Travel

Bolivia

Bolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west.

Accommodation in Bolivia
Hotels: Most accommodation in Bolivia is provided in hotels, classified from 1 to 5 stars.
Guest Houses/ Pensions: A guest house normally a house that lets out one or more bedrooms, some with ensuite or private facilities.
Youth Hostels: There are hundreds of youth hostels in Bolivia, offering very simple accommodation at very low prices. There are hostels in all major towns of Bolivia.
Camping: There are thousands of campsites throughout Bolivia.

Bolivia Transportation
Traveling in a private vehicle, bus, van/truck, motorcycle, and taxi are easy forms of transportation in and around the cities and towns of Bolivia. The prices usually reflect the level of service, but this is not always the case. It is more expensive to travel in private vehicles and is cheaper to travel in a van or truck. Pullman buses offer a middle ground for transportation and are not only the most abundant, but also provide comfort and safety while traveling.
To travel between regions is relatively easy within Bolivia. The highways and roads connect most large cities with the smaller towns and villages. Because the majority of roads in Bolivia are not paved, access to certain places will depend on the season in which you travel. During the rainy season, many remote villages remain isolated for days or weeks if the rain doesn’t stop. The train system in Bolivia is limited to trips between the plateau and the valleys. It is possible to travel by train towards Chile, Argentina, and Brazil.

Places to visit in Bolivia
There are many places to see in Bolivia. Options range from colonial cities, to the rugged Altiplano, to tropical rainforests, and much more.
Colonial Cities
Sucre the legal capital of Bolivia is the home of the judiciary branch of the government. This relatively small city has a small mellow community and is rich with history, Bolivian culture and student energy. Sucre has been recognized by the United Nations as a World Cultural Heritage Site
La Paz has the seat of the legislative and executive branches of the government and for all intents and purposes, is the working capital of Bolivia. La Paz is also Bolivia’s largest city and the main international hub for commerce and travel.
The Altiplano
Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat in the world. The salt is harvested and exported from Bolivia. The flats are complete with a hotel completely made of salt, even the furniture! Tours of the ‘white sea’ as it is sometimes called, can be arranged from the town of Uyuni or from San Pedro de Atacames in Chile.
A tour of the mines of Potosi is a truly educational experience. Visitors stop at the market to buy gifts for the miners, then head over to the mine and climb through the tunnels chatting with miners and watching them work.
Lake Titicaca, shared with Peru, is the highest navigable lake in the world. The lake has a unique indigenous culture that lives on floating islands made of reeds native to the region.
Tropical Rainforest
The tropical rainforest of Bolivia offers incredible biodiversity and exotic adventures for visitors. The nature reserves offer a range of adventurous activities from exploring wild untouched rainforest to bird watching to boat trips down rivers.

Bolivian Food
Eating in Bolivia is an exciting and rich experience. Food in Bolivia has many different styles with thousands of great restaurants in all the major cities and towns of Bolivia. All of them seem to boast about one chef or another, which is good, but for most of us we want to get down to eating.
In addition, food in La Paz and other Bolivian tourist resorts is not restricted to traditional Bolivian delights. Cuisine from all over the world can be found in Bolivia, including Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, and other international tastes. Fast food chains are rising in popularity due to convenience and their family oriented style.Some traditional dishes include Majao which is a rice dish with eggs,beef and fried banana, ‘Silpancho’ meat served with rice and potatoes, Pacumutu is a rice dish with grilled beef, fried yucca and cheese, ‘Saltenas’ and ‘Empanadas’ which are meat or vegetable pies, ‘Locro’ is a soup made with rice, chicken and banana and ‘Chicharron de Pacu’ made with the local Pacu fish, rice and yucca.

Shopping in Bolivia
Bolivia offers a wealth of artisan goods with special purchases including llama and alpaca-wool products, Indian handicrafts, woodcarvings and gold and silver costume jewelry. The streets around the market area, notably Sagarnaga, Linares and Illampu, are full of small vendors offering goods at lower prices but quality can be variable. There are, however, a few places around La Paz where you can buy good-quality goods and be sure that a percentage of your money is directly going back into the hands of artisans. For example, the craft shop Ayni Bolivia in the Hotel
Rosario supports over 300 artisans from poor, rural communities, and stocks over 300 items across a range of designs and styles.