After three weeks in Bolivia, it’s time to say goodbye and move on to my next destination. Bolivia was nice, though I feel like I spent half of my time trying to catch my breath and I didn’t love that part. Much of Bolivia sits high in the mountains and I constantly found myself at 9,000+ feet above sea level (though it was often 12,000 feet or higher). Even the small hills could take your breath away, but I survived and had a good time. That’s what is important.
So, let’s talk about the last three(ish) weeks.
Three(ish) Weeks in Bolivia
Over my last three months in South America, I’ve met several travelers. In particular, I met two Argentinians who urged me to go to Bolivia but pass through quickly to get onto more exciting destinations like Peru. I didn’t listen to them and kept my plans as is. I definitely lingered in a few places, but I have no regrets about my time spent in Bolivia.
Before I get into my final thoughts, I want to give a little context for my route. When I was initially planning out my Bolivia itinerary last year, Americans needed a visa to visit Bolivia. It was $160 USD and my thought was that if I was going to spend that kind of money, I was going to get my money’s worth. Well, at the end of last year, the visa requirement went away for Americans. That was fantastic news, but also introduced an interesting predicament.
Most of my South America trip had been centered around two big dates: my departure date and my hike of the Inca Trail. Both items were booked about six months in advance and neither could change. So while I could make minor tweaks to my overall route, I was kind of stuck with what I had. I think it worked out for the best, but had I known about the change in the visa requirements, I think this itinerary likely would have looked a bit different.
But enough about what could have been, here’s what actually happened in Bolivia.
Uyuni Salt Flats Tour (2 nights)
My time in Bolivia started with a three day tour from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile to Uyuni, Bolivia. This is a popular way for backpackers to see some great scenery while also covering their transportation to Bolivia. At my hostel in San Pedro de Atacama, I listened to three British guys debate about the route for over an hour before finally deciding it made more financial sense to just pay for the three day tour (even if it looks expensive on the surface).
This trip was incredible and we saw so many incredible sights. There were colored lagoons, flamingo colonies, incredible rock formations, and even more. The true highlight was sunrise on the Uyuni Salt Flats. When there’s a layer of water, it creates a mirror like effect over the salt flats and the views are just incredible. I had high expectations for the Uyuni Salt Flats, after hearing so many good things, and I’m so happy that it lived up to the hype.
Uyuni (1 night)
After finishing my tour through the Uyuni Salt Flats, I spent one night in the city of Uyuni. While I could have gotten a bus to my next destination right after the tour (we finished at about 2:00 pm), it was so nice to just head to a hotel and decompress. I had a private room AND a private bathroom. It seems so small, but after two weeks of shared bathrooms, it felt luxurious. Plus, breakfast was delivered to my room in the morning. Not bad for a room that cost just $20 USD for the night.
Potosi (2 nights)
From Uyuni, I headed to Potosi. I arrived at the bus station in Potosi, walked to my hotel, and immediately texted my best friend “OMG I’m dying”. Potosi sits at over 13,000 feet and it was a 20 minute uphill walk from the bus station with all of my stuff. Needless to say, it was a workout and I was not prepared for it. At least I wasn’t the only one. Every traveler I spoke to had the same experience.
Potosi is not my favorite city in Bolivia, but it proved to be a great way to break up the journey from Uyuni to Sucre. With my two nights in Potosi, I had one full day to explore and that was just enough time. Anything more and I would have been bored, so I’m glad I moved on when I did.
So what is there to do in Potosi? For many tourists, the highlight is touring the active silver mine in the Cerro Rico mountain. I skipped that and opted to explore the city. Because of the nearby silver mine, Potosi was once one of the richest cities in the world, but as you walk the streets today, you wouldn’t necessarily know that. Still, I toured Casa de la Moneda (the Mint where they would produce silver coins) and took a walking tour.
Unfortunately for me, I was here during Semana Santa (Holy Week) and so many things had limited hours or were closed altogether. Oh well.
Sucre (7 nights)
I didn’t jive with Potosi, which made me a bit nervous for the rest of my time in Bolivia, but thankfully things improved when I arrived in Sucre. I spent a week here, which is the longest I’ve spent in one spot in South America so far. I figured with the Easter weekend, it’d be nice to just plop down in one place and relax.
In Sucre, I spent some time exploring the city. I took a walking tour, wandered through the central market, and checked out the unique views of the city. I also took a cooking class, which was very fun and gave me a much better Easter meal than what I had been planning. The city was nice and I liked it much better than Potosi, but my day trip was the highlight.
One day, I took a guided tour outside the city. We hiked along Bolivia’s Inca Trail, saw the Maragua Crater, and hiked out to some ancient dinosaur footprints. The scenery was incredible and I’m so glad I got to do the day trip (since it almost got canceled).
And of course, with a week in one place, I spent plenty of time chilling and relaxing. I made fantastic progress on the backlog on posts I’ve wanted to write for the blog which felt so good.
Overnight Bus
It’s an eleven hour drive from Sucre to Potosi, so I jumped on an overnight bus. The good news is that it combines transportation and accommodation in one price. The bad news is my bus ticket was $15 more than my most expensive hotel in Bolivia. At least the seat laid completely flat.
La Paz (7 nights)
Even though I had just spent seven nights in one place, I chose to spend another week in one place. This time, I was in La Paz. While Sucre had a lot of downtime to recharge and work ahead on the blog, I used the extended time in La Paz to go on day trips.
The city of La Paz itself is fine, but the more I travel in South America, the more I realize that I’m just not a fan of the big cities on this continent. The smaller towns and scenery are incredible, but one day in the big cities is typically enough for me. La Paz was no exception. I took a walking tour and learned about the city and even ventured to El Alto to tour the Cholets, a unique architectural style that’s just starting here.
I also took quite a few day trips from La Paz. I cycled Death Road, which was a blast (even though it was slightly terrifying at points). I visited Moon Valley on the southern end of the city and visited two of the nearby mountains. Snow prevented us from reaching the top of Chacaltaya Mountain (though we got as far as the cabin after a very sketchy drive). At Charquini, I hiked to Laguna Esmeralda for one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever eaten an empanada.
Copacabana (3 nights)
My last stop in Bolivia was Copacabana. There’s not much in the town itself, so most visitors set their sights on the nearby Isla del Sol. I was no exception and took a day trip to the island where I walked 7.5 miles from the north ferry port to the south ferry port, passing ruins and getting amazing views of the island and Lake Titicaca. The hike was great, but like all of my time in Bolivia, I constantly felt out of breath. That’s what hiking at 13,000 feet will do to you.
From Copacabana, I continue my journey northward.
My Top Three in Bolivia
As always, I have to sum up some of my favorites in Bolivia. Here’s my top three.
Uyuni Salt Flats – Without a doubt, my favorite experience was sunrise at the Uyuni Salt Flats. The entire tour was filled with incredible scenery, but nothing beats that sunrise on the salt flats. The colors reflected perfectly on the water along the flats and after two long days in the car, it was an incredible finale to our tour.
Biking Death Road – I biked 30 miles, but barely had to pedal as we traversed down “Death Road”. I was initially nervous about doing it (and still had a few nerves while on the road), but it was such a fun day trip and I’m so glad I did it.
Hiking Isla del Sol – I’m not going to say this was easy because hiking at 13,000 feet above sea level isn’t. However, the weather was beautiful and the views were incredible and I really enjoyed this day trip.
My Worst Experiences in Bolivia
There was nothing in Bolivia that I’d necessarily consider bad. However, I don’t think it’s right to paint everything as sunshine as roses, so here’s my least favorite things about Bolivia.
Constantly Being Out of Breath – I gradually adjusted to the altitude, but even three weeks later, I still find myself out of breath walking up some steep hills. It could be a lot worse, but I wouldn’t be opposed to being able to breathe normally. I may or may not be counting down the days until I’m back at sea level (even though I’ll only have a few days at sea level before returning to high elevations for the last part of my trip).
Trying to Figure Out the Money – Bolivia has two exchange rates. There’s the official rate that you’ll get if you use your credit card or withdraw money from an ATM and there’s the unofficial rate that you’ll get if you exchange dollars for bolivianos. Considering you can get significantly more bolivianos by exchanging money, that’s what many tourists do. However, I miss the days of just going to an ATM when I needed cash because that is just so much easier.
The Drive to Chacaltaya – I’m normally fine with windy mountain roads, but this road was awful. It had snowed the night before my visit (which was unusual) so the normally sketchy mountain road felt extra sketchy. After fishtailing up a curve with no guardrails, another woman in my tour group yelled out “Stop!”. We walked the rest of the way and I think everyone on the tour was grateful for that. Going down was less slippery but no less terrifying and I was thrilled when we made it back to a paved road.
The Time I Lost My Room Key – Everything else on my list has been out of my control, but I have no one to blame but myself for this one. I put my hotel key in the same pocket everyday so I don’t lose it. Well, when I took my wallet out of that same pocket, the key must have flown out because when I got back to my hostel after my tour, I could not find it. Cue panic.
Thankfully, the tour company was able to find it in the van (apparently the hostel didn’t have a back up key—though they made one the next day). I did have to hang out in the hostel common area for over two hours waiting for the key, but I got it back so it could have been worse. But not ideal when you just want to shower after a long day tour.
Final Thoughts
I’m not entirely sure what I expected when I traveled to Bolivia. It was more interesting than the two Argentinian travelers made it sound and while chaotic, it was less chaotic than the owner of my hostel in Chile described. While the cities may not be my favorites, the scenery outside of the cities is incredible and I think it helps to make Bolivia a bit of an underrated destination. Now I move northward to Peru to country that everyone has raved out.
