How to Travel Bolivia's Ruta del Che from Santa Cruz to the Chaco

Aug 16, 2010
Karin-Marijke Vis

School in la Higuera where Che Guevara was held - Coen Wubbels

The Che Guevara Trail leads along Che's burial site in Vallegrande, El Churo Stream where he was captured, down to Camiri where his captors were based.

In 1966 Che Ernesto Guevara returned to South America with the intention to liberate the Latin American countries from "yankee liberalism". However, even before the struggle really started he was captured and executed in Bolivia. The 850 kilometres long Ruta del Che, the Che Guevara Trail, will take travellers along points of interest from Vallegrande via La Higuera to Camiri through a marvellous mountainous landscape with numerous places of commemoration.

Che Guevara's Death in Bolivia

After his conquest of Cuba with Fidel Castro and his attempt to convince the Congo of his beliefs, Che Guevara returned to his native continent, South America. He decided to set up base in Bolivia with the intent to change the political system there as well as in the surrounding countries.

As the Che Guevara Museum in Vallegrande shows with black-and-white pictures, Che Guevara entered Bolivia illegally. He used a passport of a Uruguayan friend and disguised himself by shaving off his hair and wearing large black glasses. Once inside the country he set up a training camp in preparation for the great conquest with the aid of several aspirant-guerrilla fighters. However, even before the conquest really started he was captured and executed in 1967 near the village of La Higuera, in the province Santa Cruz.

Places of Commemoration in Vallegrande, Santa Cruz

From the city of Santa Cruz it takes six hours by bus to reach Vallegrande – a lovely colonial town situated at 2100 metres amid the splendid Andean foothills. The local museum "La Ruta del Che" in the Casa de la Cultura in the central plaza is a good start to gain more information on Che Guevara, who is often seen as a symbol of struggle.

Adjacent to the museum is a small travel agency that organises guided tours to Che Guevara's secret burial place and another grave where Che's comrades had been buried, "La Fosa de Guerrilleros".

Che Guevara's Place of Capture and Execution in La Higuera

There are regular buses to Sucre that will stop in Pucará, 43 kilometres south of Vallegrande. Pucará is a quaint village giving a feeling of stepping back in time. This is the place to organise transport to the remotely located pueblo of La Higuera, situated deep in the mountains. Take a taxi, organise a hike or rent a horse with a guide to cover the 15 kilometres through breathtaking landscapes.

Along the route are several signs indicating places of significance, such as the Quebrada del Churo. It was at this stream where Che Guevara and seventeen comrades were captured on October 8, 1967. The Churo Stream is about an hour’s walk down from the road.

At the time of Che Guevara's death about eighty families lived in La Higuera. Since then many have moved to the city, leaving behind a tiny hamlet where about twenty families still have their home. With the influx of tourism during recent years some have found an escape from life as farmers and there are now several accommodations and eateries to be found.

The central plaza of La Higuera features an amalgam of statues, commemoration plaques and graffiti declaring loyalty to Che. The village walls are covered with quotes from the bearded icon, such as "Podrán morir las personas pero jamás sus ideas" ["people will die but their ideas never will"]. Adjacent to the plaza is the old school building where Che Guevara and his men were held captive for one day before they were executed. The school features a small museum with pictures and paraphernalia, and levies an entrance fee of ten bolivianos [about 1 US dollar].

When in luck, travellers may encounter one of the elderly of the village who has memories of Che Guevara and his days in this region.

El Ruta del Che to Camiri, in the Bolivian Chaco

Camiri is at the far end of the Che Guevara Pilgrimage and lies in the arid, scrub-covered region known as the Chaco. Here travellers can visit the buildings of the fourth division of the army who at the time were involved in the search for Che. There are several prison cells where Che Guevara's guerrilla fighters were held captive. At the time of writing this site was under development to make it a bigger tourist attraction.

After years of world-wide commercialising by others of Che Guevara in terms of merchandising, Bolivia has now also discovered there is money to be made in the promotion of this controversial figure. Vallegrande and La Higuera both attract large numbers of tourists who visit Che Guevara's place of capture and execution and, over the years to come, more places of commemoration will no doubt be added to the "Ruta del Che" all the way down to Camiri.

Travellers to South America who are interested in Che Guevara may also want to visit the following attractions: