Southern Bolivia

We’ve compiled the best of the best in Southern Bolivia - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

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  • 1. Casa Real de Moneda

    Museum/Gallery

    The showpiece of Potosí is the Royal Mint, built in 1773 at a cost of $10 million USD. This massive stone structure, where coins were once minted with silver from nearby Cerro Rico, takes up an entire city block. It now holds Bolivia's largest and most important museum. On display are huge wooden presses that fashioned the strips of silver from which the coins were pressed, as well as an extensive collection of the coins minted here until 1953. There's also an exhibit of paintings, including works by Bolivia's celebrated 20th-century artist, Cecilio Guzmán de Rojas. A guard accompanies all tours to unlock each room as it's visited. The building is cool, so bring along a sweater. To see everything will take about three hours. There is an extra charge for photography or video.

    Ayacucho at Lanza, Potosí, Potosí, Bolivia
    04-622–3986

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: (Bs)40
  • 2. Salar de Uyuni

    Nature Sight

    One of Bolivia's most spectacular sites, the Salar de Uyuni is the world's highest salt flat, at 3,650 meters (11,975 feet) above sea level, and also the largest, at 10,582 square km (4086 square mi). Once part of a prehistoric salt lake covering most of southwestern Bolivia, it still extends through much of the departments of Potosí and Oruro. As well as the vast expanse of salt, you'll find a series of eerie, translucent lagoons tinted green and red due to high copper and sulfur contents. Living on the lagoons are flamingos (also tinted green and red), rheas, vicuñas, and foxes. Driving across the salt flat, whether in the dry or rainy season, is a unique experience.

    , Bolivia
  • 3. Catedral Metropolitana

    Museum/Gallery

    Started in 1559, this neoclassical cathedral is famous for its statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is adorned with diamonds, gold, emeralds, and pearls donated during the 17th century by mining barons.

    Plaza 25 de Mayo, corner of Nicolas Ortiz, Sucre, Chuquisaca, Bolivia

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
  • 4. Cerro Rico

    Mine

    Five thousand tunnels crisscross Cerro Rico, the "Rich Hill," which filled Spain's coffers until the silver reserves were exhausted in the early 19th century. Today tin is the primary extract, though on the barren mountainside you still see miners sifting through the remnants of ancient excavations. The tours these days are barely concealed misery tourism with little real benefit going to the miners still working in the mine. Most tours seem to cater to backpackers who want to get a thrill blowing up a stick of dynamite. If you must go, and don't mind tight spaces, choose your tour carefully, the safety standards in this swiss-cheesed hill are not particularly high. The Real Deal is run by ex-miners who do a good job. Hard hats, raincoats, boots, and carbide lamps are provided, but take along a flashlight to get a better look at things. The extremely narrow entrance to the mine may scare you off, but go in far enough to give El Tío (a statue of a small, grinning devil) a cigarette and add more coca leaves to the pile around his feet. The miners say he brings safety and prosperity. Keep in mind that these mines are muddy; wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty.

    Potosí, Potosí, Bolivia
  • 5. Convento y Museo de Santa Teresa

    Museum/Gallery

    The Convent and Museum of St. Theresa displays a strange mix of religious artifacts. In one room there are sharp iron instruments once used to inflict pain on penitent nuns, as well as a blouse embroidered with wire mesh and prongs meant to prick the flesh. Other rooms contain works by renowned colonial painters, including Melchor Pérez Holguín. There is an extra charge for photography or video.

    Calle Santa Teresa 15, Potosí, Potosí, Bolivia
    02-622–3847

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: (Bs)21
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  • 6. Iglesia de San Lorenzo

    Religious Building/Site/Shrine

    Potosí's most spectacular church, built between 1728 and 1744, has some of the finest examples of baroque carving in South America. Elaborate combinations of mythical figures and indigenous designs are carved in high relief on the stone facade. If the front doors are locked, try to get in through the courtyard.

    Calle Bustillos, Potosí, Potosí, Bolivia
  • 7. Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco

    Religious Building/Site/Shrine

    A magnificent building constructed of granite during the 16th century, this was Potosí's first church. It has a brick dome and beautiful arches. On the main altar is the statue of the "Lord of the Veracrúz," the patron of Potosí. It also has many beautiful paintings. A panoramic view of the city can be enjoyed from a viewing platform. Tours last one hour and are offered four times daily.

    Calle Tarija 47, corner of Nogales, Potosí, Potosí, Bolivia
    02-622–2539

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: (Bs)15
  • 8. Museo Charcas

    Museum/Gallery

    The most popular exhibits at the Charcas Museum are mummified bodies discovered outside of Sucre in the 1960s. Curators believe the centuries-old mummies were entombed as human sacrifices. Also featured at this university-run museum are galleries of colonial paintings and textiles.

    Calle Bolívar 698, Sucre, Chuquisaca, Bolivia
    04-643–5240

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: (Bs)20
  • 9. Museo de Arte Indígena ASUR

    Museum/Gallery

    The Indigenous Art Museum has moved from its previous home in the Caserón de la Capellanía, to a smaller but well-designed space near the Recoleta. The museum preserves the 4,000-year-old weavings and tapestry art of the Andean world, especially communities around Tarabuco. The tour in English is interesting and the elaborate textile work—including a display of costumes showcasing regional fiesta garb—is truly impressive; there are also loom demonstrations. The onsite shop is very expensive; there are better options in town for buying.

    314 Pasaje Iturricha, opposite Hotel Kolping, Sucre, Chuquisaca, Bolivia
    04-645–6651

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: (Bs)22
  • 10. Museo de la Recoleta

    Museum/Gallery

    Founded in 1601 by Franciscan monks, the Museum of the Retreat displays colonial religious works in a setting of serene gardens known as the "Courtyard of the Orange Trees." Equally noteworthy is the restored chapel with its intricately carved choir stalls, many of which are 1,000 years old. The tours (Spanish only) last 30 minutes. Make sure to take the time afterwards to visit the viewpoint, Cafe Mirador just below, and the nearby textile museum.

    Plaza Pedro Anzures, Sucre, Chuquisaca, Bolivia
    04-645–1987

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: (Bs)10
  • 11. Parque Cretacico—Cal Orck'o

    Ruins

    Three miles outside of Sucre is, unexpectedly, one of the world's most important paleontological sites, with more than 5,500 dinosaur footprints petrified into a sandstone cliff. Over the past 68 million years, what was a well-traveled clay beach has been raised by the same tectonic movements that created the Andes into this 360-foot-high cliff. The footprints were exposed during work by a local cement factory, and although now protected within the park, are under serious threat from erosion. There are tours at noon and 1 pm that take you right up to the footprints; make sure to get there on time, and wear closed shoes (no sandals). The park itself is not just for kids, with an interesting time line and a dozen seriously impressive full-size replicas of dinosaurs. Transport (the Sauromovil) leaves from Plaza 25 de Mayo in front of the cathedral at 9:30, noon, and 2:30 every day and costs (Bs)15.

    Carretera de Cachabamba, Sucre, Chuquisaca, Bolivia
    04-645–7392

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: (Bs)30

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