While the Salar de Uyuni tour is Bolivia's biggest draw, Rurrenabaque is likely a close second. Many tourists to Bolivia quickly hit these two major sights then move on to more user-friendly countries. Everywhere we went people were coming from Rurre or heading there.

Rurrenabaque is a small town occupying an enviable location at the outskirts of Parque Madidi Nacional, the most easily-accessed park in Bolivia's piece of the Amazon Basin. Travelers come to tour the pristine jungle obviously, but other popular options are visiting the pampas, a wetlands area brimming with wildlife, or spending time in an eco-lodge, which generally benefit one of the local indigenous tribes.

The pampas tour involves 3 days of slow drifting in the wetlands with animals so close they practically pose for photos, "hunting" anacondas, catching piranhas for dinner and swimming with pink river dolphins. Because the Amazon jungle can be visited from other countries, most cross-continent long-journey travelers focus on the pampas—at least those who are not also visiting the somewhat similar Pantanal in Brazil (although the Pantanal also extends into Bolivia, near Santa Cruz).

Pulling up to the lodge at sunset

Mashing rice in the Tacana community

That was our original goal as well, but because of time constraints and difficulty in choosing an agency, we went with the eco-lodge at San Miguel del Bala, which ended up being a wonderful experience for the most part. As part of that trip, we also took a few hours to hike in the jungle, which unfortunately was not as impressive as I'd hoped.

The best part of the experience was visiting the local community of Tacanas, a warm and welcoming people. At $60/day, San Miguel del Bala seemed to be the cheapest eco-lodge in town, which means the great majority of tourists choose the much more economical jungle, pampas, or combo tours.

Check out San Miguel del Bala's website for more info (requires Flash):

San Miguel del Bala

The best part of the tropics...hammock time!

Rurre town itself didn't do it for me, but some people absolutely adore it. People stay in the sweltering town for months on end, hanging out at the local gringo bars and slowly swatting bugs in the intense heat. However, the extremely touristy scene did not intrigue me and the humidity was stifling. While I enjoyed the eco-lodge and the opportunity to visit a different clime in Bolivia, I was also happy to cut our visit short, stop sweating for a while, and return to the gorgeous mountain scenery.

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