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!

Leaving by boat from Rurrenabaque, the Madidi National Park is home to the most beautiful tropical forest in Bolivia. An unknown world to be discovered over the more than 18,000 kilometres squared of the park.
The gateway of the Amazon, Rurrenabaque, or Rurre for everyone else, is the ideal starting point for a journey in the jungle or the pampa.
At 760km from La Paz, Uyuni is lost in the middle of nowhere. It's here you'll find one of the most incredible sites in the world - the vast Salar or salt flat.
Copacabana is the largest town on the shores of Lake Titicaca.
Just 45 minutes from the town of Uyuni, Isla Incahuasi is essentially a hill covered in cacti. From the top, the view of the salt flat's white horizon is superb.
Patacamaya is an uninteresting town located around 60 miles from La Paz.
Ramaditas Lagoon is a lagoon located in the heart of the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve in the province of Sur Lipez.
Chiguana is a desert not far from Salar de Uyuni, in Bolivia, in the region of Nor Lípez.
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.
The Pequeño Alpamayo is a mountain located to the north of the Cordillera Real, in the department of La Paz.
Campo Canal is a base camp located at an altitude of approximately 4,800 m. It's one of the stopping places on the Cordillera Real trek.
The Las Cuevas waterfalls are 3 waterfalls located about twenty kilometres from Samaipata, in the province of Santa Cruz.
Maragua Crater is a geological formation located in the department of Chuquisaca.
Rio Yacuma is a river located in the Beni region of northwest Bolivia. What's special about it in particular? It is home to the boto, or pink river dolphin.
A city with Andalusian flair, located in the extreme south of Bolivia, Tarija has the highest vineyards in the world. This is where your Bolivian wine journey will begin.
The province of Sur Lipez is a desert at an altitude of 4,000 metres.
About 50km east of Sucre, the village of Tarabuco is known for its craft market, one of the most traditional craft markets in Bolivia.
Chuvica is a city located on the doorstop of Salar de Uyuni, and is known for its hotel built entirely from salt.
Pampas del Yacuma is a tropical zone located in the department of Beni, approximately 300 km from the Bolivian capital.
Only a few kilometres from Laguna Verde, Laguna Blanca is a salt lake located in the heart of the outstanding National Reserve of Andean Wildlife, Eduardo Avaroa.