Changes

Ruta 4 runs east-west across the length of Cochabamba Valley and is the primary route eastward and descending to the lowlands of the department of Santa Cruz.  Continuing east from the city of Cochabamba it remains heavily urbanised for a further dozen kilometres, first passing through the city of Sacaba, the second largest in Cochabamba departmentDepartment.

Still There is a tollbooth before Sacaba there is a toll booth, (search Peaje Huayllani, ) but it is still so deep in the urban fabric, on the busiest highway in the department between its two largest cities, that it really doesn’t make much sense to hitch there. 

Similarly, while there are gas stations along the route through this area, your chances of getting a ride at any of them are no better than in any such urban areasetting. There are three gas stations past Sacaba where it would be better to try your luck: ES Villa Obrajes, ES Trans Sacaba, and Surtidor Chiñata. All are on Ruta 4 and it’s around two kilometres walking from first to third. All three get traffic from truckers, assuming there is gasoline to pump, and if there’s no gasoline they line up and wait, making asking even easier.

To get there from central Cochabamba you can get grab a Trufi, of course. According to Trufi App, the 212 runs from La Cancha central market along Aroma, up Oquendo, and then turns northeast on Aniceto Arce to pass the narrow beneath the Cristo de la Concordia toward Sacaba and out to the above gas stations.

OJO: There are MANY different routes that operate under the number 212, and not all go as far as these gas stations. The town nearest just beyond them is Catachilla, which can be used as a further reference point when asking if they make it that wayfar. The Trufi App lists many of the different routes when searching by the route number 212, but not all trufis use standardised names and descriptions. [[User:Movethathoof|Movethathoof]] did not realize this and ended up at the end of a road parallel to Ruta 4 but way up the slope of the northern foothills. He ended up taking another Trufi to the entrance of Sacaba, and from there found another, with a different number, that got him the rest of the way.

Just beyond the third gas station, Surtidoe Surtidor Chiñata, there is a traffic light where you can also hitch (also a good option alternative if the gas stations have run dry). That's where [[User:Movethathoof|Movethathoof]] ended up getting his ride, almost as soon as he stuck out his thumnbthumb, right to Santa Cruz. The first tollbooth of any real use (appearing as 'Puesto de Control y Peaje - Aguirre' in Google Maps) is still another 25 kilometres ahead, by which point you've probably got a ride already, but though it could be useful to trade up to a longer one.