Bolivia Guide
Things not to miss
1 Oruro Carnaval • One of the most colourful fiestas in South America, during which thousands of dancers in extravagant costumes parade through the streets and revellers indulge in heavy drinking and indiscriminate water fighting.
2 Mountain climbing in the Cordillera Real • With six peaks over 6000m high and many more over 5000m, Bolivia is a paradise for experienced mountaineers, while even complete novices can arrange a guided climb up the 6090-metre Huayna Potosí.
3 Tiwanaku • One of the cradles of Andean civilization, and once the centre of a massive empire, Tiwanaku is now among the most intriguing and monumental archeological sites in South America.
4 Reserva de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa • This remote region of high-altitude deserts, icebound volcanic peaks and half-frozen, mineral-stained lakes is home to a surprising array of wildlife, including great flocks of pink flamingos and herds of vicuñas.
5 Sorata • Nestled in a deep valley in the heart of the Cordillera Real, the charming little town of Sorata is the perfect base for trekking in the surrounding mountains.
6 La Paz • Nestled in a deep canyon at an altitude of over 3500m above sea level, Bolivia's de facto capital is the highest in the world, and a fascinating melting-pot of modern urban and traditional Aymara cultures.
7 Going underground in Cerro Rico • Once a source of fabled wealth, the mines of Cerro Rico now offer the chance to see the almost medieval working conditions endured by indigenous miners prospecting amongst the thousands of mineshafts that honeycomb the mountain.
8 Aymara New Year • Celebrated at dozens of ancient sites throughout the highlands including the town of Copacabana, the traditional religious ceremonies associated with the Aymara New Year vividly express the deeply seated pre-Christian beliefs still held by many Bolivians.
9 Tupiza • Explore the dramatic desert landscape of cactus-strewn badlands and canyons around Tupiza, following the trail of the infamous North American outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
10 Chicha cochabambina • It may be an acquired taste, but no visit to the Cochabamba Valley is complete without a glass or two of chicha, the thick, tart and mildly alcoholic maize beer that was the sacred drink of the Incas.
11 Biking down the world's most dangerous road • The perilous highway from La Paz to Coroico is amongst the most spectacular roads in the world, plunging from the frozen high Andes down into the lush valleys of the upper Amazon.
12 Salar de Uyuni • A vast, perfectly flat expanse of dazzling white surrounded by high mountain peaks, the Salar de Uyuni is the world's biggest salt lake and, perhaps, Bolivia's most extraordinary landscape.
13 Folk music and dance • Far more than just panpipes, Bolivian folk music and dance is as vibrant and varied as the country itself – you can catch performances in peñas in La Paz and other major cities, and in rural fiestas throughout the country.
14 Isla del Sol • Set amidst the azure expanse of Lago Titicaca, Isla del Sol is the spiritual centre of the Andean world, revered as the place where the Sun and Moon were created and the Inca dynasty was born.
15 Pink river dolphins • Frolicking pink freshwater dolphins are a fairly common sight in the rivers of the Bolivian Amazon. You can even swim alongside them – if the piranhas and caimans don't put you off.
16 Potosí • The highest city in the world, the legendary silver-mining centre of Potosí boasts some of the finest Spanish colonial architecture anywhere on the continent.
17 Inca trails • Perhaps the best of Bolivia's innumerable trekking routes, the Choro, Takesi and Yunga Cruz trails – the three so-called "Inca trails" – descend from amidst the icebound peaks of the Cordillera Real into the lush subtropical valleys of the Yungas.
18 Mercado de Hechiceria • The most colourful of La Paz's street markets, the Mercado de Hechiceria (Witches' Market) offers a fascinating insight into the secretive world of Aymara mysticism and herbal medicine.
19 Parque Nacional Madidi • Covering nearly 19,000 square kilometres, this park is home to some of the most diverse plant and animal life in South America.
20 Sucre • Known as the White City, Bolivia's official capital is a jewel of colonial architecture and a lively university city that combines serene dignity with an easy provincial charm.
21 Cordillera Apolobamba • The remote Cordillera Apolobamba offers some of the most spectacular scenery in Bolivia, and is also home to the Kallawayas, a secretive group of wandering herbalists whose healing abilities are famed throughout the Andes.
22 La Cha'lla • Known as La Cha'lla, the ritual blessing of cars and trucks with libations of alcohol, bright streamers and confetti is a bizarre spectacle, best seen outside the cathedral in Copacabana.
23 Tinku • Of all the indigenous traditions practised in the Bolivian Andes, perhaps none is as strange – or as bloody – as this form of ritual hand-to-hand combat between rival indigenous communities.
24 The Jesuit missions of Chiquitos • The Jesuit mission churches of Chiquitos offer a splash of incongruous splendour in the midst of the wilderness, and a reminder of one of the more unusual episodes in Bolivia's colonial history.
25 Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado. • Perhaps Bolivia's finest national park, with abundant wildlife, exuberant Amazonian rainforest and magnificent waterfalls tumbling down from the plateau that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World.