Bolivia Highlights and Events

Travel in Bolivia with Intrepid

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Bold and brash, Bolivia lifts travellers to its dizzying heights with stunning scenery, legendary landmarks and a rich, indigenous heritage. Bolivia is an energetic, enigmatic piece of South American sorcery – alive with passion, awash with colour, connected to the past but living very much in the present. Leave Bolivia off your travel list at your own peril.
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Experience Bolivia's highlights on these trips

Lima to La Paz

peru lake titicaca boat
22 days
Basix
  • USD $1,535
    CAD $1,545
    AUD $1,495
    EUR €1,195
    GBP £930
    NZD $1,915
    ZAR R12,395
    CHF FR1,400
    Trip Price tool tip
  • USD $1,050
    Kitty tool tip
  • USD $2,585*
    CAD $2,564*
    AUD $2,499*
    EUR €1,927*
    GBP £1,570*
    NZD $3,175*
    ZAR R19,697*
    CHF FR2,230*
    *
    Total price tool tip

La Paz to Cuzco

peru inca trail stairway from heaven
12 days
Basix
  • USD $920
    CAD $925
    AUD $890
    EUR €715
    GBP £555
    NZD $1,145
    ZAR R7,380
    CHF FR835
    Trip Price tool tip
  • USD $800
    Kitty tool tip
  • USD $1,720*
    CAD $1,701*
    AUD $1,655*
    EUR €1,273*
    GBP £1,043*
    NZD $2,105*
    ZAR R12,944*
    CHF FR1,467*
    *
    Total price tool tip

Lima to Rio

brazil_rio_jesus_statue
60 days
Basix
  • USD $3,630
    CAD $3,650
    AUD $3,530
    EUR €2,830
    GBP £2,200
    NZD $4,525
    ZAR R28,210
    CHF FR3,275
    Trip Price tool tip
  • USD $2,600
    Kitty tool tip
  • USD $6,230*
    CAD $6,174*
    AUD $6,018*
    EUR €4,644*
    GBP £3,786*
    NZD $7,645*
    ZAR R46,293*
    CHF FR5,331*
    *
    Total price tool tip

La Paz to Buenos Aires

bolivia sucre local
21 days
Basix
  • USD $1,320
    CAD $1,330
    AUD $1,285
    EUR €1,030
    GBP £800
    NZD $1,645
    ZAR R10,260
    CHF FR1,190
    Trip Price tool tip
  • USD $680
    Kitty tool tip
  • USD $2,000*
    CAD $1,990*
    AUD $1,935*
    EUR €1,504*
    GBP £1,214*
    NZD $2,461*
    ZAR R14,989*
    CHF FR1,727*
    *
    Total price tool tip
* Refer to booking conditions

Highlights


Bolivia's Top Picks

'Death road'
 
Bolivia's capital, La Paz, is the highest national capital in the world
 

Top 10 Bizarre Bits of Bolivia

  1. Giant Frogs: No, Lake Titicaca’s high altitude isn’t causing you to hallucinate – you may have just caught a glimpse of the world’s largest aquatic frog. Measuring in at up to 50 centimetres long (the size of an adult foot!), the extremely rare Titicaca Water Frog can weigh up to 3 kilograms.
  2. Lost City of Titicaca: So you weren’t hallucinating when you thought you saw a giant frog, but surely there's nothing else hiding beneath Titicaca’s surface? Wrong again. In 1988, taking hints from a local legend, divers descended to Titicaca’s murky depths and discovered a real-life lost city. The temple complex, believed to be pre-Inca, is said to be over 1,500 years old.
  3. El Tio and the Potosi Mines: A sombre experience at the best of times, the plight of the Potosi miners is one of Bolivia’s more tragic tales. In many ways emblematic of this are the ghastly effigies of El Tio, the guardian of the mines and the god of the underworld. Workers offer cigarettes and coca leaves in the hope that they will receive good fortune, paying their respects to this terrifying spirit on each descent into the darkness of the mines.
  4. Macho Valley: Not known for their subtlety, Bolivians have named this valley ‘Macho’ for a reason. Meaning ‘male’ in Spanish, this collection of phallic shaped rock formations is a sight for sore eyes.
  5. Bolivian Bus-Train: Looking for a cheaper way to travel from Sucre to Potosi? Look no further than the Bolivian bus-train, a transport innovation like no other. Faced with the dilemma of having a complete railway but no train, locals simply converted a bus, swapping its tires for tracks. The result? A scenic and thrilling way to ascend this 4,000 metre climb - all for the very fair price of $3.50!
  6. The ‘Death Road’: If the Bolivian bus-train doesn’t get your blood pumping, the harrowing ‘Death Road’ may literally send you over the edge. Snaking its way across the Yungas toward the Amazon rainforest, this road is among the world's most dangerous. But try telling that to the locals, who insist on driving massive trucks and buses at brisk speeds along its narrow, twisting path – at least affording their terrified passengers the views of a lifetime.
  7. Women’s Wrestling: Bolivia’s newest sporting phenomenon comes in the form of feisty 'cholitas' (women). These ladies compete in professional wrestling bouts around the country, much to delight of their adoring fans. Part circus, part sport, all female - these unique sportswomen are undoubtedly some of wrestling’s fiercest competitors.
  8. Witches’ Market: Creepy masks and odd trinkets sold by astrologists and sorcerers - Bolivia’s famous Witches’ Market never fails to leave a lasting impression. See real-life witches selling potions, casting spells and stirring cauldrons - this madhouse market is full of wacky characters and strange souvenirs.
  9. Salt Hotel: Apart from being one of Bolivia’s most famous attractions, the Salar de Uyuni salt plain offers one of the quirkiest accommodation options on the market. For 30 dollars a night, visitors to the world’s largest salt flat can stay in a hotel made entirely from salt. That’s right, salt floors, a salt roof, a salt bar and even a salt dining table. One things for sure, you won’t be asking anyone to “pass the salt” in this zany hotel.
  10. The Dinosaur Wall: Discovered by Bolivian construction workers in 1994, Cal Orko (or the Dinosaur Wall) is a prehistoric oddity of epic proportions. Found on the banks of a cement quarry, this collection of over 5,000 tracks from 330 different species of dinosaurs is a rarity in the world of palaeontology. Over 68 million years old, it's thought that this quarry was previously a gigantic lake, its steep slopes once traversed by gravity-defying dinosaurs keen for a drink. Nowadays, this precious landmark is beginning to crumble - resulting in conservation efforts from the Bolivian government.