Background
In the past I trekked extensively in Nepal, including the long version of the Everest Base Camp Trek. When I first arrived to the Andean High Plateau, the resemblance I found between Bolivia and Nepal was striking. The Andean Mountains seemed to be a replica of the Himalayas minus 2000m (~6700 feet). The Andean High Plateau had several similarities to the Tibetan Plateau, just north of Nepal. People in both countries looked similar and both built their homes with uncovered red bricks. I imagined long treks.
Infrastructure
Soon I found that the similarities were just that. Nepal is superbly organized for trekking. Guesthouses are available in most villages and teahouses split the distances among them; a bed in a guesthouse usually costs around a dime, with the condition that the guest eats at the same house. Superb maps and guidebooks are readily available. It is possible to trek while carrying very little equipment on the back and enjoy complete freedom among the highest mountains on earth. In Bolivia the situation was completely different. Usually, guesthouses are available only in the county's capitals; all other villages do not offer any accommodations. The xenophobic Bolivian culture does not encourage the villagers to be kind to paying visitors. Moreover, food is not available in those villages, except for basic grocery shops selling mainly bread; since Bolivian bread is bromated, it is not a good idea to rely on it. Hence, the only real option for trekking in Bolivia is through one of the travel agencies.
Free Trekking
Trekking with a guide is opposed to the spirit of the sport. It implies a carefully planned trajectory, coordination with endless official bodies, choosing paths suitable for the accompanying mules. Moreover, it does not allow spontaneous changes in the route and it brings the constant presence of a sometimes unwelcomed guide. Bolivian treks take the fun out of trekking.
Close-Circuit Treks
Close-circuit treks begin and end at a given location. Some fifteen of those are offered from Sorata. All of them include mountain views, splashing in lakes and visiting Aymara communities. They can take anything from a few hours to two weeks. For example the Three Lakes trek takes four days, while the Illampu Circuit takes a whole week in which that mighty mountain is surrounded. Many treks are named the "Camino del Inca" (Inca Trail), but the name has a very weak relationship with reality. The cost is calculated per day. The guide/cook plus a mule cost a bit above fifteen American dollars per day; a tent will add $2.5/d, a sleeping bag $2/d and a mattress $0.6/d. The most expensive trekking areas in Nepal - the high ones surrounding the Everest - would provide luxury conditions for half that amount and better views.
Open-Circuit Treks
Open-circuit treks begin and end at different locations. The Cordillera Real trek begins at Sorata and ends in Coroico - at the eastern side of the Cordillera Real. It can take up to twenty days of walking along the northern side of the range. A different kind of trek would be the one from Sorata to Mapiri, a village next to a river deep within the Amazonian Basin; this trek takes about a week. The costs are calculated similarly to the close-circuit treks.
My Own Trek
In my last visit to the area I checked out the possibility to do an independent trek. I enjoyed the advantage of having where to stay in the villages; wherever there was a Lutheran Church, I had a place to sleep. I chose a short itinerary composed of two kinds of terrain. The first day I went from Sorata - the county's capital - to Millipaya, a village at the Illampu Mountain's base. Walking among the villages was an easy task performed along the riverbeds. Unpaved roads with gentle slopes connected them and provide awesome views of the area.
Millipaya is one of the highest villages in the county and is located very close to the rocky summit of the Illampu. After a well-earned sleep, I walked up the mountain almost until the glaciers area of the rocky summit. I refused to use the zigzagging trucks-and-mules road and walked straight up, letting the omnipresent summit guide my way.
I was rewarded with close encounters with llamas. I managed to surprise an eagle-looking predator. I found a few wild waterfalls. Villagers planting one of the myriad types of potatoes native to the area stopped their work to gossip about the "choco" (a gringo with brownish hair), which had appeared from nowhere.
The walk was done in luxury conditions. All my belongings were left in Millipaya; I was treating the event as a feasibility study. Soon it became clear that water wouldn't be a problem - at least on the northern slopes of the range - and that bringing iodine pills or fine filters to purify it would be enough. However, the food and sleeping issues remained open. There were no easy solutions, especially since the population in Bolivia is so thinly scattered and basically uncooperative on such matters. Back in Millipaya, I began planning my next trip to Nepal.