Located in a rainforest in a valley of the Andes mountains is the town of Coroico, Bolivia. We went to the town after driving down “death road” and hiked to a beautiful waterfall and then enjoyed lunch at local restaurant. Considering how tense the drive down the side of the mountain, with its narrow road, thousand foot cliffs, and no guard rails, it was definitely relaxing to go to Coroico. The town square featured a whimsical fountain with a parrot and a colorful church. The highlight of visiting Coroico was definitely the waterfall, which was extremely dramatic and beautiful.

We hiked along a trail that was surrounded by plants with coffee beans as well as beautiful flowers on our way to the waterfall. We spent about twenty minutes enjoying the sights and sounds of the waterfall along with several other tourists before making our way back towards our vehicle. Along the way, we saw several coca plantations that are in the area where the coca plants are cultivated and sold throughout the region for medicinal and recreational purposes. While it is legal to grow coca, converting it to cocaine is technically illegal, but it is still a big problem in the region.

After leaving the waterfall, we drove through the narrow streets of Coroico to a resort where we would have lunch. Compared to the conditions that we saw within the town of Coroico, the resort was extremely nice with a pool and incredible views of the rainforest. It was a perfect ending to a fascinating day of exhilaration and adventure. If it wasn’t for the fact that we drove down “death road”, we probably wouldn’t have visited Coroico while we were in Bolivia, but it was certainly an interesting and rewarding experience.