San Miguel del Bala Community Tour

The adventure begins in Rurrenabaque, where we'll meet in the morning at the arranged time and then set off for the dock where our motorboat will be awaiting us. It's a scenic 45 minute trip up the Beni River to the village of San Miguel del Bala, which the indigenous Tacana tribe calls home. We'll enjoy a welcome drink of tropical fruits upon our arrival at our community-run eco-lodge and then accommodate ourselves in our private cabins. Then we'll set off with our local guide along some jungle paths whiles he teaches us the tribe's traditional trapping techniques. After our introduction into life in the jungle, we'll return to the lodge where local cooks will have a tasty lunch waiting for us. After lunch we'll explore the village, stopping at the guide's home and the local school, learning how the weaving is done, how to make thatched roofing, how to make juice from sugarcane, and seeing how the tourism project has improved lives in the community.

You'll hear the singing of the tropical birds as we awake in the morning to an appetizing breakfast. On this day we'll set off by boat upriver on the Beni, heading for the mouth of a stream where we'll disembark. From here we'll hike for 20 minutes to a waterfall and pool where we can jump in for a refreshing dip. After lunch back at the lodge, we could do one of two activities, depending on group preference. The first option is to learn about the medicinal uses of local plants while exploring jungle paths with our guide, and the second alternative is to embark on a short or 3 hour trek through a 150 meter long canyon. After our afternoon excursion, we'll bid farewell to newfound friends and depart by motorboat back downriver to the town of Rurrenabaque, where we'll arrive between 5:00 and 6:00pm.