The only thing missing was a silver six-shooter slung over cowhide chaps. Together with my cowboy hat and poncho, I could have been an outlaw in the badlands of Bolivia. I could have been Butch Cassidy or the Sundance Kid.

Saddling up on the outskirts of Tupiza, a frontier mining town in far south-west Bolivia, it was impossible not to sink into the same romantically rugged imagery that lured Butch and Sundance back to lawlessness after a stint of the straight life as ranchers in Patagonia and Chile.

Dusty winds whipped up around me, racing across the desert cactus landscape before disappearing up rust-coloured canyons. It’s easy to understand why Butch and Sundance – made world famous by the 1969 movie of their exploits starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman – fled here: it was a reminder of their Wild West roots in North America. And with numerous train lines, mines, banks and payrolls, it also provided cash targets.

It was here, on 4th November in 1908, that the bandits forever emblazoned their names in the sands of outlaw history when they held up the Aramayo Mining Company payroll as it was delivered to workers in the north.

Today, the valleys, gorges and trails of this hauntingly beautiful Andean outpost whisper legends of the outlaws’ gun slinging adventures including what became their final hold-up and bullet-riddled demise. For many travellers, being able to trace the pair’s last days in authentic posse fashion is one of South America’s most unforgettable horseback adventures. Riding through barren passes up to Huaca Huanusca (Dead Cow Hill), the isolated hold-up site fifty kilometres north of Tupiza, I suspected my mount wouldn’t quite match the speed or obedience of Sundance’s steed, his surely thundering across the harsh country with the urgency of a bullet at its rider’s back.

Sensing a beginner in its saddle, my stubborn horse was happy to plod along under the crystal blue sky knowing there were no lawmakers bent on justice to hurry it along. Nor for that matter a master astride with anything near the horsemanship that Butch and Sundance were renowned for.

My guide, a twelve year old local who confidently rode bareback as though he was the son of Sundance himself, smiled at my attempts to raise a canter, let alone a full gallop. Still, the more prosaic pace gave me plenty of time to take in the impressive mountain scenery. Ten shades of brown mixed with long shadows created by strange, weather-shaped cliffs that soared above. Cartoon-like cactus fields flashed brilliant green among spindly, low-growth bush. I waited for the tumbleweed to blow by. Instead, a farmer trundled past on his ancient donkey cart, headed back to town on perhaps the same route used by Butch and Sundance as they rode up to the ambush site, plotting their getaway.

Butch and Sundance met with little resistance as they surprised the payroll donkey train from behind a large rock on the creek-bed trail cutting through Dead Cow Hill, a picture postcard spot for a hold-up if ever there was one. Not one shot was fired. The prize for their brazen but courteous robbery was eighty thousand pesos, today’s equivalent of roughly half a million US dollars. Leaving their victims stunned but unharmed, Butch and Sundance circled around, staying high in the Cordillera de Chichas as they tried to shake off the posse of police and angry armed miners quickly recruited to help retrieve their own payroll. Fleeing through ravines the pair escaped south, skirting Tupiza before heading further west. Here the countryside is a palette of geographical drama where towering rock faces and distant ranges constantly change their vivid earthy hues as the burning sun crosses from horizon to horizon.

Riders can only marvel at how the fleeing pair managed to safely navigate through the hundreds of valleys and gorges, all the while not having a moment to stop and wonder at the Dali-esque landscapes of Puerta del Diablo (Devil’s Door), Valle de Los Machos (Valley of the Matches) and Canon del Inca (Inca Canyon) as they galloped further into the mountains.

After two days on the run, Butch and Sundance arrived in the tiny mining settlement of San Vicente, 119 kilometres from Tupiza and over 4,000 metres up in the Andes. Hungry and tired they decided to rest. Figuring they were for the moment safe, and unaware of a posse closing in from the northern mining centre of Uyuni, they found lodging in a local’s adobe-bricked house. After paying for food and drink with wads of illicit cash, the host became suspicious and, under the pretext of buying beer, he headed straight to a nearby army post to inform the commander of his gringo guests. And the gun battle was on. Bullets rained on the small house as soldiers and miners surrounded the hapless outlaws. Heavily out manned and gunned, they were trapped. As the sun rose, silence prevailed. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were found dead on the floor, riddled with lead. After nearly twenty years of run-ins with the law, they had finally run out of luck, not riding into a blazing sunset on horseback as they’d dreamed, but in a blaze of bullets in a small house high in the Andean mountain desert. Butch had shot his badly wounded partner, putting him out of his misery after Sundance was hit so many times he couldn’t lift an arm to return fire. Then, with a final bullet, Butch shot himself.

The bodies of Butch and Sundance remain in San Vincente despite being exhumed from their simple, unadorned graves for DNA testing. The shoot-out house also remains but bullet holes have long been covered and, as a private residence, visitors are denied the chance to stand where the bandits fell, to picture their last, defiant moments cut down in a hailstorm of Wild West justice. Instead, you’re left to imagine the desperate final stand of America’s most notorious outlaws from the viewpoint of the sheriff and his army posse outside. Maybe it’s a better cowboy fantasy anyway. After all, the lawmakers lived to return home with tales of gun-slinging adventure in the Bolivian badlands, just like those who ride in the hoofprints of Butch and Sundance today.

Fact File: Getting there Varig Brazil, Iberia and American Airlines offer flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick to La Paz, Bolivia (with connections). Prices start at £750 return fare.

Travellers get from La Paz to Tupiza by train and/or bus. The best option is a daily bus from La Paz to Oruro and then the impressive Expreso del Sur service (£80 and worth every penny for the landscapes alone) to Tupiza leaving every Monday and Friday. There’s also a local train, the Wara Wara Del Sur, leaving Oruro every Wednesday and Sunday. Book ahead using a travel agent in La Paz.

Alternatively buses leave from La Paz travelling via Potosi to Tupiza, leaving daily. Distances are long so expect at least a day and a half travelling time from La Paz. A stop over at Oruro, Uyuni or Potosi is recommended.

Accommodation
Hotel Mitru is the biggest and best hotel in town offering a range of accommodation to suit most budgets. Prices begin at ?6.50/?10 for a basic single/double rising to ?35 plus per person for a plush apartment room.

Contact
Tupiza Tours (details below) or see www.tupizatours.com/serviciosi.html.

There are several other cheap options in town with rooms from £3 single. Try Hostel Valle Hermoso, Avenida Pedro Arraya 478.

Tours From the UK: Outlaw Trails offers numerous Wild West horse trek adventures around the world including two South American trails. See www.outlawtrails.com or contact Outlaw Trails, 39 Mt Pleasant, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, TN1 1PN. Tel: (0)1892 515612. Email: info@outlawtrails.com.

From Bolivia: Tupiza Tours offers several sightseeing options from one to four day adventures including the full Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid experience incorporating horse rides to the Huaca Huanusca hold up site, surrounding countryside and a trip to San Vincente where Butch and Sundance died in the final shootout. Prices start at £70 per day including lunch for jeep/horse combinations. Horses can also be rented for as little as £2 an hour. The agency also offers jeep rides, bike rides, city tours and accommodation in small villages en route. Tours of Salar de Uyuni can also be arranged from Tupiza. Contact Tel 591-2-6943001 Av Chichas 187, Tupiza, Bolivia Email: tpztours@cedro.pts.entelnet.bo Web: www.tupizatours.com

Reading
Digging up Butch and Sundance by Daniel Buck and Anne Meadows (Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press, 1996) is a highly recommended account of the life and times of the outlaw duo.

Other books include Butch Cassidy, A Biography by Richard Patterson, Sundance, My Uncle by Donna Ernst and The Outlaw Trail: A Histaory of Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch by Charles Kelly. Available from www.amazon.com. Lonely Planet Guide to Bolivia (4thEd.), Donna Swaney (2001).

Web www.explorebolivia.com – offers wilderness adventures in Bolivia and provides a good list of suggested reading. www.boliviaweb.com – information for travellers heading to Bolivia. www.saexplorers.org – up to date information on Latin American travelling conditions, language schools and trip planning. www.lastfrontiers.co.uk – excellent information and advice for travelling in South America.

Film
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Available from www.amazon.com.

13 June 2005