Top 10 Best Places to Visit in Bolivia 2018

Bolivia is one of the most tranquil places in the world. As one of the highest and most remote countries on earth, best places to visit in Bolivia are comparatively not popular with the traditional tourists. Bolivia has a lot to offer the travelers and if you seek adventure, it is the right place to come. It is the land where most indigenous peoples live in the world. With a multi-ethnic cultural, you can enjoy one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. In a world, you will find the utmost serenity of nature.

From luxury Copacabana resorts on the shore of Lake Titicaca to the unworldly expanse of the salt flats of Uyuni, it’s not just a tour to enjoy your vacation. It’s more than that. To many, it’s a celestial journey.

Best Places to Visit in Bolivia:

Term like “best” should not use to describe tourist attractions in Bolivia. But to maintain a casualty, here is the brief description of the top 10 best places to visit in Bolivia.

10. Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos

Top 10 Best Places to Visit in Bolivia, Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos
Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos | image credit – Wikimedia/Bamse

Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos are the six former missions located in Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia. Its unique fusion of European and Amerindian cultural influences earned it the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also special for its cultural intactness. It has become one of the best places to visit in Bolivia. A popular biennial international music festival takes place here. The purpose of the missions was to convert nomadic indigenous people into Christians.

Nevertheless, the missionaries were tolerant of the culture of indigenous people. In 1972, the missions underwent a large restoration and for the record, it is a World Heritage Site for the restoration, not reconstruction. Six missions are San Xavier, San Rafael de Velasco, San José de Chiquitos, San Miguel de Velasco, Concepción and San Miguel de Velasco. Visiting in these places is certainly one of the best things to do in Bolivia.

9. Madidi National Park

Madidi National Park, things to do in Bolivia
Madidi National Park | image credit – Wikimedia/Gareth Fabbro

Located in the upper Amazon River basin, Madidi National Park is one of the most amazing places to visit in Bolivia. Established in 1995, it is one of the largest protected areas in the world. It is one of the planet’s most biologically diverse regions. No wonder why it has to be on your best things to do in Bolivia list. The park is most notable for protecting Bolivian Yungas and Bolivian Montana dry forests Ecoregions.

The park offers an excellent ecological and cultural tour experience to visitors and it is really a thrilling place to visit in Bolivia. It is recommended to the visitors to hire a tour guide and an organized tour is preferable. It is one of the best tourist attractions in Bolivia.

8. Yungas Road

Yungas Road, tourist attractions in Bolivia
Yungas Road | image credit – Flickr/Matthew Straubmuller

I would not say this is one of the best places to visit in Bolivia or the best things to do in Bolivia. On the contrary, this is the most dangerous road in the world. Infamously known as death road, it is a 56 km long road and around 200 to 300 travelers were killed in this road. It might be a subject of philosophical question what is the fascination of a human being towards danger?

But the fact is it is one of the best tourist attractions in Bolivia. This route is one of the few that connects the Yungas region of northern Bolivia to the capital city. So it is also a necessary route and all the people who travel the road are not thrill seeker.

7. Reserva Eduardo Avaroa

Reserva Eduardo Avaroa, things to do in Bolivia
Reserva Eduardo Avaroa | image credit – Wikimedia/Phil Whitehouse

Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve is a protected area in the far southwestern region of Bolivia. It is one of the best places to visit in Bolivia. Part of the Central Andean dry Puna (oligothermic) Ecoregion is protected here.  Visiting this tourist attraction in Bolivia is one of the best things to do in Bolivia because here you can see erupting volcanoes, hot springs, geysers, lakes, fumaroles, mountains.

I highly doubt that you may find all these magnificent creation of nature in one place other than this area. It is also famous for its three endemic species of flamingos. Bright white salt flats and the rainbow-colored mineral lakes of Los Lipez has the beauty that only eyes can capture it. It is considered the most important protected area and one of the best places to visit in Bolivia.

6. Cerro Rico, Potosi

Cerro Rico, Potosi, tourist attractions in Bolivia
Cerro Rico, Potosi | image credit – Wikimedia/Mhwater

Once famous for providing vast quantities of silver for Spain, Cerro Rico is one of the best places to visit in Bolivia. This place bears the testimony of the effect that colonization had on the indigenous people of Bolivia. It was infamously remarked as ‘mountain that eats men’ because of a large number of workers who died in the mines.

Though silver is no more shining in the mountain, it still plays an important economic role in Bolivia. It is listed as endangered sites by UNESCO. The mountain has a spectacular feature and visiting it is one of the best things to do in Bolivia. It is still engaged some 15,000 miners to work. It also has a museum named Casa Nacional de Moneda.

5. Sucre

Sucre, things to do in Bolivia
Sucre | image credit – Wikimedia/Valdiney Pimenta

Famous as the “City of Four Names”, Sucre is one of the best places to visit in Spain. It is the constitutional capital of Bolivia. Lies at an elevation of 2,810 meters, it offers a clear glimpse of life in aristocratic Spain in the 16th century. This draws a thousand of tourists for its well-preserved downtown with buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. The city at this high altitude is something extraordinary.

Due to the height, the city has a cool temperate climate year-round. It is one of the best tourist attractions in Bolivia. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. It was the last Spanish imperial territory in South America to gain its independence. It should be on the list of best things to do in Bolivia.

4. Oruro Carnival

Oruro Carnival, tourist attractions in Bolivia
Oruro Carnival | image credit – Wikimedia/CassandraW1

Joining to the festival of Oruro Carnival is one of the best things to do in Bolivia. Dating back more than 200 years, it is the most important folkloric and cultural events in all of South America. It is on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. Through the festival becomes Christianize, it is deeply rooted in its indigenous origin.

More than 48 groups of folk dancers specializing in 18 different folk dances performed in the festival. It is one of the best places to visit in Bolivia. Legend says a mural of the Virgin Mary miraculously appeared in a mine shaft of the richest silver mine in Oruro. From then, the Carnival has been observed in honor of the Virgin of the Candlemas.

3. Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca, things to do in Bolivia
Lake Titicaca | image credit – Wikimedia/Alex Proimos

Lake Titicaca is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world and one of the best places to visit in Bolivia. It is the largest lake in South America and thought to be one of the origination of Incans, as well as a number of other native peoples. With its picturesque look, it is the best tourist attractions in Bolivia. Its anthropological significance is also great.

At the vicinity of the south-eastern shore of the lake lies Tiwanaku, ruins of an ancient city-state that scholars believe was a precursor of the Inca Empire. It’s simply magical. It is also notable for a group of 44 or so artificial islands made of floating reed. Visiting on these islands is one of the best things to do in Bolivia.

2. Tiwanaku

Tiwanaku, tourist attractions in Bolivia
Tiwanaku | image credit – Flickr/Danielle Pereira

Tiwanaku is well-known as the Spiritual and Political Center of the Tiwanaku Culture. It is one of the best places to visit in Bolivia. It is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site. It is regarded as the most important precursors to the Inca Empire. If you are interested in archaeology, it is one of the best places to visit in Bolivia. It is listed as UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. Only a small part of the site is excavated in Tiwanaku. It is the best tourist attraction in Bolivia.

1. Salar de Uyuni

Salar de Uyuni, things to do in Bolivia
Salar de Uyuni | image credit – Flickr/Nico Kaiser

The world’s largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni is certainly one of the best places to visit in Bolivia. Located in the Daniel Campos Province in Potosí in southwest Bolivia, it is at an elevation of 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above mean sea level and with an area of 10,582 square kilometers. As it is clearly visible from the sky, it serves an ideal object for calibrating the altimeters of Earth observation satellites. Salar de Uyuni has a magnificent view and one of the best tourist attractions in Bolivia. The natural scenario and biodiversity of Salar de Uyuni are completely unique.

It is famous as the breeding ground for several species of pink flamingos. It also a major transport route across the Bolivian Altiplano. Salar de Uyuni is enriched with minerals like sodium, potassium, lithium, and magnesium and as usual an important economic source of Bolivia. The Salar is formed between 13,000 to 18,000 years ago from a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. The Salar is one of the best places to visit in Bolivia.

1 thought on “Top 10 Best Places to Visit in Bolivia 2018”

  1. Yes that is too! And I will even make those cheesy pictures waiabrj you are chased by a dinosaur. lol. Idd with the rainy season you get that gorgeous mirror effect, but I think it’s beyond even worth it!

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