Must see attractions in Bolivia

The nearest thing Bolivia has to Peru’s Machu Picchu is this remote, rarely visited site (meaning ‘Land of the Inca’), 132km east of Cochabamba on a flat…

The prominent rock outcrop known as the Devil’s Molar (3825m) is actually an extinct volcanic plug that rises between the Río Choqueyapu and the suburban…

The hewed stone basilica of San Francisco was founded in 1548 by Fray Francisco de los Ángeles. The original structure collapsed under heavy snowfall…

The 5395m-high Cerro Chacaltaya peak atop a former glacier is a popular day trip. The glacier diminished over several decades and, tragically, had melted…

Although it’s a relatively recent addition to La Paz’s religious structures, the 1835 cathedral is impressive – mostly because it is built on a steep…

As in many Latin American cemeteries, bodies are first buried in the Western way or are placed in a crypt. Then, within 10 years, they are disinterred and…

The long and narrow 1080 sq km Aguaragüe National Park takes in much of the mountains of Serranía del Aguaragüe, which divide the vast Gran Chaco and the…

Created in 1988, this 622,600ha park has some of Bolivia’s most easily explored cloud forest. It skirts a large portion of the road between Cochabamba and…

The Lagunas de Kari Kari are artificial lakes (ranging from an elevation of 4500m to 5025m) constructed in the late 16th and early 17th centuries by 20…

It seems that 65 million years ago the site of Sucre’s Fabrica Nacional de Cemento SA (Fancesa) cement quarry, 5km north of the center, was the place to…

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…

Belief in the curative powers of Tarapaya (3600m), the most frequently visited hot-springs area around Potosí (21km northwest of the city), dates back to…

This convent, founded in 1547 by Fray Gaspar de Valverde, is the oldest monastery in Bolivia. Owing to its inadequate size, it was demolished in 1707 and…

North of the Akapana Pyramid is Kalasasaya, a partially reconstructed 130m-by-120m ritual-platform compound with walls constructed of huge blocks of red…

If you haven’t already had your fill of Simón Patiño’s legacy in Oruro and Cochabamba, you can visit Villa Albina in the village of Pairumani and tour the…

Next door to Sucre's cathedral, this museum holds one of Bolivia’s best collections of religious relics. There are four sections, ritually unlocked as…

This 17-sq-km reservoir, 7km southwest of town, makes for a pleasant afternoon trip, especially on hot days. It gets very busy on weekends with families…

This private 18 sq km reserve on the Paraguayan border was established in 1996 to protect a choice piece of Gran Chaco – its northern section is…

At the far northwest corner of Kalasasaya is Tiwanaku’s best-known structure, the 10-ton Puerta del Sol. This megalithic gateway was carved from a single…

San José has the only stone Jesuit mission church and merits a visit even if you miss all the others. Although the main altar is nearly identical to those…