Pando, Bolivia

Pando, Bolivia is remote and the least populated departments in Bolivia. It has a hot humid climate, with temperatures commonly above 27 degrees Celsius (80 Fahrenheit) and is located in rain forest region of Bolivia, where the main economic activities are agriculture, timber and cattle.

The poverty level of its inhabitants is high, due largely to a lack of roads effectively linking the province to the rest of the country and the presence of tropical diseases typical of life in the Amazonian rain forest.

Culturally, the Pandinos are considered part of the so-called Camba culture of the Bolivian lowlands. That is, in habits, attitudes, and speech, they are similar to the people of the country's other 2 tropical departments, Beni and Santa Cruz.

Since Pando is in the rainforest region it has many navigable waterways and some that lead to the Amazon River. Until recently Pando was accessible only by boat or air, but now a road cut through the rainforest runs from just south of Riberalta to Cobija, the department capital of Bolivia.

Cobija

Cobija has two airports

Founded in 1906 as Bahia, Cobija was settled during the rubber boom. With the discovery of synthetic rubber came the decline in production and the town soon declined also.