Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Plaza 14 de Septiembre
The centre of Cochabamba is
Plaza 14 de Septiembre
, a peaceful and pleasant square with
flower-filled ornamental gardens, a colonial stone fountain (which amazingly for Bolivia ac-
tually works) and benches shaded by tall palm trees. At its centre stands an obelisk topped by
the statue of a condor - a monument to the Cochabambinos who died during the Independen-
ce War. The plaza is flanked by nineteenth-century buildings that extend over the pavement
and are supported by pillars, forming arched arcades.
La Catedral Metropolitana
Plaza 14 de Septiembre • Mon-Fri 8am-noon & 5-7pm, Sat & Sun 8am-noon • Free
Sideways ontothesouthside ofPlaza 14deSeptiembre stands the
Catedral Metropolitana
,
founded in 1571 and the city's oldest church, though little of the original structure remains.
The main entrance, facing out onto Calle Arce, is a fairly straightforward mestizo-Baroque
portico decorated with spiralled columns, carvings of flowers and squat angels that look
rather like pre-Columbian idols. The airy but unexceptional Neoclassical interior is brightly
painted with floral designs and images of saints.
Museo Archeológico
Corner of calles Aguirre and Jordán • Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm, Sat 8.30am-2.30pm • Bs10
A block south of Plaza 14 de Septiembre sits the interesting and extensive
Museo Archeoló-
gico
. The items on display are poorly explained, but as you peruse the collection a picture of
the evolution of
pre-Hispanic culture
in the Cochabamba region gradually emerges, stretch-
ing from the Tiwanaku culture, through a number of regional groups to the Incas. Among the
most interesting exhibits is a series of small
stone idols
(thought to represent Pachamama),
along with bronze Inca axeheads, ceremonial knives, star-shaped stone maces and some well-
preserved Tiwanaku woven skull caps made specially to fit skulls deformed by ritual trepana-
tion. Also intriguing is the series of items used by early Catholic missionaries in their efforts
toconvert the indigenous peoples -these include sheepskins painted with bizarre hieroglyph-
like ideographs, and clay discs encrusted with fragments of stone and pottery which were
used like rosaries to remember sequences of prayer and other mysteries of the faith. There's
also a small display of ethnographic material from the peoples of the
Amazon lowlands
.
Colina San Sebastián
West of the bus terminal on Avenida Aroma, about 600m south of Plaza 14 de Septiembre
A tree-lined pedestrian avenue leads up to the summit of the
Colina San Sebastián
, a low
hill with good views over the city that was the scene of one of the most dramatic events in
Cochabamba's history. During the Independence War, the city was quick to join the rebelli-
on against Spanish rule, but in 1812, after its menfolk had gone off to fight elsewhere, the
women of Cochabamba found themselves virtually defenceless against an advancing royalist
army. Refusing calls to surrender, the women fortified the hill where, on May 27, they fought
