Introducing Cochabamba
Busy, buzzy Cochabamba is one of Bolivia’s boom cities, and has a distinct, almost Mediterranean vitality that perhaps owes something to its clement climate. While much of the city’s population is typically poor, parts of town have a notably prosperous feel. The spacious new-town avenues have a wide choice of restaurants, eagerly grazed by the food-crazy cochabambinos, and the bar life is lively, driven by students and young professionals. Despite this, Cochabamba remains a very affordable city, with prices far below those in Sucre or La Paz.
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The city’s name is derived from the Quechua khocha pampa, meaning ‘swampy plain.’ Cochabamba lies in a fertile green bowl, 25km long by 10km wide, set in a landscape of fields and low hills. To the northwest rises Cerro Tunari (5035m), the highest peak in central Bolivia. The area’s rich soil yields abundant crops of maize, barley, wheat, alfalfa, and orchard and citrus fruits. Cochabamba is famous for its chicha, a refreshing fermented drink made from maize. It gets drunk in liberal quantities by campesinos (subsistence farmers) at village fiestas.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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RE: getting to Bolivia from peru by bus
by Standanista 28 May 2012
Yep, good advice. You can also fly La Paz-Cochabamba for even less than that with BoA.
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RE: getting to Bolivia from peru by bus
by ban_janti_return 28 May 2012
If you want to do it ASAP book yourself a flight to Juliaca with star (around $80, bus is not really much cheaper) and continue to La…
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RE: Trip Report Bolivia end of May-middle of June 2011
by mem_ceres 26 May 2012
We stayed at Villa Etelvina. They have their own website so you can get the most updated telephone number. We tried to go to their office…
