Bolivia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 150

Introduction
Surrounded by Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru, Bolivia lies at the
heart of South America. Stretching from the majestic icebound peaks and
bleak high-altitude deserts of the Andes to the exuberant rainforests and
vast savannas of the Amazon basin, it embraces an astonishing range of
landscapes and climates, and encompasses everything outsiders find most
exotic and mysterious about the continent.

2

Three centuries of Spanish colonial rule
have certainly left their mark, most
obviously in some of the finest colonial
architecture on the continent. Yet the
European influence is essentially a thin
veneer overlying indigenous cultural
traditions that stretch back long before
the Conquest: while Spanish is the
language of business and government,
more than thirty indigenous languages
are still spoken.
Bolivia is dominated by the mighty
Andes , which march through the west of
the country along two parallel chains. In
the north and east, they give way to the
tropical rainforests and grasslands of the
Amazon and eastern lowlands , in the
southeast to the dry thornbrush and
scrub of the Chaco . Yet, despite its
extraordinary biodiversity and myriad
attractions, Bolivia remains one of South
America's least-visited countries.
Most visitors spend a few days in the
fascinating city of La Paz , which combines
a dizzying high-altitude setting with an
intermingling of traditional indigenous
and modern urban cultures. Close by is
the magical Lake Titicaca , and the towns
of Coroico and Sorata which serve as a

good base for trekking, climbing or
mountain biking in the Cordillera Real ,
a range of high Andean peaks that, plunge
precipitously down into the Amazon
basin through the dramatic, deep valleys
of the Yungas . The best base for visiting
the Bolivian Amazon further north is
Rurrenabaque , the jumping-off point for
exploring the diversity of flora and fauna
in the Madidi National Park .
South of La Paz, the southern Altiplano
- the bleak, high plateau that stretches
between the Andes - has historically been
home to most of Bolivia's population. In
Potosí you can experience underground
life in the mines of Cerro Rico , while to
the southwest, Uyuni is the gateway to
the astonishing landscape of the Salar de
Uyuni and the Reserva de Fauna Andina
Eduardo Avaroa . Also well worth visiting
are the towns of Sucre , with its fine
colonial architecture, Samaipata , which
has designs on Rurrenabaque's crown as
the country's best ecotourism base, and
Santa Cruz , a brash, modern and lively
tropical metropolis - and a good base for
exploring the rainforests of the Parque
Nacional Amboró and the immaculately
restored Jesuit missions of Chiquitos .

WHEN TO VISIT
Climate varies much more as a result of altitude and topography than it does between
different seasons.
Winter (May-Oct) is the dry season , and in many ways the best time to visit Bolivia, with
sunny, trek-friendly highland days and slightly lower temperatures in the generally hot and
humid lowlands . While highland temperatures hover in the mid-teens most of the year (albeit
with chilly winter nights), the summer rainy season (December into March and sometimes
April) can see lowland temperatures reach 31°C. Rain affects the condition of roads throughout
the country, especially in the Amazon, where river transport takes over from often impassable
overland routes. The parched Altiplano and mountainsides nevertheless briefly transform into
lush grassland, as wild flowers proliferate and the earth comes to life.