Bolivia Guide
The Amazon
Trinidad
Close to the Río Mamoré, some 500km northwest of Santa Cruz, the city of TRINIDAD is the capital of the Beni and the commercial and administrative centre of a vast wilderness hinterland of swamp, forest and savanna where rivers remain the main means of transport and cattle-ranching is the biggest industry. Like most towns in the region, Trinidad was originally a Jesuit mission, but few signs of that past remain, and it's now a modern commercial city that's dominated by a vigorous cattle-ranching culture and economy. Hot and humid, with few real attractions, Trinidad doesn't really merit a visit in its own right, and though you can organize excursions into the surrounding rainforest, it's more difficult and expensive than in Rurrenabaque, where the forests are also more spectacular and better preserved. It is, however, the jumping-off point for an adventurous trip by slow boat down the Río Mamoré to Guayaramerín on the Brazilian border.