Full Day/One Day Tour

• Community tour
• 5 activities to choose from
• Lunch in San Miguel del Bala lodge

Take a break from the noisy streets of Rurrenabaque and choose two of the five activities offered around the San Miguel del Bala Lodge, a Tacana community owned ecolodge located just 45 minutes up river from Rurrenabaque. All guides are indigenous Tacana, and have lived in these forests their entire life. They will share with you their experience and knowledge as well as their hospitality during your time with San Miguel del Bala, be it for one day or five.

• Activity #1- Community Visit.

Visit the community of San Miguel, a Tacana village, and experience how tourism and your money has helped the San Migueleños improve their day-to-day lives. Take a stroll through the village as your guide explains how the community is organized. Visit the school and your guide’s home, learn how to weave, make a thatched roof, squeeze sugar cane yourself and enjoy a sweet and refreshing drink (best served with some lemon). Your visit to the community of San Miguel will give you a look at the Tacana villagers' daily lives as well as let you see the great things your money your is doing as a client of the community owned lodge!

Meet your guide in the San Miguel del Bala offices across from the Amaszonas Airline office in the early morning. Your guide will take you to the motorized canoe that awaits you in the Rurrenabaque port. From the port it’s a 45-minute boat ride up the Rio Beni. Take in the beautiful vistas and landscapes as you speed upriver.

• Activity #2- Waterfall/Swimming.

Take the canoe a bit further upriver to the mouth of a stream that flows into the Rio Beni. From there your guide will lead you along the stream for a short 20-minute hike up to a waterfall that has a natural pool below where you can take a refreshing dip after your hike and relax in the soothing waters. The trek is a bit challenging, so make sure you consult with your guide before setting off to see if they feel you can handle it. The reward for your hard work is to sit underneath the waterfall and let this natural masseuse soothe your tired muscles.

• Activity #3- The Hunt.

Leaving from the lodge your guide will take you back in time as he takes you through the rainforest and shows you the ancient trapping methods of the Tacana. Learn how the Tacana outfoxed their prey with unique and interesting traps that helped them catch dinner. Your guide will show you how each trap works, as well as the medicinal plants the hunters would collect as they checked their traps.

• Activity #4- The Canyon.

Explore a canyon 150 meters long with all the wonderful creepy crawly things that dark damp places have to offer. This unique trek can be a short walk through the canyon to explore another world, or you can take a 3-hour trek from San Miguel del Bala along the river, which eventually runs through the canyon as a grand exit to the river. As you exit the canyon a boat will be waiting for you to take you to your next destination.

• Activity #5- San Miguel’s Pharmacy.

Take a walk into the forest with your guide to explore the wonders of medicinal plant life. Your guide will share his knowledge of the forest and the abundance of plant life that the Tacana have used for years to help with basic ailments such as stomachaches and colds all the way to dealing with anemia and other more serious conditions. Experience what the forest has to offer, and even try to take some medicine with you for your next run-in with bad street food in La Paz.

Prices

For a minimum group number of 2 people

Full day Tour: $65 US

For one person tours

Full day Tour: $100 US

What do these prices include?

• Guide
• All meals while on the tour
• Transport
• Lodging
• Bottled water

What isn’t included?

• Entrance fee to Madidi National Park which is 125 bolivianos (around $18 US) for foreigners and 45 bolivianos for Bolivians
• All alcoholic beverages and sodas will be extra