This high-altitude country is a land of surreal and unforgettable landscapes.
When most people think of South America, they think of the beaches of Brazil or the ruins of Peru. The landlocked, high-altitude nation of Bolivia, however, offers a travel experience that is more raw, more adventurous, and arguably more spectacular than any of its more famous neighbors. This is a country of otherworldly landscapes, rich indigenous culture, and a thrilling, off-the-beaten-path feel. It is a place that is not yet on every tourist’s radar.
For the traveler who is seeking a truly unique and jaw-dropping adventure, Bolivia is the ultimate destination.
1. You can walk on the world’s largest salt flat, the Salar de Uyuni.
This is Bolivia’s most famous and most breathtaking sight. The Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, a vast, blindingly white expanse of salt crystals that stretches for over 4,000 square miles. In the dry season, you can drive across its surreal, hexagonal-patterned surface and take incredible, forced-perspective photos, according to Visa Expeditions. In the wet season, a thin layer of water transforms the entire flat into the world’s largest mirror, perfectly reflecting the sky above.
It is a completely otherworldly and unforgettable landscape that feels like you have been transported to another planet.
2. You can bike down the world’s most dangerous road.
For the ultimate adrenaline rush, you can take a guided mountain bike tour down the infamous “Death Road.” This is a narrow, winding, and incredibly scenic dirt road that clings to the side of a sheer cliff as it descends from the high-altitude Andes into the lush Amazon jungle. While it is no longer the main thoroughfare for traffic, it is now a world-famous adventure activity.
The ride is a thrilling, white-knuckle journey that takes you through a stunning and ever-changing landscape of mountains and waterfalls. It is a must-do for any adrenaline junkie, as mentioned at Rainforest Cruises.
3. You can see the surreal, colorful lagoons of the Altiplano.
A multi-day 4×4 tour through the high-altitude desert of the Altiplano in southwestern Bolivia is a journey through one of the most surreal and beautiful landscapes on earth. This remote and sparsely populated region is home to a series of stunning, high-altitude lagoons that are all different, vibrant colors. The most famous of these is the Laguna Colorada, a shallow, blood-red lake that is filled with thousands of pink flamingos, as reported by LostWorld.
You will also see the stunning, emerald-green Laguna Verde, which sits at the foot of a massive volcano. It is a landscape of incredible and almost unbelievable beauty.
4. You can explore the historic silver-mining city of Potosí.
Potosí was once one of the wealthiest and largest cities in the world. For centuries, the massive mountain that looms over the city, the Cerro Rico, produced a staggering amount of silver that funded the entire Spanish Empire. A visit to this UNESCO World Heritage city is a fascinating and often sobering look at this history.
The city is filled with beautiful, colonial-era architecture, a testament to its former wealth. You can also take a tour into one of the still-functioning cooperative mines inside the Cerro Rico, a powerful and eye-opening experience that gives you a glimpse into the incredibly difficult and dangerous life of the Bolivian miners.
5. You can sail on the world’s highest navigable lake.
Lake Titicaca, which straddles the border of Bolivia and Peru, is the highest navigable lake in the world, sitting at an altitude of over 12,500 feet. The Bolivian side of the lake is home to the beautiful and sacred Isla del Sol, the legendary birthplace of the Inca sun god. A visit to the island is a chance to hike on ancient Inca trails and to see stunning views of the deep blue lake and the snow-capped Andes mountains.
The lake has a deep, spiritual feel, and it is a place of incredible peace and tranquility. A boat trip on its high-altitude waters is an essential Bolivian experience.
6. You can ride the cable cars over the city of La Paz.
La Paz is the highest capital city in the world, a chaotic and vibrant metropolis that is built into a massive canyon in the Andes. One of the most spectacular and practical ways to experience the city is to ride on its incredible public transportation system: a network of modern, Austrian-built cable cars called “Mi Teleférico.” These cable cars glide silently over the city, connecting the different neighborhoods.
A ride on the system offers breathtaking, panoramic views of the city’s unique topography, from the bustling city center to the sprawling, high-altitude city of El Alto, with the massive, snow-capped Mount Illimani in the background.
7. You can see the “wild west” landscapes of Tupiza.
The area around the southern Bolivian town of Tupiza is a stunning landscape of dramatic, multi-colored rock formations, deep red canyons, and forests of giant cacti. The scenery is so reminiscent of a classic American western that it is famously the area where the legendary outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their end.
You can explore this beautiful and rugged landscape on a horseback riding or jeep tour. It is a less-visited but incredibly rewarding part of the country that offers a completely different kind of scenery than the high-altitude Altiplano, a true hidden gem.
8. You can spot incredible wildlife in the Amazon basin.
While Bolivia is most famous for its high-altitude landscapes, the northeastern part of the country is part of the vast, lowland Amazon basin. A trip to a place like Madidi National Park, which is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, offers a completely different kind of Bolivian adventure. You can stay in an eco-lodge and take guided jungle hikes and river trips.
Here, you can spot an incredible array of wildlife, including several species of monkeys, capybaras, caimans, and a huge variety of exotic birds, like macaws and toucans. It’s a chance to experience the incredible biodiversity of the Amazon.
9. You can wander through the beautiful, colonial city of Sucre.
Sucre is the constitutional capital of Bolivia and is arguably the country’s most beautiful city. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is famous for its stunning, well-preserved colonial architecture. The entire historic center is a beautiful collection of whitewashed, 18th- and 19th-century buildings with red-tiled roofs, giving it the nickname “The White City.”
It is a very relaxed and pleasant city to explore on foot, with a number of beautiful churches, museums, and a charming central plaza. It has a much more tranquil and European feel than the chaotic energy of La Paz.
10. You can see real dinosaur footprints.
Just a few miles outside of Sucre is one of the most incredible paleontological sites in the world: Cal Orck’o. This is a massive, near-vertical limestone cliff face that is covered in over 5,000 fossilized dinosaur footprints from the late Cretaceous period. The footprints of a huge variety of different dinosaur species, including the Titanosaurus, are perfectly preserved in the rock.
The scale of the site is absolutely mind-boggling. You can view the footprints from a platform in the adjacent Cretaceous Park, a fantastic museum that helps to bring this ancient world to life. It is a truly jaw-dropping sight.