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There are journeys and journeys that, once in a lifetime, deserve to be done: this is the case ofinca trail, the most famous trek in all of South America, measuring 43 km and retracing the footsteps of the Incas, from the Sacred Valley to Peru.
But there are also routes that, decidedly less known, stand as splendid alternatives to their more famous "brothers". In the case of the Inca Trail, the alternative is represented by Royal Range. Which is not found in Peru, but in Bolivia, and is much less touristy and inflated.
The starting point of the Cordillera Real – which takes its name from the mountain range of the same name, part of the Andes – is the Bolivian capital, La Paz . After a visit to the city we begin trekking real, and you go to discover alpine lakes and ancient ruins, camping in the Andes and then descending back to the valley, before returning to La Paz. To complete the entire route, including a visit to the city, the right time to calculate is about ten days: only in this way will the stages not be too tiring, and you will be able to immerse yourself without haste in the magic of the place.
Starting from La Paz, in an hour you can reach the ruins of the city of Tiahuanaco, on the south-eastern shore of Titicaca lake. It is thought that this was the main religious center of the civilization of the same name, a pre-Columbian civilization that lived in Bolivia, Chile and Peru in 600 BC, and then mysteriously disappeared: according to a study conducted by UNESCO with the use of special drones , Tiahuanaco would have a surface area approximately double that known today and all this increases the aura of mystery that reigns here.
Then there is nature, which is the true protagonist of the Cordillera Real: along the trekking route you can admire the Lago Chiara-Khota and Ajuani lake and then – continuing into the heart of the Andes and accompanied by the spectacular view of Huayna Potosi (a mountain peak always covered in ice, considered one of the most beautiful in the country) – the Laguna Jurikhota, Laguna Chiarkhota, lagoon Livonosa. In fact, there are many lakes that follow one another along this incredible route, which seems suspended in space and offers a break from time.
The stages on foot, along the Cordillera Real, are - on average - of 5 hours a day. There are equipped places to camp, and numerous tour operators who guide an otherwise not very simple route. The best time to organize the trip? Between May and October, when there is less chance of rain and the sky is generally clear. But you need to prepare for the cold, which at high altitudes can be very harsh, especially during the night.
