‘El Tio’ (the Uncle), the patron saint of the Cerro Rico Mine. Photo by Alexandra Alden.

Read More About Bolivia on GoNOMAD

Here are links to GoNOMAD stories about Bolivia, with some excerpts:

Bolivia's Pampas: Anacondas, piranhas, and Crocs

Feel like pulling an anaconda out of a tree? How about fishing for piranhas, and then feeding them to wild crocodiles? How about getting woken up by growling howler monkeys dancing on your tin roof? If you’re a fan of searching for wildlife and making shockingly bad decisions, then a trip to the Bolivian Pampas is what you’ve been searching for.

Set in northern Bolivia, the area known as the “Pampas” is a plain of wide open grasslands that stretches out like a massive African savannah. Sitting on the brink of the ecologically diverse Madidi National Park and part of the greater Amazon basin, the Bolivian Pampas is one of the best places to get up close and personal with some of the unique wildlife of the region. read more


Bolivia's Cerro Rico Mine: Entering the Inferno

The Cerro Rico (Rich Hill), a striated yellow, gold and orange mass rising 800 meters (2,600 feet) above Potosi’s already stunning altitude of 4092m (13,400 ft) is home to the mine that during the 1500s provided most of Western Europe with its silver.

Today the mine is running dry, only producing about 15% silver ore. The city that once boasted a population greater than that of London is now crumbling under the creeping vines of poverty.

While the city was once opulent, the mine could never be compared to anything but hell.

The main reason backpackers and tourists come to Potosi is to do a mine tour that allows you to descend into the miners´ world for a day. The tours cost from about $10 to $15 and last about four hours.

Tracing the Rise and Fall of the Inca Empire

Inca Trails tells the story of a thrilling journey by mule through some of the most remote, rugged and beautiful wilderness in the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes.

My quest was to trace the rise and fall of the Inca empire through a journey from its birthplace in Lake Titicaca, through the remote Apolobamba range of the Andes, to its pinnacle at Cuzco and Machu Picchu, and beyond to the scene of its final stand against the Conquistadores in the densely forested mountains of Vilcabamba.

Woven throughout the tale of the journey is the gripping, poignant story of the rise and fall of the glittering, but short-lived, Inca empire.

A Totora reed boat on Lake Titicaca. Photo by Martin Li.

A shiver ran down my spine as the solemn Kallawaya hurled alcohol over the fire to invoke the spirits of the high mountains. Leaping flames lit up the darkened stone room and showed off the kneeling figure’s striped scarlet robes in their full splendour. The Kallawayas are the healers and fortunetellers of Bolivia’s remote Cordillera Apolobamba. This one was about to foretell my future.

The Kallawaya took out a bag of coca leaves, placed one on a cloth on which he had already placed a cross, chewed some others then threw small handfuls onto the cloth. After several tense minutes, the Kallawaya pronounced my journey through the Apolobamba mountains would go well. “Go ahead,” he said, “go ahead.” I sighed with relief.

Read more GoNOMAD stories about Bolivia:

Titicaca the Great: Urcos, Yavari and Sillustani Too!

A Homestay with the Aymara on Lake Titicaca

Bolivia: On the Trail of Butch and Sundance

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia: Magical Realism