Pulacayo (Bolivia)

Located around 15 miles from Uyuni and 125 miles from Potosi, Pulacayo is a place with all the allure of a classic Wild West town. The very first railway line in Bolivia once used to pass through this natural basin in the Cordillera de Chichas mountains. 

Pulacayo actually contains a train cemetery. In fact the train which was hijacked by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid can still be found here in this former mining town. Its rusty locomotives and wagons were once used to transport silver extracted from the mines from Potosi to Chili, where it was then sent on to the Spanish monarchy. The trains also played an important role in the War of the Pacific between Bolivia, Chile and Peru. Once the vein was exhausted, the trains were abandoned and the inhabitants deserted this formerly rich and prosperous town.

Today, the trains remain covered in rust, being exposed to the ravages of the weather, the sun, the salt and the rain; and the former abode of millionaire Aniceto Arce has all the look and feel of a ghost town.