Entering the peaceful town of Quime, Bolivia

What was meant to be a 3 or 4 day stop in Quime turned into nearly a month in the small town, plus a week of checking out a couple of other tiny Yungas towns. I found out about the tranquil stopover between La Paz and cities further south from the Wikitravel site, which is the work of Alaskan expat Marco, who runs Hostal Colibri. The hostal has great private rooms (some with fireplaces) and a full kitchen, which makes it a perfect spot to relax after several weeks or months on the road.

The hiking around Quime is tough due to the general altitude and steep inclines to get to pretty much wherever you want to go. But it’s truly vale la pena once you see the stunning scenery that the Yungas has to offer. About six hours walking from Quime are some excellent, secluded hot springs, and about three hours away is a glacial lake. There are tons of other places to visit that Marco can tell you about.

Perhaps the nicest thing about staying in Quime and the surrounding Yungas towns is that there are hardly any other tourists there. Everybody is respectful, but curious, and the children especially will ask a ton of questions. It’s a great opportunity to connect with locals.