Tuni Pico Austria

If your hotel or hostel is in central La Paz, we'll pick you up there at 7:00am before departing by car en route to our starting point. We'll pass through altiplano, a landscape of high Andean plateau, and the city of El Alto, once a mere suburb of La Paz, as well as the village of Tuni as we enter into the majestic Condoriri Valley and reach our trek's starting point. The trip should take about 2 hours. With a warming cup of mate de coca to steel ourselves against the cold and altitude sickness, we'll initiate our trek at 14,426 feet.

In the first part of the trail is a simple, gradually ascending walk during you'll see grazing llamas and Isca Khota Lake, from where we'll have an impressive view of Condoriri. Our trek will then continue en route to Lake Chiar Khota at 15,419 feet. This is a peaceful and gorgeous lagoon where we'll rest and enjoy the views.

From the lake, we'll exit the valley of Condoriri as we continue on towards the summit. It will take us about 1½ to 2 hours to make it to Austria Peak (making it a 3 hour climb overall), steadily climbing in a switchback pattern until we reach the ridge which will take us to the summit. Once at the summit, you'll be treated to striking views of peaks of Condoriri Range, the left flank of Condoriri Peak with its glacier, and on a clear day across to Huayna Potosí. You'll find that the hike is not difficult; many consider it to be an excellent climb for acclimatizing prior to tackling other peaks.

The descent shouldn't be any more than 3 hours, and we'll arrive in La Paz around 6:00 or 7:00pm.