Note: Javascript is disabled in your browser.
To see the gallery in all its glory, you'll need to enable Javascript.
Introducing Bolivia
Simply superlative – this is Bolivia. It’s the hemisphere’s highest, most isolated and most rugged nation. It’s among the earth’s coldest, warmest, windiest and steamiest spots. It boasts among the driest, saltiest and swampiest natural landscapes in the world. Although the poorest country in South America (and boy do Bolivians get tired of hearing that), it’s also one of the richest in terms of natural resources. It’s also South America’s most indigenous country, with over 60% of the population claiming indigenous heritage, including Aymará, Quechua, Guaraní and over 30 other ethnic groups. Bolivia has it all…except, that is, for beaches.
Advertisement
This landlocked country boasts the soaring peaks of the Cordillera Real around Sorata and the hallucinogenic salt flats of Uyuni, the steamy jungles of the Amazon Basin and wildlife-rich grasslands of the Southeast. Unparalleled beauty is also reflected in its vibrant indigenous cultures, colonial cities such as Sucre and Potosí, and whispers of ancient civilizations. This is exactly what attracts visitors, and with good reason. Bolivia is now well and truly on travelers’ radars; opportunities for cultural and adventure activities and off-the-beaten-path exploration have exploded. But while most travelers stick to the well-worn paths of the Altiplano, there’s plenty to be found elsewhere, including the tropical east and the lowland regions in the south.
Bolivia’s social and political fronts have been in flux since the appointment of the country’s first indigenous president. Optimism is generally high, especially among the indigenous majority, although many changes are afoot. Protests, marches and demonstrations are a perpetual part of the country’s mind-boggling landscape. This is a truly extraordinary place. Put on your high-altitude goggles, take a deep breath (or three) and live superlatively.
Make it happen
Ready to go? These recommended tours make it easy:
- explore Peru and Bolivia including the Inca Trail
- journey from Bolivia to Brazil
- travel from Cusco To La Paz
- Want more? Choose from a wide selection of similar trips in Bolivia
Last updated: Oct 23, 2009
Tips & articles
-
Our 5 favourite carnival spots
5 February 2010
It was party time for the Romans. It was party time for the Christians. And it’s still party time...
-
Top ten South American reads: a literary trip
30 July 2009
Fiction was invented the day Jonas arrived home and told his wife that he was three days late because...
-
Fly me to the moon: Planet Earth’s best unearthly landscapes
20 July 2009
How’s this for a space oddity? Forty years have passed since the historic Apollo moon landing,...
Bolivia
Our Top Picks For Bolivia
-
1 Salar de Uyuni
An eerie, otherworldly sea of salt that will haunt your daydreams for years to come
-
2 Potosí
A wealth of colonial churches with fabulous paintings, and miners looking to strike it lucky in hell
-
3 Sorata
Alluring spot for action or inaction, for exhilarating treks or swinging in a hammock
-
4 Parque Nacional Torotoro
Thousands of dinosaur tracks criss-cross this rough and rugged beauty of a national park
-
5 Samaipata
This picturesque, laid-back town is the gateway to the pre-Inca site, El Fuerte, and stunning Parque Nacional & Área de Uso Múltiple Amboró
Fast Facts about Bolivia
- Birth rate
23.3 births/1000
- Literacy rate
87.2%
- Population below poverty line
64%
- Merchant marines
25 ships
- Annual military spending
US$130 million
- Highest point
Nevado Sajama 6452m
- Population
8.9 million humans, 3 million llamas
- Airports with unpaved landing strips
1068
- Average annual income
US$2900
Our favourite Bolivia Blogs (beta)
-
Climate Change hits Kiva Borrowers in Bolivia
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 23 December 2009
By Suzy Price Marinkovich, KF9 Bolivia “In a world that is hot—a world that is more and more affected by global warming—guess who is going to suffer the most? It will be the people who caused it the least—the poorest people in the world, who have no electricity, no cars, no power plants, and virtually no factories [...]
-
Cocaine and Microfinance
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 10 December 2009
By Suzy Marinkovich, KF9 “Coca is green, not white like cocaine.” – Evo Morales The Chapare, the Yungas, the DEA, USAID, cocaine, drug trafficking, alternative crops, forced eradication, Evo Morales. These are the buzz words constantly attached to Bolivian articles on the both domestic and foreign-aided drug war against cocaine production. While tough to get the [...]
-
28 Things That Are Funny
Blog: REID ON TRAVEL - 3 December 2009
1. Sandwiches2. Pants3. Spirals4. Large beaked animals5. Calgary6. Falling down7. Gerbil attacks8. Fig bars
