Sorata

Sorata is a country town in the department of La Paz in the South American Andes State of Bolivia.

Location in near space

Sorata is the administrative seat of the province Larecaja and central place of the district ( bolivian: Municipio) Sorata. The city lies at an altitude of 2721 m at the mouth of the Río Challa Suyu in the Río San Cristobal, open the water in the further course in the Río Mapiri.

History

The location of colonial origin was a meeting place for prospectors, rubber barons and freedom fighters in the 19th century.

Geography

Sorata is located in the high mountain range of the Cordillera Real on the western foothills of the Massif Illampú.

Due to the subtropical climate, with average temperatures between 15 ° C and 20 ° C and an annual rainfall of 650 mm of the land for agricultural cultivation is particularly suited to the surrounding steep slopes stretches a rich vegetation and green fields.

Traffic network

Sorata is located northwest of the capital La Paz and is about 130 road kilometers away from this.

From La Paz the paved highway Ruta 2 leads in a northwesterly direction 70 km to Huarina, then branches north along Ruta 16 from reaching 23 km Achacachi. One kilometer behind Achacachi branches off to the northeast from a road towards Sorata, which goes through the village Warisata 8 km away. The road then leads through a pass of 4,270 m and overcomes a distance of 30 km to Sorata an altitude difference of 1,500 m. Behind Sorata, the road continues after Mapiri in the Yungas on the eastern edge of the mountain range of the Cordillera Central.

Population

The population of the city has increased in the past two decades by more than a third:

Due to the historically evolved population distribution, the region has a high proportion of Aymara population in the municipality of Sorata 92.2 percent of the population speak the Aymara language.

In the past, the population has repeatedly protested by violent resistance to the Bolivian central government. So the city was blocked, for example, in the summer of 2005 for weeks in protest against the planned privatization of the oil reserves of the country.

Tourism

The small town is today starting point for many sporting activities in the region, such as canyoning, mountain biking and fishing. But first and foremost it is considered as climbing and hiking paradise. Paths from pre-Columbian expect Sorata as the Illampú - trail in the mountain massif of Illampú and Ancohuma, and the Mapiri path in the sub-tropical Yungas valleys northeast of La Paz 10 kilometers away from Sorata are the caves of San Pedro with interesting stalagmite and stalactite formations and an underground lake, as well as a significant bat population.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Humberto Viscarra Monje, composer