Zzip The Flying Fox by Xotic Yolosa Zipline SRL

Tour Itinerary

This exciting Zipline starts in Yolosa, La Paz, Bolivia. This small town is at the end of the World's Most Dangerous Road mountain bike ride, and many people choose to do the zipline after their ride. However it is also possible to do the zipline if you are visiting Coroico (20 minute taxi ride to Yolosa). Day trips including bus transportation from La Paz (3 hours) and back are also possible, we will post these on Hostelworld as soon as we can.

The tour itself takes one hour from Yolosa to return to Yolosa, including transport to the first Base, putting on equipment, receiving safety instructions, and doing all three sections of the Zipline. The Zipline is open from 10am until 4pm every day.

This adventure activity, known in English as a "Zipline" or a "Flying Fox" or in Spanish as a "Tirolinea/maroma," consists of traveling rapidly along cables suspended above a valley or forest through the use of a harness and pulley system attached to the cables. A more detailed description can be found in Wikipedia.

"Zzip the Flying Fox" has been constructed to provide an especially exciting version of this activity with long stretches of steel cable (464m , 505m y 587m respectively - 1555m in total) suspended hundreds of meters above the valley floor and tensioned to enable participants to reach speeds of up to 85km/hr.

"Zzippers" descend sitting in a harness that is attached to the cable via a pulley and various security tapes.

"Zzippers" also wear a helmet and thick gloves. After descending at full speed the natural curve of the cable slows the "Zzipper" before they arrive at the next base station, or the "Zzipper" can apply a brake to slow down more.

From its inception "Zzip the Flying Fox" was designed to exceed the international safety standards of the American A.C.C.T. (Association for Challenge Course Technology). The cables used are high quality ½" diameter cables with a steel core (6x19) manufactured under ISO9001 and Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance and shipping standards and are guaranteed to resist more than 12,600 kg of force. The cables are attached to solid steel towers constructed with three railway tracks welded together into a triangular structure and buried 3.2m into a 15 CUBIC meter cement, steel and rock base. Each base is additionally supported by three subsidiary steel cables attached to an additional cement, steel and rock base of 10 cubic meters buried deeply into the ground behind the towers.All safety equipment used (helmets, carabineers, harnesses- Black Diamond, pulleys - Petzl) are from international brands and are certified to support 20-30KN and to comply with the standards of the UIAA or the CE.

Local guides have been in training for more than five months in how to safely operate this activity as well as more generally in rescue, first-aid, and other skills.