Cochabamba

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The intricate shapes formed by the caves in Parque Nacional de Torotoro attract visitors from all over the world

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Overview

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. The spacious, ever-expanding new-town avenues have a wide choice of restaurants, eagerly grazed by the food-crazy cochabambinos, and the bar scene is lively, driven by students and young professionals. It's also the base for outdoor adventures further afield, including trips to Parque Torotoro. You could easily find yourself staying a lot longer than planned.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Cristo de la Concordia

Cochabamba

This immense Christ statue standing atop Cerro de San Pedro (2800m) behind Cochabamba is the second largest of its kind in the world. It's 44cm higher…

Convento de Santa Teresa

Cochabamba

The noble, timeworn Convento de Santa Teresa is straight out of a Gabriel García Márquez novel. Guided tours (around 45 minutes) of this gracefully…

Palacio Portales

Cochabamba

Nothing symbolizes Bolivia's gilded mineral age like tin baron Simón Patiño's European-style Palacio Portales. Though he never actually inhabited this…

Museo Arqueológico de la UMSS

Cochabamba

The Museo Arqueológico provides an excellent overview of Bolivia’s various indigenous cultures. The collection is split into three sections: the…

La Angostura

Cochabamba

This artificial lake on the ever-expanding southern outskirts of Cochabamba is a popular spot for cochabambinos. However, the lake itself is not an…

Villa Albina

Cochabamba

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…

La Cancha

Cochabamba

Sprawling, chaotic and claustrophobic, Cochabamba's main market, while lacking an attractive mise-en-scène, is nevertheless a colorful place to wander…

Catedral Metropolitana

Cochabamba

On the arcaded Plaza 14 de Septiembre, Cochabamba's cathedral is the valley’s oldest religious building, begun in 1542 as a tiny stone-and-adobe structure…

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