Caranavi

Caranavi lies at around 600 metres in the lower Yungas, hot and humid, and it is the hub of Bolivian coffee: most of the country's arabica is grown in the hills of this province by smallholders on plots of a few hectares, at altitudes between roughly 1,200 and 1,800 metres, and the cherries and parchment come down to Caranavi for processing and export. Bolivian coffee has a strong reputation among specialty roasters and a small production, and quality has risen sharply since growers began separating lots and processing carefully rather than selling into a bulk market. Farms and cooperatives in the hills receive visitors by arrangement. The town itself is functional, a trading centre on the road north toward Rurrenabaque.

What you actually see

• Smallholder coffee farms - plots on the hills above the town.
• Processing - depulping, fermentation and drying at the cooperatives.
• The trading town - buyers, transport and the road north.
• Yungas hills - steep green country around the valley.

When to go

Harvest runs roughly from May to September and is when farms are working and visits are worthwhile. That is also the drier season for the roads. Outside harvest there is little to see.

Honest expectations

Farm visits must be arranged in advance through cooperatives or exporters; the town has no tourism infrastructure. It is hot, humid and insect-ridden. The road from La Paz is long and prone to landslides. Prices paid to growers are a fair thing to ask about.

Nearby

Coroico lies southwest; Rurrenabaque is far to the north.