Museum sights in Bolivia
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Coca Museum
Chew on some facts inside the small, slightly tired Coca Museum, which explores the sacred leaf’s role in traditional societies, its use by the soft-drink and pharmaceutical industries, and the growth of cocaine as an illicit drug. The displays (ask for a translation in your language) are educational, provocative and evenhanded.
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Mirador Laikakota
The Mirador Laikakota - part of Kusillo Cultural Complex & Children's Museum - is in a tranquil park setting and is perfect for kids.
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Museo & Convento de Santa Teresa
The fascinating Santa Teresa Convent was founded in 1685 and is still home to a small community of Carmelite nuns. One of them is an architect, and has directed a superb restoration project that has converted part of the sizeable building into a museum. The excellent guided tour (Spanish & English) explains how girls of fifteen from wealthy families entered the convent, getting their last glimpse of parents and loved ones at the door.
Entry was a privilege, paid for with a sizeable dowry; a good portion of these offerings are on display in the form of religious artwork.
There are numerous fine pieces, including a superb Madonna by Castilian sculptor Alonso Cano, and severa…
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Parque Cretácico (Cal Orck'o)
It seems that 65 million years ago the site of Sucre's Fancesa cement quarry, six kilometers from the centre, was the place to be for large, scaly types. When the grounds were being cleared in 1994, plant employees uncovered a nearly vertical mudstone face bearing over 6000 tracks - some of which measure up to 80cm in diameter - from over 150 different species of dinosaur.
While you once could go right up to the tracks, these days you have to be content with gazing at them from the brand-new Parque Cretácico (Cal Orck'o). This slick, family-friendly visitors centre has a couple of dozen scary life-size models of dinosaurs, as well as an audiovisual display and a restaura…
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Museo Arqueológico
The Museo Arqueológico has an excellent overview of Bolivia’s various indigenous cultures. The collection is split into three sections: the archaeological collection, the ethnographic collection and the paleontological collection. The first deals primarily with indigenous culture from the Cochabamba region. Look out for the Tiwanaku section; their shamans used to snort lines of hallucinogenic powder through elegant bone tubes. The ethnographic collection provides material from Amazonian and Chaco cultures including examples of non-alphabetized writing, which is from the 18th century and was used to bring Christianity to the illiterate Indians. The paleontological collect…
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Isla del Sol
The Island of the Sun is the legendary Inca creation site and is the birthplace of the sun in Inca mythology. It was here that the bearded white god Viracocha and the first Incas, Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Huaca (or Mama Ocllo), made their mystical appearances.
With a population of around 5,000, Isla del Sol is dotted with several villages, of which Yumani and Cha'llapampa are the largest. The island's Inca ruins include Pilko Kaina at the southern end and the Chincana complex in the north, which is the site of the sacred rock where the Inca creation legend began. At Cha'llapampa, there's a museum with gold artifacts from the underwater excavations near Isla Ko…
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Museo de la Catedral
The four sections in the museum are unlocked as your visit progresses to reveal Bolivia's best collections of religious relics. In the entry room is a series of religious paintings from the colonial era. Next, a chapel has relics of saints, and fine gold and silver chalices. The highlight, however, is the Capilla de la Virgen de Guadalupe, completed in 1625.
Encased in the altar is a painting of the Virgin, the city's patron, and a woman of means. She was originally painted by Fray Diego de Ocaña in 1601. The work was subsequently coated with highlights of gold and silver and adorned in robes encrusted with diamonds, amethysts, pearls, rubies and emeralds donated by wealt…
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Museo Sacro, Folklórico, Arqueológico y Minero
The Museo Sacro, Folklórico, Arqueológico y Minero is an excellent double museum attached to the Santuario de la Virgen del Socavón. Access is by guided tour only, which descends from the church down to an old mining tunnel with various tools from both the colonial and modern mining eras as well as representations of the devilish El Tío, spirit of the underground. The tour then goes upstairs to the other part of the museum, which has a variety of exhibits, from Wankarani-period stone llama heads to Diablada costumes. Guides are knowledgeable but you should be aware that they don’t speak English; however, some exhibits have bilingual explanations.
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Iglesia de San Francisco
The hewed stone basilica of San Francisco reflects an appealing blend of 16th-century Spanish and mestizo (indigenous-Spanish) trends. The facade is decorated with stone carvings of natural themes while the mass of rock pillars and stone faces in the upper portion of the plaza is intended to honor Bolivia's three great cultures - Tiahuanaco, Inca and modern.
The cloisters and garden of the recently opened Museo San Francisco, adjacent to the basilica, beautifully revive the history and art of the city's landmark. There are heavenly religious paintings, historical artifacts, an interesting anteroom and a Godlike, if quirky, view from the roof.
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Museum
Near Plaza Murillo, this museum - Museo Nacional del Arte is housed in the former Palacio de Los Condes de Arana. This stunning building was constructed in 1775 of pink Viacha granite and has been restored to its original grandeur, in Mestizo (mixed) baroque and Andino baroque styles. In the center of a huge courtyard, surrounded by three stories of pillared corridors, is a lovely alabaster fountain. The various levels are dedicated to different eras, from pre-hispanic works to contemporary art, with an emphasis on religious themes. Highlights include works by former Paceño Marina Nuñez del Prado. There are regular temporary exhibitions on the ground floor.
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National Mint
The National Mint is Potosí’s star attraction and one of South America’s finest museums. Potosí’s first mint was constructed on the present site of the Casa de Justicia in 1572 under orders from the Viceroy of Toledo. This, its replacement, is a vast and strikingly beautiful building that takes up a whole city block. It was built between 1753 and 1773 to control the minting of colonial coins; legend has it that when the king of Spain saw the bill for its construction, he exclaimed ‘that building must be made of silver’ (expletive presumably deleted). These coins, which bore the mint mark ‘P, ’ were known as potosís.
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Museo Antropológico Eduardo López Rivas
At the south end of town adjacent to the zoo, the Museo Antropológico Eduardo López Rivas is an anthropological and archaeological museum well worth a visit. The fascinating hodgepodge of exhibits includes mastodons, Carnaval costumes, stone-carved llama heads, mummies from the chullpares (funerary towers) that dot the region and skulls exhibiting the horrific cranial deformations once practiced on children. Take any micro (minibus) marked ‘Sud’ from the northwest corner of Plaza 10 de Febrero or opposite the train station, and get off just beyond the old tin-foundry compound.
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Museum of Religious Art
Located in the Santa Clara Convent, this museum of religious art, founded in 1639, contains several works by Bolivian master Melchor Pérez de Holguín and his Italian instructor, Bernardo de Bitti. In 1985 it was robbed, and several paintings and gold ornaments were taken. One of the canvases, however, was apparently deemed too large to carry away, so the thieves sliced a big chunk out of the middle and left the rest hanging. The painting has been restored but you can still see evidence of the damage. Guides may also demonstrate the still-functional pipe organ, which was fabricated in 1664.
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Museo Nacional de Arqueología
Two blocks east of the Prado, this museum holds a small but well-sorted collection of artifacts that illustrate the most interesting aspects of the Tiwanaku culture’s five stages – those that weren’t stolen or damaged during the colonial days. Some of the ancient stonework disappeared into Spanish construction projects, while valuable pieces found their way into European museums or were melted down for royal treasuries. Unfortunately there are no explanations in English, only Spanish. Also holds excellent temporary exhibitions.
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Museo de los Niños Tanga-Tanga
On the same square as La Recoleta, and set in a beautiful building, this excellent interactive children's museum focuses on renewable energy sources. Highlights include the botanical gardens and explanations of Bolivian ecology. The museum also hosts cultural and environmental programs, including theater performances and ceramic classes. The attached Café Mirador is a great place to relax while enjoying the best view in town.
The adjacent Ananay handicrafts shop sells unique high-quality artesanías, including especially cute children's clothing.
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Textile Museum
Fans of Bolivia’s lovely traditional weaving consider this small textile museum - Museo de Textiles Andinos Bolivianos, a must-see. Examples of the country’s finest traditional textiles (including pieces from the Cordillera Apolobamba, and the Jal’qa and Candelaria regions of the Central Highlands) are grouped by region and described in Spanish. The creative process is explained from fiber to finished product. The gift shop sells museum- quality originals; 90% of the sale price goes to the artists.
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Museo Costumbrista Juan de Vargas
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 representation of akulliko, the hour of coca-chewing; another portrays the festivities surrounding the Día de San Juan Bautista (St John the Baptist’s Day) on June 24; another depicts the hanging of Murillo in 1810. Also on display are colonial artifacts and colorful dolls wearing traditional costumes. A pleasant cafe is on the premises.
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Cementerio de Trenes
Uyuni's only other real tourist attraction is the Cementerio de Trenes, a large collection of historic steam locomotives and rail cars, which are decaying in the yards about 3km southwest of the station along Av Ferroviaria. There have long been plans to turn the collection into a railway museum, but that seems a pipe dream and they'll most likely just keep on rusting. Many tours visit the train cemetery as a first or last stop on the four-day salar circuit.
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Museo de Instrumentos Musicales
The exhaustive, hands-on collection of unique instruments at this museum is a must for musicians. The brainchild of charango master Ernesto Cavour Aramayo, it displays all possible incarnations of the charango (a traditional Bolivian ukulele-type instrument) and other indigenous instruments used in Bolivian folk music and beyond. You can also arrange charango and wind instrument lessons here for around B$50 per hour.
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Basílica de San Francisco
The Basílica de San Francisco was founded in 1606 and is now a national monument. The 16th-century convent library and archives, which may conjure up images from The Name of the Rose, can be used only by researchers who have been granted permission by the Franciscan order. Inside the basilica, the free Museo Franciscano Frey Francisco Miguel Mari displays ecumenical paintings, sculptures and artifacts.
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Museo Mineralógico
On the university campus south of town, the Museo Mineralógico houses a remarkable collection of more than 5200 minerals, precious stones, fossils and crystals from around the world, housed in wooden cabinets amid a series of stairways, exposed bricks and glass. Hop on minibus 102 or 2 or any micro marked ‘Sud’ or ‘Ciudad Universitaria’ from opposite the train station or Plaza 10 de Febrero.
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Iglesia de San Martín
The rather ordinary-looking Iglesia de San Martín was built in the 1600s and is today run by the French Redemptionist Fathers. Inside is an art museum, with at least 30 paintings beneath the choir depicting the Virgin Mary and the 12 Apostles. The Virgin on the altarpiece wears clothing woven from silver threads. However, San Martín is outside the center and is sometimes closed, so phone before traipsing out here.
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San Francisco Convent
The San Francisco Convent was founded in 1547 by Fray Gaspar de Valverde, making it the oldest monastery in Bolivia. Owing to its inadequate size, it was demolished in 1707 and reconstructed over the following 19 years. A gold-covered altar from this building is now housed in the Casa Nacional de la Moneda. The statue of Christ that graces the present altar features hair that is said to grow miraculously.
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Museum of Indigenous Arts
This superb museum of indigenous arts is a must for anyone interested in the indigenous groups of the Sucre area, focusing particularly on the woven textiles of the Jalq’a and Candelaria (Tarabuco) cultures. It’s a fascinating display, and has an interesting subtext: the rediscovery of forgotten ancestral weaving practices has contributed to increased community pride and revitalization.
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Museo de la Catedral
The cathedral's air-conditioned Museo de Arte Sagrado has a collection of religious icons and artifacts but very little typical religious art. Most interesting are the many gold and silver relics from the Jesuit Guarayos missions. There's also a collection of religious vestments and medallions, as well as one of the world's smallest books, a thumbnail-sized volume containing the Lord's Prayer in several languages.
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