Places to discover

Best places to visit in Bolivia

To travel to Bolivia is to choose a destination in which mass tourism and all-inclusive package deals have no role to play. And so much the better! Most travellers do, however, combine a trip to Bolivia with a trip to Peru and are happy enough just to visit the area around La Paz. That's such a shame! With its virgin Amazon rainforest, the huge mountains of its Altiplano, and the arid plains in its east, Bolivia has scenery and landscapes unlike anything else in the world to offer. And that's without even mentioning its indigenous culture, which is so much in evidence everywhere in the country and so highly respected. It really is delightful!

What better way is there to get the most out of a travel destination than by swapping tips and ideas about what to see and do there? Evaneos' community of seasoned travellers have provided reviews of both the essential places to see and visit in Bolivia and their favourite off-the-beaten-track and out-of-the-way places.

La Paz, Bolivia's capital, is a charming, atypical and cosmopolitan city, and well worth spending several days exploring. The 4x4 tour of the Uyuni salt flat and Sud Lipez Province is definitely something every self-respecting adventurer should have on their to-do list. On your return, make a stop at Potosí mines, which were once a source of great wealth for Latin America.

To finish off this high-altitude excursion, spend some time in the Amazon rainforest atRurrenabaque, where you'll have the opportunity to see all kinds of jungle animals, including everything from caimans and monkeys to pink river dolphins. And why not reach to this region via the famous 'Death Road', Coroico, perhaps even descending it by bicycle?

Those with enough time on their hands should definitely go to see the giant tree ferns of Amboró National Park in the east of the country, which so many tourists miss the opportunity to visit. Something tourists normally don't miss, however, is the chance to let their hair down and enjoy themselves to the sounds and rhythms of the Diablada at the Oruro Carnival, the most famous in South America after that of Rio de Janeiro, and the opportunity to tour round the Jesuit missions of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

And when you've done all this, you will no doubt head next for Lake Titicaca and Peru, to visit an area which, with its wonderful landscapes and scenery, really is one of the essential places to see in South America.

What a programme! We'll leave you to browse the Evaneos website and find out more about all these sites for yourself. A word of warning however: they are all so wonderful that you might have difficulty deciding which to visit!

Laguna Chilata is a high altitude lake located in the Cordillera Real.
Laguna Glaciar is a glacial lagoon at altitude located between the village of Sorata and Laguna Chillata.
Campo Venado is a base camp which sits about 4,300 metres above sea level. This is one step of the trek across the Cordillera Real.
Mina Susana is an old mine located in the Cordillera Real, not far from Laguna Glaciar.
Laguna San Francisco is a lagoon which sits 4,520 metres above sea level in the Cordillera Real.
Llica is a small village located north of the famous Salar de Uyuni.
The Sillajuay is a bi-national mountain , located in the Tarapacá region of Chile and in the department of Potosí in Bolivia.
The 20,610 ft high Pomerape volcano lies partly in Chile and partly in Bolivia. 
Laguna Tuni is a high altitude lagoon located in the Cordillera Real.
Alota is a small village located in the region of Potosí.
Running along the Argentinian and Chilean borders, Uturuncu Volcano is located in one of the most beautiful regions in Bolivia: the province of Sur Lipez.
The Purapurani is a high-altitude river located in the Purapurani Valley.
Tuni is an Andean village located deep within the Cordillera Real mountain range.
Atulcha is a little Bolivian hamlet located on the edge of the Salar d'Uyuni salt flat.
Copacabana is the largest town on the shores of Lake Titicaca.
Lying around six miles from the town of Uyuni and right on the edge of the Salar salt flat, Colchani is a tiny village where the local families live a wretched existence extracting and working the salt.
Chuvica is a city located on the doorstop of Salar de Uyuni, and is known for its hotel built entirely from salt.
Rio Lauca is a river originating at Laguna Cotacotani in Chile and flows into Lake Coipasa in Bolivia.
On the border of Chile and Bolivia, Ojo de Perdiz is a typical desert in the Andean Altiplano.
200km from La Paz, Oruro is a horrible mining town in the Altiplano which is often windy and freezing cold.