According to simplyyellowpages, Bolivia is one of those rare countries where the promises of travel agencies to show you all the “best” really is true! There are attractions for every taste: monuments of ancient civilizations, and incredibly beautiful nature, and Spanish colonial architecture. Bolivia is home to 6 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. They include the historical center of Sucre, famous for its amazing examples of colonial architecture, the city of Potosi – the capital of silversmiths, the settlements of missionaries of the XVII-XVIII centuries on the lands of the Chiquitos Indians, the Noel Kempff Mercado National Reserve and the archaeological parks of El Fuerte and Tiahuanaco – the main miracle surviving centers of Indian culture. The Uyuni Salt Desert is an amazing natural wonder of Bolivia, with an area of ​​as much as 12,000 km². This place is difficult to describe in words, they are so magnificent and completely unlike any other landscapes on Earth. Lake Titicaca is one of the main tourist sites of Bolivia, which, by the way, it shares with its neighbor Peru. This is a huge glossy expanse of water at an altitude of 3800 meters, surrounded by turquoise hills and snowy peaks. There are several islands on the lake, each of which has its own legend and amazing features. For example, it is believed that the island of the Incas is connected by underground routes with Cuzco, the capital of an ancient civilization, and the floating islands of the Uros became the prototypes for the famous boats of Thor Heyerdahl. You can get acquainted with the best examples of Spanish colonial architecture in the cities of Sucre and La Paz, and the cities of Copacabana and Oruro are worth visiting only because of the colorful Indian carnivals, which take place here in large numbers throughout the year. An ambiguous attraction is the Road of Death – the most dangerous road in the world! It connects Lapas and Coroico and is located in the province of Yungas. The whole road, 70 km long, is a steep one-sided descent from a height of 3600 meters, which is accompanied by deep gorges and cliffs. The road itself is extremely unsuitable for traffic, it consists of gravel and is very slippery due to high humidity. About 25 cars crash here every year, and major accidents occur every 2 weeks. The combination of unfavorable factors makes this road the most dangerous in the world, but this only attracts more and more curious tourists here!

National cuisine of Bolivia

The traditional cuisine of Bolivia is ancient Indian recipes in Spanish processing. The basis of the national cuisine is undoubtedly meat (pork, beef, alpaca and poultry meat), corn and potatoes. Also quite often in remote areas of the country they use river fish and rabbit meat. It is difficult to call Bolivian cuisine healthy, the main method of cooking here is frying with a lot of oil, grilling is less common. The locals pay special attention to spices and seasonings, the most favorite are spicy Lokotos and Llahua sauces. The classic dishes of Bolivian cuisine are, perhaps, grilled meat with potatoes in a tomato-onion pique-a-lo-macho sauce, steak with eggs garnished with rice and silpancho potatoes, fried beef heart with potatoes and corn sauce “anticucho” chopped sausages with potatoes “salchipapa”. Vegetarians and healthy eaters can save themselves with “ensalada de frutas” – a fruit salad with homemade yogurt and honey. Chicha corn vodka is the legendary and most popular alcohol in Bolivia, it is drunk from small bowls, periodically taking small sips, but never draining the bowl to the bottom. In cocktails, local grape liqueur “singani” is often found. Among the Bolivian beers, it is worth noting such varieties as everyone’s favorite Pasenha, a higher level Huari and a very light El Inca.

Transport

Getting to Bolivia from Russia is not so easy, there are no direct flights, and you will have to fly with two transfers, most likely with different airlines. The most convenient transplants are located in Chile and Peru. Good connection options are offered by Lufthansa (via Frankfurt and Lima), Iberia (with connections in Madrid and Lima), Air France (via Paris and Caracas), and Alitalia (with connections in Rome or Milan and Caracas). Whichever option you choose, the total travel time will be at least a day, or even more. The most convenient way to get around Bolivia is by planes and buses. Due to the abundance of hard-to-reach mountainous areas, domestic air traffic in the country is very well developed. Aerosur is the largest carrier, with domestic flights also served by Amaszonas, Aerocon, BoA, GOL and TAM. Fares for flights are very small, but do not forget about additional taxes: upon departure you need to pay $ 25, and upon check-in for a flight 15BOB. Intercity bus service connects all even the smallest settlements of the country. Due to the complexity of routes, most buses run only during daylight hours. In Bolivia, private bus companies are developed, so the quality of buses and their cost here have a very wide range. The quality of roads in the country is good, but strikes are not uncommon, which can delay your journey for several days. The railway communication in the country is not very popular and is intended, rather, for foreign tourists, who are especially popular with the Oruro-Uyuni branch, which runs along an incredibly picturesque and exotic route through a high-altitude lake in the Andes. In the major cities of Bolivia, you can rent a car, To do this, you will need an international driver’s license issued no earlier than 2 years ago, a credit card or a $1,000 deposit. Driver must be over 25 years of age.