Places to visit in Bolivia

At a dizzying 3,632m, La Paz is the world’s highest capital, its colourful, closely-packed buildings tumbling down a canyon beneath the ice-jacketed peak of Illimani. Beyond the city, the vast altiplano unfolds into windswept plains, ancient ruins and indigenous communities that have shaped this corner of the Andes for centuries.

Watch a priest bless flower-decked cars outside Copacabana’s white basilica, sail across the cobalt water to Isla del Sol, and walk island trails with the snow-capped Cordillera Real on the horizon. On Bolivia’s shore of Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake feels quieter, more sacred and closer to its Andean roots.

Eastern Bolivia is little visited by tourists, but it’s brimming with variety, vitality and living history – tropical forests, Jesuit missions, vast wetlands and a lowland culture that couldn’t feel further from the Andean landscapes most people associate with the country. Santa Cruz, Bolivia holidays offer wildlife, history and adventure.

Wander the whitewashed streets of Sucre, stand where Bolivia declared independence, and climb to Potosí, the silver city that once bankrolled an empire. In the southern highlands, these two colonial cities sit a few hours apart, one elegant and sunlit, the other high, weathered and heavy with history.

Fly over the snow-capped Andes into the rainforest, travel upriver by boat to a jungle lodge, and spend your days spotting monkeys, caiman and macaws with an indigenous guide. In Bolivia’s far northwest, Madidi National Park drops from Andean peaks to Amazon lowland, making it one of the most biodiverse places on earth.

Discover one of the most extraordinary landscapes on Earth, where endless white salt stretches to the horizon and sky merges seamlessly with land. From the surreal Salar de Uyuni to colourful mineral-rich lagoons and volcanic scenery, south-west Bolivia offers one of South America’s most unforgettable travel experiences.