MAIRANA YUNGAS

These photos were taken more than four years ago, and are from a site known as Yungas de Mairana, at three hours by road, west from the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in the eastern limit of the Bolivian Yungas system. In this extremely humid place has grown ​​a forest dominated by ferns and epiphytes that is truly magical, these are photos to prove it.

You can get to La Yunga from the town of Mairana, from where you have to climb about twenty kilometers. La Yunga is basically on the other side of the hills surrounding Mairana. One of the most impressive things about this trip is the contrast of the extreme humidity of the Yunga valleys, with the dry forest on the slopes overlooking the town.

The atmosphere into the forest is just amazing and really worth the trip. Trails are enabled, and you can hire guides at the village of Samaipata wich is also near. Four years ago, the services and facilities were working really well

As in other montane forests, the clouds filter the sunlight, creating a "misterious atmosphere" that gives a lot to play with.

Of course, just a few hours in La Yunga de Mairana, are not enough to get an idea of how valuable this forests really are in terms of biodiversity, or to compare them with other cloud forests I know better, as the ones at Zongo River. However, its beauty is simply unmatched, and this jungle is probably the most photogenic I know.