Bolivia: A Travel Destination With A Difference

Bolivia certainly isn’t your everyday tourist destination. In many respects it embodies the heart of South America. In what other country can you watch indigenous women with their bright traditional dresses and bowler hats, stunning tropical valleys and snow-capped peaks in a single day?

La Paz is sure to leave you breathless in more than one respect. At 4000m it is not only the world’s highest capital, it also has the world’s highest commercial airport, and nearby is the world’s highest ski resort. Driving into the city from the airport, you will feel like driving down the rim of an extinct volcano… The city is surrounded by snowy mountain tops all year round.

The witch market in La Paz is an experience you are not likely to soon forget. Here you can buy all sorts of witchcraft items, including a llama fetus which you can bury beneath your new house for good luck. A little further on is the vast open air market of 16 de Julio where you can buy everything from electronics to a 5 piece drum set or a wireless reading device.

A visit to the La Paz coca museum is an absolute must. Many of your preconceptions about coca production will be quickly destroyed. You will for example learn that coca has been cultivated for centuries by the local Indians to use against altitude sickness, to make delicious herbal tea and for medicinal purposes.

You are most likely not aware that a certain soft drink used all over the world, not only contains the word coca in its name, but that it actually contained cocaine for many years. How much coca it really contained is sort of a trade secret, but it is known that this practice lasted deep into the 20th century.

If at all possible, try to attend the biggest festival in La Paz, the Festividad del Senor del Gran Poder, held in winter every year. During 2009 more than 30 000 dancers took part in this amazing display of costumes, music and dance. It’s a whole day event, lasting from about nine in the morning until late in the night.

If you are lucky enough to have some good quality Alpine skiing equipment, why not take a day trip to nearby Chacaltaya, at 5400m the highest ski resort in the world. The top of the lift at Chacaltaya is at the same height as Everest base camp, so make sure that you are properly acclimatised to the high altitude before attempting to ski. For most people merely reading a book at this altitude leave them breathless.