Having already spent a day trekking to spend time with the Gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park, we were excited for our next big adventure in Rwanda. It was possible to do our itinerary in reverse where we started with the Chimpanzee and ended with the Gorilla trek, but we’re happy that we ended up doing it in the order that we did. Trekking to visit with the Gorillas was extremely strenuous with most of the time spent going up and down the sides of steep hills where we had to hack our way through the thick jungle foliage. Trekking to see the chimpanzees was pretty much the complete opposite where we hiked on a trail through a forest, which is completely different than going off-trail through a jungle. Just like our trek to see the gorillas, though, we did luck out as the weather was concerned and the rain held off until after our trek was complete.
Our hike started early in the morning and our guides let us know that we needed to get to the location where the chimpanzees were sleeping before they woke or we might have to follow them or maybe not see them at all. Once they become active and start moving through the canopy, they can become difficult to see, but apparently our chimpanzee family had been fighting with baboons the night before and were extra tired. Once we arrived at the location where the chimpanzees were sleeping, we began the waiting game for them to climb down from the treetops to join us on the ground. Eventually they did climb down and they moved around us, which was not only exciting for us, but was equally exciting for our guides as they said this was one of the best encounters that they had experienced.
The chimpanzees, however, were not particularly impressed with our presence and mostly ignored us and turned their backs towards us. Unlike the gorillas who were as fascinated with us as we were with them, the chimpanzees seemed to find us to be an annoyance that they needed to avoid before going about their daily activities. We were able to get some interesting videos and photographs before hiking back out of the forest and heading back to our lodge to enjoy lunch. From start to finish, the trek only took us about six hours and it was far less strenuous than the gorilla trekking, but that isn’t to say that it wasn’t strenuous at all as we were still hiking up and down the mountainside. Had this been our first adventure in Rwanda, it might have made our expectations for the gorilla trek slightly different, but as it was we were expecting it to be as difficult as the gorilla trek and it was quite the relief that it wasn’t.
Both of our trekking experiences in Rwanda were absolutely amazing and something that we will treasure forever. These animals are much larger than you realize until they are right next to you and to see them in the wild is truly fascinating. Knowing that very few people get the opportunity to do what we were able to do also adds to the uniqueness of the memory.
We left early in the morning on the road to the villages Tiquipaya and El Paso, where we made a very interesting stop at the oldest church of Cochabamba. As a guide, I enjoy being able to explain many interesting things about the old history of the monument. Back on the road again the landscape changed quickly as we drove into the Tunari mountain range. On our journey we saw beautiful waterfalls, Andean lakes, farm lands, and encountered indigenes communities. The scenery was typical of the Andes landscapes and we stopped a few times in order to explain more about the country of Bolivia, which I’m passionate about, and the region that we were traveling through.
Our trekking began at a beautiful Andean lake called Laguna Taquiña, but before walking, I explained the practical things about walking in this altitude, 4300 meters above sea level, about the weather in the Majestic Andes, and the animals living in the region. We received a typical breakfast Api, a drink made out of corn that dates back from the times of the Incas, snacks, water, fruits and were ready to go!
Directly at the beginning of our hike there where two giant Andean Condors flying over our heads, the biggest flying creature in the world, how lucky we were!!!! We were also surrounded by hundreds of very curious llamas and Alpacas, many of them with little baby llamas. The trekking slightly ascends, we had beautiful weather and even a bit of snow on the mountaintops in the distance, which was really spectacular. You have the time to walk at your own pace, which makes this hike really nice and we took the time for the group to take pictures. At one point I took some stones from the ground and explained that there are incredibly old fossils in them. And yes indeed, we could see the shells all over the place, which was just unbelievable standing at almost 5000 meters above sea level. These fossils are between 500 and 600 million years old!!! Once there was an old ocean just where we are walking right now!
We hiked higher and higher and the trekking also became more and more strenuous. It’s just a fascinating feeling to hike at this incredible altitude, with landscapes around you like you are in a National Geographic documentary!! After trekking for about 3 hours, we finally reached our goal, and we stood at 5050 meters high (16404 feet). The view on the top was incredible, with hundreds of snowy mountain tops and endless views over the Andes. We were even able to see the Cordillera Real of La Paz, including the Illimani Mountain, 150 miles away! And of course we had a view of the city Cochabamba. On our way back we took a completely different trail and were able to see Vichachas, very funny animals, some kind of mix between a rabbit, squirrel and a kangaroo, it’s a typical animal from the Andes.
We came across some other unexplainable impressive viewpoints over this mountain range, and saw some other lakes with beautiful colors. We took a little rest at the Macho Lake, there was no sound at all, no cars, no planes flying over, no other trekkers, absolutely nothing, you are completely alone with Nature!
