Private Forest Conservation

Private Forest Conservation Monte De Jose

Private Forest Conservation

About the Owner

His name is Jose Mitterer, in Germany I’m called Josef or Sepp. I was born as the oldest of five children in a little village in South-Bavaria and grew up on my parents’ farm. Even as a little boy I was fascinated about nature. We spent our days strolling around the woods in the neighbourhood and my fathers forest was the first experimental field to learn about creating more biodiversity

In Germany I was trained as a metalworker and carpenter. Then I felt the call to discover the even more fascinating nature of the Tropics and 1983 went to Bolivia, joining in different projects about development assistance. Here I found my new home and after a few years could realise my dreams and buy my own piece of forest. Using a specific system of reforestation I could enlarge the forest and lead it back to more naturaleness and biodiversity. Planting lots of primary trees – the subsequent forest giants – I use the time while they are slowly growing to cultivate inbetween plants to eat like Bananas, Mangos and coffee, in a strictly organic way, using no chemicals or fertilisers.

With finishing the hostel hopefully my project will be on the safe financial side, helping me to preserve and may be even enlarge this precious piece of land in the neighbourhood of a fast progressing society. I live here together with my son Andrés and the tame Macaw called Lorena.

Do you love nature, do you like to get up to the singing of birds, to the sounds of a subtropical rainforest, and breath its fresh air? Then you are right here. Hostal Bosque de José is situated near Buena Vista, a 2 hours drive from Santa Cruz (look at the map). Here you will find a cosy little guesthouse with four bedrooms in the middle of a subtropical rainforest. You can discover the the whole variety of nature right in front of your main door. The sounds of the forest will accompany you while eating, taking a rest in the hammock outside and even in your dreams.

Although 17° South at 400m above sea-level the climate is nice and mild. You can enjoy Sepp’s expert guiding or stroll around yourself on the little footpaths throughout the forest to discover things. Or just sit on the veranda, soak up the forest atmosphere and listen to frogs and cicadas. Butterflies, bats and birds can be just as easily watched as arbillas(kind if squirrels) and different species of monkeys that often come right up to the front door. If you are patient enough you might be lucky to see a sloth, wild pigs and deer, or a wild cat. You can find many orchids and other colourful flowers.

While walking around the forest you’ll also discover many exotic cultivated plants spread between the forest vegetation. So you can enjoy at José’ s house self-picked bananas, sun-ripened mangos, ginger, curcuma and cocoa, as well as self- harvested and home-roasted coffee – everything organic of course. José is an experienced guide with a lot of enthusiasm for the forest and its inhabitants. For sure you will soon be infected by his love and care for the woods.

The guesthouse is a good place to start tours in the surroundings like to the nearby Amboró National Park, which is only 30km away. Also Sepp can give advise to you for your further travelling in Bolivia such as safety, local habit

Rooms & Facilities

Hostal Bosque de José is an ecofriendly guesthouse and offers 4 bedrooms for 2-4 people each. It has a friendly kitchen and diningroom for common use. The kitchen is equipped with gas stove and refrigerator and can be used for cooking your own meals. José makes breakfast himself – his “jungle-muesli” is legendary! For other meals you can choose if you want to cook on your own or have José do it. There is a spacious bathroom with hot water shower. A comfy veranda invites to laze and lie in the hammock. Internet access is basically awailable, but the connection is not always working (more reliable in town).

The nearest town is Buenavista, that can be reached after 5km on a public road. There are restaurants and bars, a nice and shady Plaza, shops, an internet store and telefone offices. José usually drives into town on workdays and can take people or do the shopping. There has been a brandnew bank built in Buenavista, but not opened yet (this was Jan. 2014). There should be all services offered in future, including ATM. Otherwise the closest ATM’s are in Yapacani (25 km direction Cochabamba) or Montero (50 km direction Santa Cruz). These places are accessible by trufi in ½ or 1 hour.

Day Trips

Bosque de José - Private Forest Conservation

Within José’s forest you can go on a walk of several hours. You can do this on your own or have him as a qualified guide. Since you only have to step out of the front door, it’s easy to use the hours of the early morning or before sunset, when the temperatures are moderate and animals are more active. You can even go on night excursions on paths that were made for that reason. José knows a lot about the area, about the habits of animals and the nesting and feeding places of different species. This increases your chance to spot wildlife. Some animals like Monkeys come quite close to the house, as they get fruits from time to time. Others, like sloths, are regular guests near the house, as well. They have learnt that people here won’t harm them.

Buenavista - Buena Vista

Buenavista is a peaceful little town on the main road from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba. It was founded in 1694 as a Jesuit mission for the local Chiriguanos. Today the town has about 5000 inhabitants.

The shady plaza in the Center is surrounded by cobblestone roads on which you find several restaurants and bars. Buenavista has been untouched so far from big supermarkets and mass tourism. So shopping means to mingle with the locals and buy everything you need in the numerous little shops or from street vendors. It’s very helpful to know some Spanish here, but also José can help and guide you around.

Thanks to the local dairy “Queseria Suiza” -owned by a Swiss - you don’t even have to miss all the different dairy products like fresh butter, cream, different sorts of cheese and yoghurt, that are often hard to find in rural areas in Bolivia.

Amboró National Park

This national park is located in the western part of the Department Santa Cruz, at the foothills of the Cordillera. It extends between 300 and 3500 m above sea level with an annual rainfall of 1400 - 4000mm.

Covering an area of 4,425 km², this park is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, being home to an enormous amount of different species of animals and plants. It extends across different vegetation zones from the subtropical rain forest to cloud forest, dry forest up to savannah vegetation. Especially the different forests types stand out by a great variety of flora and fauna, including many endemic species. There have been found about 2700 different plants, more than 800 birds and about 130 mammals, including pumas and jaguars, ocelot, the Andean bear and 43 species of bats.

The park is flanked to the north and south by two roads that connect the cities of Santa Cruz and Cochabamba.The older, southern route (via Samaipata) has been neglected since the opening of the major link in the north (via Buena Vista). Many dirt roads lead from the two main roads to the park boundaries. From here you can explore the park following trails or walking in river beds.

Buena Vista is the main starting points for a visit to the moist and tropical northern part of the park. From Hostal Bosque de Jose you can reach different camps at the park boundary to start your hikes in the Park, for example Camp la Chonta (30 km) or Camp Mataracu (70 km) in a one or two hours drive. Trips to the park are really worthwhile, whether you just go on a short walk and enjoy a cool bath in one of the rivers or you go on over night trips or adventurous excursions into the heart of the Park. José is an knowledgeable guide and expert on flora and fauna.

For more detailed information about the park refer to:

https://www.amborotours.com/amboro-park-tours.html#amboro-north-tour-details