Mountain Madness guide Shayan Rohani has scouted Bolivia’s remotest corners for a decade. His most exciting discovery happens to be his latest: the 18,040-foot Cordillera Apolobamba. Mining roads, all freshly paved, grant travelers unprecedented access to the region (what was once a two-day journey from La Paz now takes just six hours). But those same roads will fast change an ancient way of life. "We have a special window open to us," says Rohani. "We can explore the land and meet people who haven’t yet been impacted by the mining." Clients visit indigenous Kallawaya farmers and nomadic shamans. Aspiring peak baggers then learn climbing basics and take on 19,406-foot Cololo and 18,600-foot Cuchillo; others hang back for short hikes, scoping for alpacas, vicuñas, and condors. The group descends together by mountain bike on the eastern slopes of the range, lush with quenua trees (the highest-altitude tree in the world), dropping 10,000 feet along dirt roads through three climate zones—alpine, cloud forest, and finally the Amazon jungle.

Outfitter: Mountain Madness; mountainmadness.com
Price: $3,500
Length: 12 days
Departs: June–August

Next: Ecuador: Galápagos Gone Green