Sights and Activities
Below are the places we saw and activities completed while visiting Bolivia:
Copacabana
Copabana Cathedral: this cathedral, located in Plaza 2 de Febrero, resembled more a mosque with its sparkling Moorish-style, domes, and colorful azulejos (blue Portuguese-style ceramic tiles).
Costanera: we walked through this boardwalk along the Lake Titicaca shores that contains views of the highest lake on earth.
Cerro Calvario: we hiked through 14 stations of the cross to get to this beautiful look out point where we were able to see the entire city’s bay.
Isla del Sol
Yumani: this is the biggest town located in the south part of the island and where we were based during our visit to the island in Lake Titicaca.
Pilko Kaina: we hiked to these Inca ruins near Yumani that were camouflaged against a steep terraced slope. The stacked rocks seemed like a maze where the Inca’s would most likely store their crops.
Fuente del Inca: from the port we went up the ‘Escalera del Inca’ (Inca’s Stairs) passing a wonderful garden and finally arriving to a waterfall that shoots out of the earth, typical of other Inca water features.
Cha’llapampa: we went on a boat to this town located near the northern end. We hiked through the village, through nice beaches, and after 3.5 hours arrived back to Yumani.
Chincana Ruins: the largest set of ruins on the island features what was the Inca’s palace. We passed through a sacred rock and sacrifice table before entering the ruins.
La Paz
Monticulo Park: we hiked up to this park set on a hill that offered wonderful views of the city.
Plaza Eduardo Avaroa: located in the neighborhood of Sopocachi, an affluent area, the plaza is great for people-watching.
Iglesia de San Francisco: this stone basilica reflects a 16th-century Spanish and mestizo (a person of mixed indigenous and Spanish descent) trends.
Museo de la Coca: this small museum packs all the facts and details of this Andean tradition, from its indigenous use to the production of cocaine and Coca-Cola.
Mercado Lanza: we had lunch in one of many stalls set in labyrinth form in this food market.
La Paz Cathedral: we entered this ‘recent,’ 1835, addition to the city’s religious structures.
Museo de Etnografia y Folklore: great museum that featured different art work of the indigenous in the 20th century, a timeline of Bolivia’s history from prehistoric to present, and an exhibition on the birds of the Andes.
La Paz Cemetery: this large cemetery contains several structures to house passed loved ones. We spent about half-an-hour walking around seeing the different designs.
Mi Teleferico: an aerial cable car urban transit system opened in 2014. Currently three lines are in operation and seven more lines are in the planning stage. The first two lines connect La Paz with the neighboring city of El Alto. At 10 km (6.2 mi) in length, Phase One (the first three lines) was considered to be the longest aerial cable car system in the world upon its completion and Phase Two will extend the system length by some 20 km (12 mi). We rode on one of the lines to get a beautiful aerial view of the city.
Calle Jaen Museums: this beautiful, small, cobbled street is from the colonial times and now hosts four small museums in four distinct colonial houses.
- Museo Costumbrista Juan de Vargas: this Calle Jaen museum featured different traditional customs, such as carnival, and an exhibition on the way Cholas (indigenous women) dress.
- Museo del Litoral: this Calle Jaen museum proclaims Bolivia’s right to the sea that was lost in the War of the Pacific against Chile that started in 1879.
- Museo de Metales Preciosos: another Calle Jaen museum is home to indigenous, mainly Tiwanaku, ceramics, silver, gold, and copper artwork.
- Casa de Murillo: the last Calle Jaen Museum was about Pedro Domingo Murillo, a leader in the 1809 revolution against the Spanish, and also contained colonial furniture.
- Parque Raul Salmon de la Barra: we walked through the skywalks of this park that offered with great views of the city.
- Biking Tour on the Death Road: Sal went on this mountain bike tour that goes from La Cumbre to Coroico, starting at an altitude of 4700m (15,420 ft) with cold and cloudy conditions and finishing at 1200m (3937 ft) with hot and humid conditions. The mostly downhill, three-hour tour starts on a paved road for about an hour before entering the World’s Most Dangerous Road! The precipitous cliffs with up to 600m (1970 ft) drops helped obtain the title given by an Inter-American Development Bank report, citing an average of 26 vehicles per year that disappeared over the edge. Prior to March 2007, this was the only road access between La Paz and Coroico, but a new replacement road opened leaving the old dangerous road for cyclists, support vehicles, and the occasional tourist bus. There have been reports of cyclists’ accidents, including some deaths, but on this occasion the 63 km (39 miles) trail had no such encounter, just full of fun adrenaline rush.
Cochabamba
Plaza Colon: the second most important plaza in the city with a big fountain and one where we sat and people-watched.
Cristo de la Concordia: we took a taxi up to Cerro de San Pedro to witness the second largest Christ statue in the world and great views of the city.
Cochabamba Cathedral: located in the Plaza 14 de Septiembre, this cathedral began construction in 1571 and renovated in 1618 and again in 1701.
Plaza 14 de Septiembre: this well maintained plaza is the city’s main social center.
Convento de Santa Teresa: built in 1760, this baroque monastery is one of the older constructions of the city.
Santa Cruz
Parque El Arenal: this concrete park contains a lagoon in the center and a mural by Lorgio Vaca depicting the history of the city.
Plaza 24 de Septiembre: the main city plaza surrounded by colonial buildings.
Santa Cruz Cathedral: this cathedral was built by order of bishop Ramon de Herbosos in 1770.
Samaipata
El Fuerte of Samaipata: an archaeological site and UNESCO World Heritage, it is not actually a military fortification, but it is generally considered a pre-Columbian religious site, built by the Chane people, a pre-Inca culture. There are also ruins of an Inca city built near the temple which was built during the Inca expansion to the southeast. Both Incas and Chanes suffered several raids from Guarani warriors who invaded the region from time to time. Eventually, the Guarani warriors conquered the plains and valleys of Santa Cruz and destroyed Samaipata. The Spaniards also built a settlement near the temple, and there are remains of buildings.
Las Cuevas: we spent a few hours exploring these set of three beautiful waterfalls and several pools.
Museo Arqueologico Regional: this museum exhibits information on El Fuerte and the different indigenous groups that have used it.
Sucre
Casa de la Libertad: we took a short guided tour to learn about Bolivia’s independence and saw where the declaration of independence was signed on August 6, 1825.
Sucre Cathedral: this cathedral dates from the middle of the 16th century and is a harmonious blend of Renaissance architecture with later baroque additions.
Universidad San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca: this public university is the second oldest in the Americas. It was founded in 1624 by order of the Spanish King Philip IV. We walked around the main plaza and tried to replicate the photograph that is on one of the Bolivian currency notes.
Recoleta Viewpoint: this viewpoint is a plaza that is part of the Franciscan church. The panoramic views of the city are spectacular.
Museo de Etnografia y Folklore: this museum displayed several exhibitions such as masks used in ceremonies, feathers used in indigenous headgear, and on the Urus Chipaya, an indigenous group in Bolivia.
Potosi
Casa Nacional de la Moneda: we took a tour of the former location where the minting of colonial coins took place. Constructed between 1753 and 1773, it now hosts a museum with religious art, ancient coins, and wooden minting machines.
Torre de la Compañia de Jesus: this bell tower sits on what remains of the former Jesuit church that was completed in 1707.
Potosi Cathedral: construction of this cathedral was initiated in 1564 and finally completed around 1600. The original building lasted until the early 19th century, when it mostly collapsed.
Iglesia La Merced: one of the most impressive and fascinating features of this church is its intricately carved doorway, which features columns and crosses.
Ingenio San Marcos: this abandoned ruin of a smelter was once used to extract silver from the ore hauled out of Cerro Rico.
Convento de San Francisco: we walked by this convent that was founded in 1547 by Fray Gaspar de Valverde, making it the oldest monastery in Bolivia.
Arco de Cobija: this archway used to be the main south entrance of the city and was the border between the Spanish and indigenous zones. From the archway, we were able to have nice views of Cerro Rico.
La Capilla de Nuestra Senora de Jerusalen: this church was originally built as a humble chapel in honor of the Virgen de Candelaria and was rebuilt more lavishly in the 18th century.
Ojo del Inca: located near the village of Tarapaya, this ‘Eye of the Inca’ is a nice warm (30 C / 86 F) lagoon from a natural hot spring. We bathe for about an hour in the curative waters that Inca once relaxed in.
Uyuni
We took a three-day, two-night tour of an amazing area of the planet. We sights we visited included a Train Cemetery, where a large collection of historic steam locomotives and rail cars sit decaying and abandoned for the last 70 years; the village of Colchani to see some salt artwork; Uyuni Salt Flat, a pure white lake with a blue sky background; Isla Incahuasi, a beautiful island full of cacti and corral that once was underwater; Volcano Ollague Viewpoint; Lagoons Cañapa, Hediondo, Charcota, and Onda all with three different types of flamingos; Arbol de Piedra (Tree of Rock); Lagoon Colorada, a reddish lagoon colored by algae; the fuming Sol de Mañana Geysers; took a dip in the Polques hot springs pool; White Lagoon due to borax contained; Green Lagoon due to copper and arsenic; and Valley of the Rocks with many interesting rock formations. Be sure to read our article to learn more of this great experience and to see more pictures and videos.
Tupiza
Cerro Corazon de Jesus: a short hike up to this hill gave us lovely views of the city and the surrounding mountains.
Day Hike: the main attraction in this city was the spectacular surrounding scenery that we decided to visit on foot. We had an early start and walked by different rock formations such as Puerta del Diablo, Valle de los Machos, and Cañon del Inca. Then walked along the railway tracks for a while passing through a tunnel and getting to La Torre rock formation. Altogether we hiked for about 7 hours.
Tarija
- Museo de Arquelogia y Paleontologia: this museum provides a glimpse of the prehistoric animals, rocks, minerals, and the lives of the early peoples who inhabited the area by displaying dinosaur models, ancient animal skeletons, ceramics and funeral ceremonies.
Wine Tasting Tour: this area of the country is known as the highest altitude wine making region of the world and we did not pass up an opportunity to taste them. We took an organized tour to three different vineyards, Casa Grande where they explained the process of making wines and tasted their sparkling wine; Casa Real where they explained to us the process of making Singani, a liquor made of grapes, and then tasted it in a mixed drink called Chuflay; and La Casa Vieja where we tried their artisanal wines.
- Cañon de la Angostura: millions of years ago the Central Valley of Tarija was a big lake and a series of earthquakes made several changes to the earth. One of the changes was a rupture that made this narrow canyon with a river running through.
Casa Dorada: this was the home of a very wealthy businessman, Moises Navajas Ichazo, who left his 1930’s mansion as a memory to the city.
Cacharpaya: we went to this peña, a bar/restaurant/club where you listen to traditional music, where we ate, had wine, and listened to traditional music, such as cacharpaya and cueca.
San Jacinto Dam: this large dam created a large reservoir where there are several kiosk restaurants and we went to try small crabs, something that is traditional for locals to do on the weekends.
