Bolivia Attractions

Dried Llama Foetus, Anyone???

Advantages: A unqiue experience of Andean culture
Disadvantages: Very much on the tourist trail

...daily Mercado de Hechicería - Witches' Market - in the centre of La Paz. The 'witches' were so called by the Spanish Conquistadors for their traditional non-Catholic practices, such as fortune telling, and their knowledge of the uses of local plants. Their small stalls are jam packed with objects, such as bundles of brightly coloured sweets and coca leaves, to be used as offerings, herbal remedies, talismans and magic charms. Some of the more unusual ...
...GETTING THERE The Witches' Market is located in Calle Linares, an old cobbled colonial-style street, in the centre of the city, behind San Francisco Church. The easiest way to reach the market is on foot, and the streets of La Paz are relatively pedestrian friendly and well sign-posted. However, it is a hilly place, and at such high altitude (at 3,500m, La Paz is the highest city in the world) physical exertion can take its toll, with many tourists ...

VC81 31.01.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Witches' Market, La Paz

Come Mellow High Water

Advantages: Relaxing town with plenty of accomodation/dining, stunning Islands and Lake.
Disadvantages: High altitude makes exertion taxing, unremakable ruins.

...Copacabana-Bolivia beholds a panorama of Lake Titicaca and the Islands of the Sun and Moon. According to Incan legend, it was here that the Sun was born, emerging from a crack in the rocks of the Sun Island (Isla del Sol), and in my time here at least, it still seemed to have a close relationship with the Lake, rays cutting through the thin air day in and out. The largest lake in South America, Titicaca is also one of the highest navigable bodies ...
...are very good - the Lake Trout (Trucha) is invariably fantastically fresh and tasty. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Highlights of Copacabana ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Car-blessings aside, Copacabana's Cathedral is an elegant, serene structure set back from the main plaza. The interior of the building is attractive enough, but the Cathedral's principal draw for tourists is the adjoining chapel (off to the left as you face the Cathedral's front), ...

Puggers 26.05.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Lake Titicaca, Copacabana

Well Worth Its Salt

Advantages: Stunning views, remarkable emptiness and isolation.
Disadvantages: Extremes of weather, especially cold, taxing altitude.

...still damn cold though. The Salar de Uyuni – the world’s largest Salt Flats – make up a four thousand square-mile corner of Bolivia; hover over the country on Google Maps and it’ll be the great white splodge in the south-west of the screen. Hundreds of tourists visit each day, but the immensity and emptiness of the place creates a pervasive sense of isolation from the outside world. The Salar is a surreal environment with a split, weather-determined ...
...Come rain, however, and the Salar becomes a giant mirror, reflecting the sky – as such, perhaps the most striking time to explore the area is on a clear day after rainfall, when the waterlogged salt takes on the blue of the sky, creating an illusion of walking on air. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ To And From Uyuni ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Uyuni is the closest town to the Salar, a few miles to the north, and the majority of excursions originate ...

Puggers 17.05.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Salar de Uyuni, Uyuni

Tiwanaku a city being rediscovered

Advantages: Interesting archeological site
Disadvantages: You can only see part of the site as it is still being excavated

Tiwanaku is about 50 miles west of La Paz and near the south-eastern shore of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco or Tihuanacu) has the Pre - Columbian ruins which were the capital of the state for over 500 years and are in the process of being excavated. The city dates back as far as 1500BC but it is between 300BC and 300AD that Tiwanaku is thought to have been a religious pilgrimage centre. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage site administered ...
...museum holds relics found at Tiwanaku and told the story of the development through the ages in this area. At one time Tiwanaku was near Lake Titicaca and as the water level in the lake fell then the city became less important; possibly because it became harder to continue the agrarian way of life that the city depended upon. If you are interested in more history about Tiwanaku then these sites are quite interesting and the first one has some older ...

catsholiday 31.12.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco), Tiahuanaco

Sacred Islands and blessed cars

Advantages: Fascinating at every turn
Disadvantages: Altitude can cause problems

Copacabana, Lake Titicaca and Huatajata We crossed the border between Peru and Bolivia on land. We walked to the Peru passport office and were stamped out of Peru then walked a few yards to be stamped into Bolivia. We climbed into a local mini bus - about 7 of us squeezed into a VW kombi sort of van which took us to Copacabana, in Bolivia. Copacabana is an Aymara town of about 20,000 people. Its name means 'The overlook of the Lake' in Aymara. It ...
...steps to the temple. Lake Titicaca is a sacred place for the Inca civilization, as the Incan mythology says that the first Inca king, Manco Capac, was born here. According to the Incan mythology, this is the place where the world was created from, when the god Viracocha came out of the lake and created the sun, the stars and the first people. At the temple ruins we wandered around and took photos, there was only a facade and then a few huge stone ...

catsholiday 22.12.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Lake Titicaca, Copacabana