Bolivia

Quick Facts

[edit]

Capital

La Paz (administrative)

Capital

Sucre (constitutional, judicial)

Population

8,300,000

Government

Republic

Religions

Christianity (Catholic, Protestant)

Languages

Spanish, South Bolivian Quechua, Central Aymara

Calling Code

+591

Nationality

Bolivian

Local name

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Introduction

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Feed the adventurous spirit in you and travel to Bolivia! Though comparatively underdeveloped, Bolivia is recognized as one of South America's most spectacular destinations.

The nation's rich cultural heritage remains intact amongst the indigenous people, a large majority of who retain traditional beliefs and practices. Travellers can visit the ancient remnants of past civilizations, or simply enjoy the land's diverse scenery: from the rugged Andes mountains in the west, to the untamed jungle wilderness hugging the Amazon through the northern and eastern stretches; from the Gran Chaco desert area in the southeast, to the world's highest lake, Lake Titicaca, on the border with Peru.

Brief History

Geography

Bolivia, together with Paraguay, is one of the two countries in South America totally bordered by land. It has a very diverse geography, with elevation being a major factor between the lower eastern parts and the higher western parts of the country. About half of the country is in the Amazone basin and Gran Chaco, which is shared with Paraguay. The former is much more humid than the latter and has a very diverse ecosystem with thousands of plantspecies, trees, flowers, birds and butterflies. The swampy areas see a diverse fauna system, with animals like the anaconda and the capibara, the largest rodent in the world.

A small central corridor of the country is formed by the mild (weatherwise) Central Highlands and more northerly the Yungas which form a transition zone between the Amazone basin and the higher altiplano and Andes. The Altiplano in the west is a high, flat and dry area, on the edges of the Altiplano are the Andes mountains with many summits, among which are severals volcanoes, over 6000 meters and a few even over 6500 meters. On these highlands are mammals like vicunas and guanacos, wild members of the family of the llama and alpaca, which are the domesticated ones. One of the most interesting areas on the highlands is the immense Uyuni Salt Flat, with salt as far away as you can watch

Bolivia shares international borders with Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile.

Regions

Although there are over a hundred provinces in Bolivia, it is easier to use the 9 departments:

• Beni in the northeast
• Chuquisaca central south, including the capital Sucre
• Cochabamba centre of the country, including the city with the same name
• La Paz in the nortwest, including the city with the same name
• Oruro in the west, including the city with the same name
• Pando northest department
• Potosi southwestern part, including Uyuni
• Santa Cruz biggest department, in the east/southeast, including the city of Santa Cruz
• Tarija south, along the border with Argentina

Cities

• La Paz
• Santa Cruz
• Sucre
• Cochabamba
• Oruro
• Uyuni
• Potosi
• Tupiza
• Copacabana

Sights and Activities

Salar de Uyuni and Southwest Bolivia

Driving for hours on a perfectly flat salty plain is one of those experiences a traveller to Bolivia can enjoy. There are lots of tours from Uyuni but also from Tupiza in the south of Bolivia and even from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, which is the best way to see the salt flats as well as the extremely beautiful southwest of Bolivia, where lakes in the colours red, green, white and turquoise against a backdrop of high snow covered volcanoes make you feel as if you were out of this world. Few people live here and public transport is close to nonexistent, which makes a tour maybe the only feasible option unless you want to bike it! The flats are on an elevation of about 3600 meters but during a tour you will visit areas up to 5000 meters, so bringing a warm sweater, sleeping bag and mountain sickness pilss are recommended. During most of these trips you sleep in sleeping bag accomodation with shared facilities. Rooms are rather dark and cold, but only add to the experience. Typical prices for these trips are around 120 dollars per person (3 1/2 days), including accommodation, full board, a guide/driver and a great experience. Add a few dollar for a tip or the option of staying in a cheaper salt hotel. If you like you can start this trip in Uyuni, but end in Tupiza or San Pedro, or the other way around of course, which makes a trip also a good option for moving on further along your route.

Samaipata

Samaipata itself is a town in the central parts of the country, and nearby Fuerte de Samaipata is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It was a holy place during the pre-inca and Inca period and was used for ceremonies. There is also a huge sculptured rock which is a testimony to pre-Hispanic traditions and beliefs. The area around Samaipata though is equally interesting with great hiking in the mountains and along waterfalls.

Madidi National Park

This national park is located in the northwest of the country and is one of the most biodiverse parks anywhere in the world. This is mainly caused by its combination of tropical lowland rainforest, grasslands, swamps and more moutainous areas of the lower Andes, the Apolobamba range. Animals include jaguar, spectacled bear, maned wolf and giant otter and the park contains over 10% of all species of birds in the world, meaning over 1000 species to view. The park is best reached from Rurrenabaque which has lots of touroperators to choose from.

Tiwanaku

Close to La Paz, the ancient city of Tiwanaku was the capital of a powerful pre-Hispanic empire that dominated a large area of the southern Andes and beyond, mainly between the 5th and 9th century AD. Today, the monumental remains can be visited during an easy day trip from La Paz, where you will be able to be a witness of the cultural and political significance of this civilisation.

World's most dangerous road

As far as it can be called officially, this is the world's most dangerous road, although it has become better during recent years. The road travels between La Paz and the lowlying town of Coroico and is especially rewarding when biking down from La Paz.

• Chacaltaya: the world's highest ski area at around 5400 meters above sea level.
• Potosi: located at more than 4000 meters above sea level, this city was once one of the wealthiest cities in the world, mainly thanks to its large silvermines. Nowdays, a tour in these mines is one of the highlights here.
• Historical Sucre: one of the best examples of colonial building styles.
• Noel Kempff Mercado National Park: like Madidi NP a very biological diverse national park with rainforest, grasslands, savanna and swampy areas, home to hundreds of birds, mammals and great flora. It is also very intact and becaus of its remoteness not visited that often.

Events and Festivals

Bolivian Easter Week is one of the biggest holidays in all of Bolivia. The various churches around the city schedule the masses and services to celebrate the three most important days of Easter, Good Friday through Resurrection Sunday and each also schedules a procession in which a statue of Jesus on the cross is paraded through the neighborhood. The month of April is traditionally when the event is held and Bolivians take their holidays as well, so book well in advance as hotels are usually full to capacity.

Weather

The weather in Bolivia is as varied as the geographical situation in the country. Especially the differences in elevation are very important for the temperatures.

Generally speaking, the months of November until March/April are the warmer but wetter months. June until September sees clear blue skies most of the times but temperatures can be as low as -25 degrees Celcius on the Altiplano and the Uyuni salt flats. During the day though, it can be over 20 degrees or more.

La Paz temperatures are pretty equal throughout the year, with maximum tempertures of 10-15 degrees Celcius and minimum tempertures around zero most nights.

In the centre of the country (Sucre, Cochabamba), it doesn't get that cold, but it doesn't see the temperatures of the Amazone basin as well, which can be over 35 degrees Celcius during the summer when it's wet and therefore not comfortable to travel.

Getting There

By Plane

La Paz and Santa Cruz have airports with flights to and from other destinations within South America, but there are few direct flights from Europe (Madrid with Aerosur) or the USA (Miami with Aerosur or American Airlines). Most important connections are with Lima and Cuzco in Peru; Arica, Iquique and Santiago in Chile; Buenos Aires in Argentina and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Check the following airlines for more details: LanChile, LAN Peru, Lloyd Aero Boliviano, Aerosur, Varig and Aerolíneas Argentinas.
Gol (to Brazil), TACA Peru and TAM Mercosur (to Paraguay) are other options.

By Train

Bolivia - Brazil vv
Although technically it is not an international train, the Death Train serves the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz with the border of Bolivia with Brazil. There are several ways of getting from Santa Cruz eastwards toward Puerto Suarez and vv. Connections are daily and there are a number of trains you can take: normal, express or ferrobus services.

There are no notable intermediate stops on the way but the 24 hour trainride serves as a good option for travellers to and from Brazil. The border is at Quijarro where you can cross into Brazil at Corumba.

Bolivia - Chile vv
There is a train between Uyuni in Bolivia and Calama in Chile. Although there are better ways to travel between the two countries, like a trip between San Pedro de Atacama and Uyuni, this train offers one of the rare occasions for enthusiasts to travel between two countries in South America. It leaves once a week and should take about 24 hours, although delays are not unheard of. Bring sufficient food and drinks and some warm clothing as temperatures plumid during the night.

By Car

By Bus

Overland travel is possible between Bolivia and all of its neighbouring countries: Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru. Travelling to and from Peru, Chile and Argentina is mostly straightforward, but travelling to and from Brazil and Paraguay is more adventurous, although there are no real problems. There is even a multiple day bus trip from Bolivia to Asuncion in Paraguay, travelling through the Gran Chaco.
Direct buses (called flotas) from Bolivia include those to Buenos Aires and Salta in Argentina, Arica and Iquique in Chile and all the way to Corumba in Brazil as well. An increasing number of travellers use tours to the Bolivian saltlakes to travel between San Pedro de Atacama and Uyuni in Bolivia.
Brazil
The main crossing with Brazil is is at Quijarro, opposite the Brazilian town of Corumba. The best way to get to here is by taking the train from Santa Cruz to Puerto Suarez (see train above). This one is particularly interesting when you want to visit the southern Pantanal. At the northern Pantanal section it is best to travel from Santa Cruz directly to Caceres in Brazil, crossing at the Bolivian border town of San Matias, which is about 2 hours away from Caceres.
In the extreme west there is a crossing from Cobijia to Brasileia to Braziia, from where it is about 4,5 hours by bus further to Rio Branco in the Acre State of Brazil.

By Boat

It is possible to travel by boat on Lake Titicaca from Bolivia to Peru, but it is expensive and not frequent.

Boats also cross the river Rio Mamore from Guayaramerin to Guajara-Mirim (Rondonia) in Brazil. From here it is a further 5,5 hours to Porto Velho. You can reach this crossing as well from Trinidad in Bolivia by boat, which takes 5 days and is a very adventurous off the beaten track experience.

Getting Around

By Plane

After LAB quit flying in 2007, Aerosur and TAM (not to be confused with Brazilian TAM Airlines) are the major airlines within Bolivia, with flighs between most major cities. It is cheap but not always reliable and flights are delayed or suspended sometimes. Cobija, Cochabamba, La Paz, Puerto Suárez, Santa Cruz (El Trompillo and Viru Viru), Sucre, Tarija are the main airports to be served.

By Train

There are two train lines in Bolivia which are interesting for travellers, one running from the border with Argentina north to Oruro and one between Santa Cruz and the Brazilian border, sometimes mistakenly called the death train. But that is mostly because of delays and the heath. Over here you can find the most recent time schedule of the north south line between Oruro and the Argentinian border.

By Car

The Administradora Boliviana de Carreteras keeps an excellent website that details road conditions in real time: look here. Renting a car is possible, but not necessary or recommended, with roadblocks being just one of the things that will bother you.

By Bus

Travelling by bus is something most travellers can not avoid. Although buses travel the country frequently between most major towns, roads are not in a good condition except for some parts near La Paz, and roadblocks can be a problem occasionally. That said, you will probably be able to take a bus between two towns within a day. The routes most used by travelers are the La Paz to Tupiza road and side branches to Tarija, Potosi, Sucre and further on to Santa Cruz. Travelling by bus further east and north is possible but takes much longer, especially in the wet season.

By Boat

Being totally enclosed by land, there is only one boat service on Lake Titicaca, between San Pedro and San Pablo, mostly used when travelling between La Paz and Copacobana or further into Peru. Isla del Sol and the Huynaymarka islands in Lake Titicaca can be visited by boat as well.

Red Tape

Money

ATMs of both the Cirrus and VISA networks are found all across Bolivia, though mostly in larger cities and logical stop-overs on routes that are densely travelled. If you venture further afield, especially in the Bolivian lowlands, it doesn't hurt taking some extra cash (don't overdo it, though, as there is a fair risk of getting pickpocketed as well). For an overview of ATMs, visit the locator sites of both networks, links are included in the Money Matters article.

When using an ATM, keep your receipt at all times. Reports of failed transactions that are booked off your account nonetheless are frequent, and you will need them to set the situation straight.

Besides the Boliviano, the US dollar is usually accepted for larger purchases and in most touristy destinations. Be wary of bad rates. Traveller's cheques are getting less and less useful these days.

Work

Study

Overview of Spanish language courses in Bolivia

Language

Related article: Spanish language guide: Grammar, pronunciation and useful phrases

Bolivia has three official languages: Spanish, Quechua and Aymara. The latter two are Native American languages, while Spanish (also known as Castellano) came to Bolivia with Spanish colonisation.

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Bolivia is: 591
To make an international call from Bolivia, the code is: 0010

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