Volunteer Work Projects and Adventure Expeditions

  Bolivia

Sucre

  Peru

• All Other Areas in Peru: 
Machu Picchu

Durations of Program: 2-4 weeks and 5-8 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 5-8 weeks

Description: Weekend One - Hacienda Siete Cascadas

For the 1st weekend the team will only need to take a short bus journey outside of Sucre to reach the Hacienda. The weekend will be spent taking in the stunning mountain scenery whilst hiking up the seven waterfalls with a local guide, and swimming in the refreshing pools. Back at the Hacienda it's time to relax in the beautiful grounds, take a swim, and enjoy the delights of a Bolivian BBQ and bonfire as the sun goes down.

Weekend Two - Potosi Silver Mines

One of the legacies of the Spanish colonisation of South America was the huge wealth of precious minerals which were extracted from the ground across the continent. A prime example of this is the Cerro Rico of Potosi, right next to the town of the same name. The mountain once had a vein of silver running through it about a mile wide. Most of this silver is now adorning the many churches and cathedrals of the Iberian peninsula but locals are still digging away through the mountain in search for any elusive remains. A visit to these mines is an extremely thought provoking experience.

Weekend Three - The Uyuni Salt Flats

If you do nothing else before heading off on this weekend, make sure you stock up on plenty of camera film. This weekend we are heading off to experience one of the wonders of South America. 4x4 Land Cruisers will take us up over 4,000m across terrain unlike anything you have ever seen before. Green and red lakes, deserts looking like you have stepped into a Salvador Dali painting. But don't use the pictures all up before you get to the salt flats themselves - a real highlight!

Once in the jungle however, things take on a completely different pace. From Rurrenabaque we take long boats up the Beni and Tuichi rivers in search of caiman, turtles and capybara basking on the muddy river banks. As night closes in we search for a quiet lake or lagoon to serve as our campsite, from which we can go hiking in search of monkeys, armadillos, sloths and, if we are very lucky, the elusive jaguar. After a few days we switch locations to the pampas, flooded forest in which birds of all different shapes and colours can be seen, and if you bring your 'cossie', you might be tempted to hop in and go swimming with pink river dolphins.

Puno and Lake Titicaca

Time to say goodbye to Bolivia and search out those passports again as we cross back into Peru - territory of the Incas.

The next few days offer a break from the physical rigours of Andean trekking and instead introduces you and your team to everyday life within the Andean communities of Lake Titicaca. Relaxing on the roof of a motorboat we circle the floating reed islands of the Uros Indians. On the more stable island of Taquile, the Chief of the Aymara Indians decides which families we all stay with for a couple of nights. Become a member of the family and after a traditional evening meal zip off for some fast and furious dancing with the locals. Alternatively corner Pedro for a beer!

The Inca trail to Machu Picchu

By now your Team is supremely fit and ready for anything. Even so, the next few days are going to put each member of the Team through a series of pain barriers.

For one, let's start off with white water rafting' shooting class 3 and 4 rapids, descending into the 'Sacred valley of the Incas'. We cover in one day what is normally achieved in two.

Highlights: Sucre is Bolivia's official capital city. However, due to its relative isolation amongst the Andes, it has remained reasonably small. Even with a population boom in the 1980's following the collapse of the tin mining industry in the surrounding countryside, the population has still barely risen above 100,000, which has helped earn its reputation as the country's most beautiful city.

Right in the heart of the city is the "Casa de Lenguas", a beautiful old colonial building which will be your Spanish school for the next three weeks. "Home" is just a few blocks away in another converted colonial building, giving you a lovely walk through the cobbled streets each morning!

As for exploring the city and surrounding areas, three weeks is just not enough! Mountain biking through the nearby villages, tracking dinosaur prints in the desert and heading into local market towns is just a selection - there will never be a dull moment!

Qualifications: none

Cost in US$: please inquire for specific dates

Experience Required: no

Age Range: 18+

This Program is open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel Independently Or in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• In-Person Interview Required

Quest Overseas's Mission Statement: Quest Overseas are specialists in providing worthwhile volunteer projects and professionally led adventure expeditions to Africa and South America (inc Brazil). We have gap year, sabbatical, underseas and tailor-made (for groups) trips.

Year Founded: 1996