy option is climbing Wisalla peak directly to the east of the village. The walk will take you up to ~5000m, there are a few ways up depending on whether you prefer doing a circuit or a simple up and back.

The longer option, best done on the second day of acclimatisation, is to visit the geysers and the lagunas. This is a massive loop if you start from town, but the best way to do it is to catch an early morning taxi to the geysers (they look the most impressive right after sunrise, due to the temperature differential, so getting there by cab is most efficient), then walking the rest of the loop. This track is incredibly lovely, a really varied daywalk with three different lagunas, high altitude meadows, lots of wildlife to spot, and plenty of peaceful spots to admire the views. If you’ve got the gear, you can turn this into an overnighter and camp by the first laguna, though by ‘the gear’ we mean stuff that is super, super warm! At 5000m it is below freezing every night. The last section of the track is a bit less interesting – once you exit the final valley, it’s about 8km over flat farmland, in, over and around fences to take the most direct route back to the village.

If you’re so inclined, take your swimwear on the hike above – not for the lagunas (WAY too cold!) but for the thermal baths – with a small detour, these are on the way back, and can be a lovely way to relax after a hard day’s hike! Just note that after you’ll have to put the boots back on to make it down the road. There are a few different options for thermal baths – as they are natural, there are supposedly a few free pools on unclaimed properties. The two ‘main’ pools are privately maintained and will cost about 20bs pp. Rather than following on our hike, we took a cab the following day to relax, to the termas of Dona Ines – this had a stunning view of Sajama from the pool, plus lots of llamas chilling out all around us. Iconically Bolivia! The water is actually so hot it can be a bit much – our advice is don’t go in the middle of the day, because it’s really easy to keep jumping in and out and get sunburnt…

So unless you’re planning on summiting anything, two days is enough to pack in both hikes and the termas. We did it all over three days to just enjoy the peace of being in the desert. If you want to do summits, Mario from the homestay seemed super reliable and had a lot of gear, but when we visited he was booked up to the ears – he told us he was guiding 7 summits attempts consecutively! That’s basically no sleep for a week. You can also book the mountaineering expeditions from La Paz, if you prefer doing it a more ‘official’ way, but if you have a little experience or are attempting an easier peak, it’s totally fine (and more economical, probably) to sort it out in Sajama.

The local transport to Sajama is fairly easy to navigate, although we did have a little bit of a panic. Our bus leaving La Paz got stuck in heinous traffic up to El Alto, and then stopped at three different stops to wait for passengers – which delayed us by about an hour, and meant we only arrived in Patacamaya 20 minutes before the collectivo was meant to leave. Thankfully, we’d found the collectivo driver’s number online (well, through a series of online numbers), and so they knew we wanted a seat and were waiting for us. We think that catching the teleferico up to the main El Alto bus station and hitching a collectivo from there might be a better bet for a fast journey. Getting stuck in Patacamaya isn’t ideal, as there’s nothing there and there’s only one collectivo to Sajama village daily. If you are stuck in Patacamaya, there is an option to catch the bus that heads down the highway to cross the border with Chile. However, if you hop out at the junction, the dirt road to Sajama village is about 12km from the main road, so you’ll need to hitch, take a loooong walk, or get a cab.

However you get there, once arriving in Sajama there’s a fee to enter the national park of 100bs; this will cover the length of your stay.

We stayed at an amazing homestay run by Mario and Ana; Mario is a mountain guide, so this is a perfect place to stay if you’re keen on climbing mountains and supporting local guides. The food is great and the guest houses are amazing – they’re built in the traditional style with dome styled architecture and adobe (mud) walls. The adobe is a traditional method that is excellent at retaining heat, so they get toasty as in the night, but to capitalise on that the rooms are quite tiny. There are plenty of options in Sajama village, but we really enjoyed our stay here and would absolutely recommend it, they were so so lovely. They also have a separate kitchen which you can use if you prefer to cook yourself.

Sajama has a few shops with basic provisions – excellent for a post-hike icecream – but if you have specific tastes while hiking, make sure you stock up in La Paz. The homestays provide breakfast and dinner at a fee; they are usually a bit more pricey than your usual Bolivian menu del dia, but it’s convenient to eat in the house, plus it’s a nice way to meet and chat to other people. If you’ve a strict budget, a couple of the restaurants around the town do provide a slightly cheaper service, although the exact schedule is a little confusing.

We were also in Sajama for the town’s anniversary – in the morning, marching bands filled the streets, and in the afternoon, everyone filed along to the town hall for group feed and plenty of drinks. There was plenty of merriment and generosity – Emma poked her head in, looking for something to take for Awal to eat (sick & in bed! The cold is harsh on the body), and they piled up a plate of potatoes and lamb without question. So kind, and so humbling to see such a tightly knit community coming together!