oruro carnival do we need tickets and places to stay?

hi we will be in oruro over the carnival in february 2008
probably for 3 nights
any recommendations of places to stay?

also do you need to have a ticket for the carnival i have noticed there is seating in some areas
or can you just turn up and wander through the carnival?

have been to notting hill carnival in london where it's like a street party - same thing ?

thanks

I can´t recommend places in Oruro, maybe you can find on internet something. If your Spanish is OK, you can call ahead obviously. For the carnaval you don´t need especially tickets I suppose. It´s most streetcarnaval and accessible for everybody, although very crowded.

Take care,
Andrés
www.andorinasamaipata.com (another recommendation down south)

I also dont remember where i stayed - all i remember was that it was the most horrible place i stayed in the entire 4 months I was in South America. The reason for this was that we booked at the very last minute. Book early to avoid this. Everywhere basically triples their prices as well so take this into consideration.

As for tickets, we bought some the day beforehand. They are not hard to get and every shop keeper sells them - this gets you tickets for a bench street on the main street of the parade. I would definitely recommend doing this as thats where all the action (water fights, foam fights, dancing etc) is, and is also a good base for meeting people when you get lost.

Its great, crazy fun - ENJOY!

there's the Bus Station Hotel, cant remember the name but its right there and its kindda the best place, just book EVERYTHING in advance as the hole city is crowded and its the hardest thing to find a place to stay, truly. Tickets to see the dancers are needed if you want a decent place to take pics. this carnival is nothing like you've ever seen (and def nothing English, no offence).
Just a few advices: dont get too drunk, take your raincoat as everything and everyone gets wet and be careful with your things (camera, wallet, etc) as just like in any crowded place, things tend to get stolen.

Oruro isnt a horrible place at all, you just need to think a little. It def doenst look like La Paz or Santa Cruz, but I love it, people is great, better than any other big cities I've been and everything is just so cheap.

good luck