Iglesia y Museo de San Lorenzo de Carangas
Potosí
The ornate mestizo baroque portal of this church, probably one of the most photographed in Bolivia, is an explicit expression of the mezcla (mixture)…
Must-see attractions in Bolivia
La Paz
In the lively La Ceja (Eyebrow) district, which commands one of the highest real-estate prices in El Alto for its commercial value, you’ll find a variety…
Bolivia
In a side gully, an hour’s walk southwest of Torotoro on the Cerro de las Siete Vueltas (Mountain of Seven Turns; so called because the trail twists seven…
Museo Casa Arte Taller Cardozo Velasquez
Bolivia
A family of seven artists – Gonzalo (sculptor), his wife María (potter) and their five daughters – open their whimsical house and art studio to visitors…
Museo Sacro, Folklórico, Arqueológico y Minero
Bolivia
An excellent double museum attached to Santuario de la Virgen del Socavón. Access is by guided tour only, beginning with a descent down from the church to…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Built in 1709, the elaborately restored cathedral on the east of the plaza has an overhanging roof supported by 121 huge tree-trunk columns and a similar…
Sucre
Housed in a beautifully restored 17th-century building with a picture-perfect colonial courtyard, the Museos Universitarios consist of three separate…
Bolivia
A challenging 19km hike around the Cerro Huayllas Orkho, or more commonly a drive in a 4WD vehicle from Torotoro, will take you to the ruins known as the…
Bolivia
Cañon del Inca, 8km west of Tupiza, makes a great destination for a half-day hike via Quebrada Palmira, a normally dry wash flanked by tall and precarious…
Amazon Basin
North of town at the large Laguna Isirere, you can go fishing and swimming, observe the profuse birdlife and watch the gorgeous sunset. It’s accessible on…
Amazon Basin
A stone’s throw from the road and a 40-minute walk from El Porvenir is Totaizal. This friendly and well-organized village of 300 people is the closest to…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
This museum is inside the impressive Centro Cultural Ernesto Che Guevara, which was completed in 2016 in time for the 50th anniversary of Che's death the…
Amazon Basin
This 37-hectare wildlife refuge houses more than 200 free-range poached or injured critters, and another 300 or so in enclosures. Those who run free …
Museo Antropológico Eduardo López Rivas
Bolivia
Located south of the city center, this anthropological and archaeological museum is worth the hike. The fascinating hodgepodge of exhibits includes…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
In 1995, 28 years after Che’s death, a soldier who carried out the burial revealed that Che's body lay beneath Vallegrande’s airstrip. After two years of…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Santa Ana church, with its wooden altar and reed roof, is more rustic than others on the mission circuit and recalls the first churches constructed by the…
Museo Costumbrista Juan de Vargas
La Paz
The Museo Costumbrista Juan de Vargas contains art and photos, as well as some superb ceramic figurine dioramas of old La Paz. One of these is a…
Santa Cruz
Although the original cathedral on Plaza 24 de Septiembre was founded in 1605, the present structure dates from 1845 and wasn’t consecrated until 1915…
Uyuni
The only real attraction in Uyuni, Cementerio de Trenes is a rusty collection of historic steam locomotives and rail cars dating back to the 19th century,…
Sucre
Sucre’s cathedral dates from the middle of the 16th century and is a harmonious blend of Renaissance architecture with later baroque additions. It’s a…
Monumento Escultérico Virgen del Socavón
Bolivia
Oruro's teleférico zips passengers on a three-minute journey from Plaza del Folklore up to the towering statue of Virgen del Socavón, perched atop Cerro…
Las Cuevas del Rio San Cristobal
Bolivia
A short 3km round-trip hike down the road past Altai Oasis takes you to these small caves by the river where rural farmers used to sleep before market…
Salar de Uyuni
Although it is now closed to overnight visitors, you can still check out the salt sculptures inside and the Dakar Rally and Flag Monuments outside (add…
Lake Titicaca
This hillside gate (named 'the Incan Gallows' by the Spaniards) is a fascinating pre-Incan astronomical observatory, surrounded by pierced rocks that…
Potosí
Construction of La Catedral was initiated in 1564 and finally completed around 1600. The original building lasted until the early 19th century, when it…
La Capilla de Nuestra Señora de Jerusalén
Potosí
This church is a little-known Potosí gem. Originally built as a humble chapel in honor of the Virgen de Candelaria, it was rebuilt more lavishly in the…
Santuario de la Virgen del Socavón
Bolivia
Dedicated to the Virgen de Candelaria (the patron of Oruro miners), this small church is a colorful 19th-century reconstruction of the 1771 original and…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
The first mission church at San Ignacio de Velasco, founded in 1748, was once the largest and most elaborate of all the mission churches. It was…
Amazon Basin
Trinidad’s loveliest feature is Plaza Gral José Ballivián, with its tall, tropical trees, lush gardens and community atmosphere. You can spend a pleasant…
Tiwanaku
The star of the show at this Tiwanaku museum is the massive 8m Monolito Bennett Pachamama, rescued in 2002 from its former smoggy home at the outdoor…
Sucre
Sucre’s immaculately maintained cemetery is evidence that inequality doesn't die when we do. Mausoleums of wealthy colonial families and their descendants…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
This series of three beautiful waterfalls on a turbid mountain river plunge 45m into a dreamy tropical lagoon. La Pajcha has a sandy beach for swimming…
Amazon Basin
Sleepy San Buenaventura sits across the Río Beni from Rurrenabaque, watching all the busy goings-on, but content with its own slower pace. The Centro…
Lake Titicaca
The summit can be reached in half an hour and is well worth the climb, especially for a view of the sunset. The trail begins near the church at the end of…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Swiss priest Martin Schmidt designed the present church, which was constructed between 1749 and 1752. Restoration work was completed in 1992 to beautiful…
Amazon Basin
Created by Conservation International in 1982 as a loosely protected natural area, this 334,200-hectare park was recognized by Unesco in 1986 as a ‘Man &…
Bolivia
At the foot of Cerro Polques lies Termas de Polques, a small 29.4°C hot-spring pool, and an absolute paradise after the chilly salar nights. Although they…
Sucre
Wondering why millions labored for centuries under terrible conditions, and still do, including in mines around nearby Potosí? Check out the highly…
Isla del Sol
Just uphill from the ferry dock at Yumani, along the beautifully reconstructed Escalera del Inca (Inca stairway), you’ll pass plenty of terraced gardens,…
Bolivia
This amazing house-museum is the quirky home of a man who has spent years of his life pacing the cerros (mountains) with a rockhound’s eye. The house is…
