Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CROSSING INTO CHILE AT TAMBO QUEMADO
The border between Chile and Bolivia is 9km west of the turn-off to Sajama at Tambo
Quemado . Crossing into Chile is straightforward: there is a Bolivian migración (daily
8.30am-6pm) where you get your exit stamp, and a couple of restaurants catering mainly to
truck drivers. A couple of kilometres further on from Tambo Quemado is the Chilean border
post of Chungará (daily 8am-6pm), where you'll have your passport stamped for entry to
Chile. If you're coming from La Paz, the bus will take you all the way through to Arica (around
8hr) on Chile's Pacific Coast. If you're heading to Chile from Sajama, you can get to the border
on the 7am micro to Patacamaya (which comes to Tambo Quemado to pick up passengers),
then walk across the frontier and pick up transport on the Chilean side.
2
mountains and tin mines established here
in the late nineteenth century. Since the
fall of world tin prices in 1985, however,
Oruro's fortunes have plummeted and
more than two decades of economic
decline have made it a shadow of its
former self.
abandoned mineshaft beneath the church
is now home to the Museo Minero (daily
9-11.30am & 3-6pm; B$10), which has
an interesting display of equipment
explaining the history of mining, as well
as two fearsome-looking statues of El Tío,
the devil-like figure worshipped by
Bolivian miners as the king of the
underworld and owner of all minerals.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Oruro is a cold and rather sombre place,
with the melancholic air of a city forever
looking back on a golden age, and there's
not much reason to stop here outside of
Carnaval time.
Museo Antropológico
In the south of the city, at Avenida
España, at Urquidi, the Museo
Antropológico Eduardo López Rivas
(Mon-Fri 8am-noon & 2-6pm, Sat &
Sun 10am-6pm; B$5) is home to an
extensive archeological and ethnographic
Plaza 10 de Febrero and
the Casa de Cultura
The town's main plaza, Plaza 10 de
Febrero, is a pleasant square shaded by
cypress trees. Two blocks east of the plaza,
at Avenida Galvarro, the fascinating
Casa de Cultura (Mon-Fri 8-11.30am
& 2.30-6pm; B$10 including guided
tour) is a former home of the “King of
Tin” Simón I. Patiño, who was one of
the world's wealthiest men when he
died in 1947. With the original
imported furniture, decadent chandeliers
and children's toys all still intact, the
museum is an intriguing insight into the
luxurious life of one of the few Bolivians
who got rich from the country's huge
mineral wealth.
CARNAVAL
Every year in late February or early March,
Oruro explodes into life, celebrating its
Carnaval in what is without doubt one of
the most spectacular cultural events in all
South America. Tens of thousands of visitors
flock here to watch a sensational array of
costumed dancers parading through the
streets, and there's always a good deal of
heavy drinking and chaotic water-fighting.
At the centre of the festivities are two
events: the Entrada on the Saturday before
Ash Wednesday, with a massive procession
of more than fifty different troupes of
costumed dancers passing through the
streets, and the Diablada , or Dance of
the Devils, led by two lavishly costumed
dancers representing Lucifer and St
Michael, followed by hundreds of devil
dancers who leap and prance through the
streets. If you're coming to Oruro at this
time of year, be sure to book accommo-
dation in advance.
Museo Minero
Five blocks west of Plaza 10 de Febrero
stands the Santuario del Socavón
(Sanctuary of the Mineshaft), home to
the image of the Virgin del Socavón, the
patron saint of miners, in whose honour
the Carnaval celebrations are staged. The
 
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