La Cumbre
by Lawrence Rubey and A. Bennett Hennessey
At about 4650, La Cumbre
(the summit) is the highest point on the Coroico Road
before the twisting descent into the sub-tropical yungas.
The climate is harsh and species diversity limited, but some spectacular birds
await those hardy souls willing to devote a half day or more, braving the cold,
wind and surprisingly brutal sun.
A Christ statue high above the
roadside on the left-hand side of the road marks La Cumbre
at 16 km
past the Miraflores tranca.
The large lake ("Repressa Estellani")
on the left just before the Christ statue is rather barren, but a few Silvery
Grebes and various waterfowl are usual. Bright-rumped
Yellow-Finches are often spotted on the shoreline. The best strategy is to take
one of the dirt roads branching off from the paved road. Amid the rocky
moonscape are cushion bogs and small lakes. The cushion bogs are often better
in wet season, as they can dry out in dry season. Cushion bogs also attract
locals that gather the rich topsoil. Unfortunately this practice is slowly
destroying the bogs. Crossing the bogs will yield typical highland Andean
species associated with water including Puna Ibis,
Andean Gull, Andean Goose, Andean Lapwing, Crested Duck, Speckled Teal, and
possibly Andean Snipe or even Diademed Sandpiper Plover. During the colder
months or during heavy snows, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipes often descend from the scree
slopes near the snowline to feed in the bogs. During the austral winter, the
barren ground around the lakes and bogs is a mecca
for ground tyrants such as Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant.
Over 200 Ochre-naped ground-tyrants were counted one
July day. Slender-billed Miner is a specialty of the area, while Puna Ground-Tyrant is a year-round resident. Puna Tinamou can be heard calling
from the hillsides. Also, keep a lookout above as Variable Hawk is common and a
Black-faced Ibis fly-over is even possible.
Logistics: Leave La Paz
via the neighborhood of Miraflores,
taking the road to Coroico. At the Miraflores police tranca
reset your odometer (0.0
km). At 8.2
km pass a large, nearly lifeless, reservoir on your
right. Continue climbing on the paved highway, and at 13.4 km, turn right at a
dirt track for the largest expanse of cushion bogs (not visible from the road).
The turn is just after the overhead power lines cross the road and is marked by
a small sign that points to "Turbera." In
less than a kilometer, the dirt track divides. The
left fork goes to the large cushion bog (another 1 kilometer
further) and the right fork goes to a series of very small lakes (about a half kilometer after the fork). The right and left forks are
actually part of the same circular road, but there is a stretch of 200 meters that is
difficult to negotiate in a vehicle.
Returning to the paved road
and continuing on, La Cumbre (the Summit) is marked by a large Christ statue
high above the roadside on the left-hand side of the road 2.6 km further on (16 km from the Miraflores tranca). The
large, mostly barren, lake on the left is hard to miss. At La Cumbre
there is a small dirt parking area on the left just before the long descent. From this parking area, a small, rutted dirt track winds up to the
start of the Choro trail and several interesting
high-altitude lakes and bogs.
GPS reading at La Cumbre parking area: S 16 20.273' W 68
02.434'