Sights in Bolivia
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Calacala
The atmospheric Calacala makes a worthwhile trip from Oruro. The site consists of a series of rock paintings of llamas and humans in red and orange tones, presumably dating to the first millennium BC. It’s located under an overhang 2.5km beyond the village of Calacala, which is 26km east of Oruro. Stop in the village to locate the guard who has the keys and collects the fee; she can often be found in the small cafe marked by a rusted Pepsi sign. The site itself is a 30-minute walk past the village, near the old brewery. The views from the site of the exceptionally beautiful valley, which provides some of Oruro’s water, are spectacular. There’s no public transport unless…
reviewed
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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…
reviewed
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Museo de la Catedral
This museum - Museo de la Catedral holds one of Bolivia’s best collections of religious relics. There are four sections, ritually unlocked as your visit progresses. In the entry room is a series of fine religious paintings from the colonial era. Next, a chapel has relics of saints, and fine gold and silver chalices. The highlight, however, comes in the Capilla de la Virgen de Guadalupe, which was completed in 1625. Encased in the altar is a painting of the Virgin, the city’s patron. She was originally painted by Fray Diego de Ocaña in 1601, but the work was subsequently coated with highlights of gold and silver and adorned in robes encrusted with diamonds, amethysts,…
reviewed
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Calle Quijarro
North of the Iglesia de San Agustín, Calle Quijarro narrows as it winds between a wealth of colonial buildings, many with doorways graced by old family crests. It's thought that the bends in Calle Quijarro were an intentional attempt to inhibit the cold winds that would otherwise whistle through and chill everything in their path. This concept is carried to extremes on the Pasaje de Siete Vueltas - 'the passage of seven turns'.
During colonial times Calle Quijarro was the street of potters, but it's now known for its hat makers. One millinery worth visiting is that of Don Antonio Villa Chavarría (Quijarro 41).
The intersection of Calles Quijarro and Modesto Omiste,…
reviewed
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Pulacayo
At this virtual ghost town, brilliantly colored rocks rise beside the road and a mineral-rich stream reveals streaks of blue, yellow, red and green. The silver mines north of the village finally closed in 1959, and today only a few hundred hardy souls remain. There are several kilometers of mine tunnels to explore.
Also worth seeing here is the mill that spins llama wool into cloth, and the mansion of the 22nd President of Bolivia, Aniceto Arce Ruíz. Nearby is a collection of decaying steam locomotives that were originally imported to transport ore. They include Bolivia's first steam engine, El Chiripa, and the train that was robbed by legendary bandits Butch Cassidy and…
reviewed
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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…
reviewed
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Valle de la Luna
About 10km down the canyon of the Río Choqueyapu from the city center, Valle de la Luna is a slightly over-hyped place, though it’s a pleasant break from urban La Paz. It could be easily visited in a morning or combined with another outing such as a hike to Muela del Diablo to fill an entire day. It isn’t a valley at all, but a bizarre, eroded hillside maze of canyons and pinnacles technically known as badlands. Several species of cactus grow here, including the hallucinogenic choma (San Pedro cactus). Unfortunately, urban growth has caught up to the area, making it less of a viewpoint than it otherwise might be. Note: readers have reported muggings in recent years,…
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Museum Casa Arte Taller Cardozo Velasquez
A family of seven artists – Gonzalo (sculptor), his wife María (potter) and their five daughters – open their whimsical little house and art studio to visitors. The tour includes a peek into their workshop, the many nooks and crannies with artsy bric-a-brac and a leafy patio with Gonzalo’s fascinating sculptures (check out the one in the middle, devoted to Pachamama). If you’re lucky, you may even get a tea made with medicinal herbs from their courtyard garden. On Sunday mornings, the family goes out to the streets to paint with children. Every first Friday of the month, they hold a k’oa ceremony, an Andean ritual that pays respect to Pachamama, which you are…
reviewed
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Museo de Pariti
This tiny island, surrounded by totora-reed marshes, made world news in 2004 when a team of Bolivian and Finnish archaeologists discovered ancient Tiwanaku ceramics here in a small circular pit. While the American archaeologist Wendell Bennet was the first to excavate the island in 1934, the more recent finds uncovered some extraordinary shards and ceramics, believed to be ritualistic offerings, and many of which are intact. Today, many of these stunning pots and ch’alladores (vases) are displayed in the recently opened Museo de Pariti. These stunning exhibits reflect the high artistic achievements of Tiwanaku potters. Don’t miss the Señor de los patos. For that…
reviewed
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Mina San José
There are numerous mines in the Oruro area, most of which are abandoned or operated by cooperativos (small groups of miners who purchase temporary rights). One of the most important is Mina San José, which has been in operation for over 450 years. Now run by six cooperatives, they have opened a part of the mine to tourists. The tour lasts about three hours and costs B$50. It’s available in Spanish only; English tours are available through Charlie Tours for B$250, with transport and guide. To get there take a yellow micro (marked ‘D’ or ‘San José’) or the light-blue mini (B$5) from the northwest corner of Plaza 10 de Febrero.
reviewed
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Cathedral & Plaza Murillo
A relatively recent addition to La Paz's collection of religious structures, the 1835 cathedral is an impressive structure. The cathedral's sheer immensity, with its high dome, hulking columns, thick stone walls and high ceilings, is overpowering, but the altar is relatively simple. Inside, the main attraction is the profusion of stained-glass work.
Beside the cathedral is the Presidential Palace, and in the center of Plaza Murillo, opposite, stands a statue of President Gualberto Villarroel. In 1946, he was dragged from the palace by vigilantes and hanged from a lamppost in the square. Interestingly enough, Don Pedro Domingo Murillo, for whom the plaza was named, met a…
reviewed
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Isla Incahuasi
For most Salar de Uyuni tours, the main destination is the spectacular Isla Incahuasi, better known as Isla del Pescado, in the heart of the salar 80km west of Colchani. This hilly outpost is covered in Trichoreus cactus and surrounded by a flat white sea of hexagonal salt tiles. It was once a remarkably lonely, otherworldly place but since the advent of salar tours, it has become overrun with tourists. This is where most groups have their lunch but there’s also a café-restaurant run by La Paz-based Mongo’s. Altogether an industrialized tourist experience, it’s still a beautiful sight if you forget the crowds.
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Laguna Verde
The incredible color of this stunning blue-green lake (4400m/14,435ft) comes from high concentrations of lead, sulfur, arsenic and calcium carbonates. In this exposed position, an icy wind blows almost incessantly. Its surface agitation and high mineral content means that the lake's water can remain liquid at temperatures as low as -56°C (-70°F).
Behind the lake rises the cone of Volcán Licancabur, whose summit is said to have once sheltered an ancient Inca crypt. Some tours include an ascent of Licancabur and, although it presents no technical difficulties, the wind, temperature, altitude and ball-bearing volcanic pumice underfoot make it quite grueling.
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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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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.
reviewed
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Church
In the scenic village of Curahuara de Carangas, the lovely adobe-and-thatch church has been dubbed ‘the Sistine Chapel of the Altiplano.’ While that’s rather overblown, the charming little structure does contain a wealth of lovely naive 17th-century frescoes depicting typical mestizo-style themes and Biblical scenes as well as some interesting artifacts in a small room behind the altar. If there’s nobody at the church, look for the key in the Entel shop. A direct bus from Patacamaya runs regularly (B$10, 2½ hours).
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Casa Vieja
The best patero (foot-stamped) wine, is at Casa Vieja. Its atmospheric Bodega Casa Vieja (admission free; photo permission around US$1) is in the village of Concepción, about 30km from Tarija. You can have a reasonably priced lunch in its lovely restaurant decorated with adobe arches, large fish heads and hanging plant pots, and hosting traditional Chaco dances during the Carnaval. Check at the Tarija office for updates on opening times.
There are buses to Concepción every two or three hours from Plaza Sucre in Tarija (US$0.30; 30 minutes).
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Museo de la Recoleta
Overlooking the city of Sucre from the top of Calle Polanco, La Recoleta was established by the Franciscan Order in 1601. It has served not only as a convent and museum but also as a barrack and prison. The highlight is the church choir and its magnificent wooden carvings dating back to the 1870s, each one intricate and unique, representing the martyrs who were crucified in 1595 in Nagasaki. The museum is worthwhile for its anonymous sculptures and paintings from the 16th to 20th centuries, including numerous interpretations of St Francis of Assisi.
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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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Complejo Metalúrgico Vinto
The around US$12 million Complejo Metalúrgico Vinto tin smelter was constructed in the early 1970s during the presidency of General Hugo Banzer Suárez. By the time it was put into operation, the Bolivian tin industry was already experiencing a steady decline, but it still processes up to 20,000 tons of ore annually.
Vinto is 8km east of Oruro. It's wise to phone in advance for permission to tour the operation. To get here, take micros marked 'Vinto ENAF' from the northwest corner of Plaza 10 de Febrero or Calle Bolívar.
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Cementerio Municipal
The enthusiasm surrounding Sucre's Cementerio Municipal seems disproportionate to what's there. There are some arches carved from poplar trees, as well as picturesque palm trees and the mausoleums of wealthy colonial families, but it's a mystery why it should inspire such local fervor. To enliven the experience, visit on a weekend when it's jam-packed with families, or hire one of the enthusiastic child guides for a few bolivianos.
You can walk the eight blocks from the plaza south along Junín, or take a taxi or micro A.
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