Surrounded by the peaks of the Andean Plateau and overlooked by the 6402m Mt. Illimani, La Paz is a truly breathtaking city whose buildings sprawl across the surrounding canyon, reaching altitudes of up to 4100m. While the sight of the city is reason enough to visit, La Paz holds a number of attractions sure to keep tourists fascinated. Take a walk along Calle Jaen, a colonial street lined with museums, explore the city's cathedrals or wander through some of the colourful markets, including the 'Witches' Market' where llama foetuses and dried frogs can be found for sale.
The tiny town of Colchani is primarily a salt production centre, and is located on the border of the Uyuni Salt Flat, 80 kilometres northwest of the city of Uyuni. However, in recent years this remote hamlet has gained traction on the tourist circuit for its striking vistas of the salt flat and its authentic Bolivian culture. When you’re not out on the pan absorbing the views and taking photographs, wander through the tiny main street, which is dotted with vendors selling original handicrafts, or take a tour of one of the salt processing plants to see the industry on which the town is built. There is also a tiny museum, built entirely of salt and housing exhibits crafted from it.
Potosi, located in Bolivia's southern highlands, became famous after 1545 when silver was discovered by the Spanish in the Cerro de Potosi mountain. The city was the site of the Spanish colonial mint and the largest and wealthiest in the region. As well as being a functioning mine, today the Cerro Rico is also home to several impressive industrial monuments such as artificial lakes, aqueducts, and the 'barrios mitayos' that the miners called home. Visitors can tour the cooperative mine and then explore the town’s grand churches, mansions and monasteries - atmospheric and beautiful evidence of long gone wealth and the reason for Potosi’s is World Heritage site status.
Sucre holds the honour of being Bolivia’s capital and is also considered the nation’s most beautiful city. Set in a valley in the south-central region of the country, Sucre enjoys an eternal spring – perfect weather for walking its narrow streets and discovering a city that remains almost exactly as it was a century ago. The UNESCO World Heritage site is home to some of the best examples of Spanish colonial architecture in South America, and the white-washed facades of the buildings have earned Sucre the title of “The White City”.
Bolivia’s largest city and one of the world’s fastest growing urban centres, Santa Cruz is home to a diverse mix of people; from trendy yuppies and Japanese rice farmers to indigenous migrants from the Altiplano. Visitors to the eastern tropical city can play in Equipetrol - an old wealthy neighbourhood that has since become a vibrant nightlife hub - or relax in the town square with the cruceños (as the locals are known), or spend some time discovering the many cultural and historic sites.
The largest island on Lake Titicaca, the “Island in the Sun” is an ancient holy Inca site with over 80 ruins dating back to the 15th century AD. The rocky piece of land can only be explored by foot and there are several walking tracks to help visitors get around. Among the Inca monuments, tourists will find the Inca Table, a platform thought to have been used for human sacrifices; the remains of a two-story palace; and a set of rock impressions dubbed The Footsteps of the Sun. The island also boasts an Inca gold museum and a spring that the Spaniards thought to be the fountain of youth.
