Samaipata, Bolivia

Samaipata is a country town in the department of Santa Cruz in the South American Andes State of Bolivia. The town of Samaipata was founded in 1623. The name comes from Samaipata Quechua and means peace in height.

Location in near space

Samaipata is the seat of the administration of the province Florida and central location in the district ( bolivian: Municipio) Samaipata. The city is located in the eastern Andes Mountains at an altitude of 1646 meters in the foothills of the Cordillera Oriental, is at the headwaters of the Río Ahira the flows on the Rio Pirai, information on the Río Laja and thus directly associated with the Amazon basin.

Geography

Samipata is located in the transition zone between the Andes mountain range of the Cordillera Oriental to the west and the Bolivian lowlands to the east. The climate is due to the sheltered valley mild all year round and balanced, not as hot and humid as in the nearby lowlands. During winter months, cold winds ( Surazos ) can come from the Argentine Pampas. These winds cause temperatures below freezing. In summer the days are warm and the nights are cold.

The mean average temperature of the region is 18 ° C (see climate chart Samaipata ) and varies only slightly between 15 ° C in June / July and about 20 ° C in December and January. The annual precipitation is about 750 mm, with only a weak dry season from May to September, with monthly rainfall less than 35 mm, and a humidity season from December to February, 110-120 mm monthly rainfall.

Traffic network

Samaipata is located at a distance of 119 kilometers of road southwest of the capital of the department of Santa Cruz.

By Samaipata 488 km long highway Ruta 7, which connects Santa Cruz with Cochabamba runs. The paved Ruta 7 via La Guardia and La Angostura to Saimapata and then continue on Mairana and Comarapa to Cochabamba.

Population

The population of the town has risen in the past two decades to nearly double:

Due to the historically evolved population distribution, the region still has a certain amount of Quechua population in the municipality of Samaipata 15.5 percent of the population speak the Quechua language.

Tourism

The biggest attraction of Samaipata is about 6 kilometers east Perched on a mountain and protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site Fuerte de Samaipata. Furthermore, Samaipata Ausgungspunkt for touring the northern National Park Amboró.

Since 1996 Samaipata has twinned with Saalfeld / Saale.