Health

• Bolivia requires a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate at some borders.
• Whilst a rabies vaccine is advisable as many stray dogs around the larger Andean cities have rabies, each of the refuge animals are quarantined and vaccinated.
• At the time of writing (June 2011) according to Fit for Travel there are no known cases of malaria contraction at the refuges.
• All these issues are down to personal consideration of the risks. We cannot offer advice as we do not have the expertise.
• At Parque Machía bottled water is easily available. At Parque Ambue Ari most drink water untreated from the well and at Jacj Cuisi water is drinkable straight from the stream, but you may wish to bring purifiers.
• Mosquitoes and sand flies share the jungle with us. If you would like to use repellent, only 100% natural repellent is allowed (chemical types poison the animals). The natural repellent may be hard to find, so start looking as soon as possible - bring it from home if you can.  Citronella is a natural repellant which some people find useful. In Abue Ari repellent (even natural) is ONLY permitted in the evenings, not suring work hours. Work clothes are adviseable to cover up and available at all three refuges.

Travel and Transport:

• On entering Bolivia most foreigners have access to a 30 day visa. In any major city this can be upgraded to 90 days. All non-nationals are now only permitted to enter Bolivia for 90 days in every calender year. To stay longer than 90 days, officially volunteers must apply for residential status. Overstaying a 90 / 30 day visa will occur a daily charge of approximately 15Bs per day ($2US), and is payable on exit.
• Be aware that Bolivian public services are occasionally disrupted by road blockades- this may be something you need to ask about before you set off on the bus. The blockades aren't dangerous- they just block the route. Information is usually available in the press about a week before, should you be trying to plan (particularly if you have flights to get to)

 

top