Enjoying Bolivia 203A second category includes similar natural and cultural
treasures that used to be unaccessible but are now within
reach through organised eco- and ethno- tourism.
Finally, there are larger cities, rural paradises and
impressive ruins of ancient civilisations, easily accessible
via highway or air, but still offering fulfi lling discoveries and
culturally rewarding human contact.
This leg of our Bolivian adventure shares all three types of
experience. Beginning with the most inaccessible, we shall
see how untrained, non-professional adventurers have crossed
over prohibited thresholds into places reserved for the gods.
Can a Non-Professional Reach the Peak
of Mount Illimani?
Peter Hutchison came to Bolivia by accident. Back in England,
he had earned a degree in Latin American studies, yet in all
of his courses, there was no mention of Bolivia.
“It’s amazing to me,” he explains, “just how absent Bolivia
is from international awareness. It’s a brilliant secret.”
Peter was staying in Lima, Peru when friends of his decided
to travel to La Paz. Peter has never baulked at exploring a
new place, and the possibility of employment at an English-