La Paz Points of interest include the Church of San Francisco, behind the church is the intriguing witch's market, with its colorful collections of holistic medicinal cures and amulets. Plaza Morillio is surrounded by government buildings. Calle Jaen is a charming, blocks long street of old colonial buildings. The Valley of the Moon is a wild landscape just outside the city limits.
La Paz is gateway to Lake Titicaca. This enormous, 3.200 sq. mi. Lake has speedy hydrofoil trips to Copacabana, Island of the Sun, Island of the Moon, and to Peru. There are several hotels on the shoreline. Hotel Inca Utama offers a cultural center that includes museums, a replica of Raa II, a celestial observatory, and much more.
A short drive from La Paz takes you to Tiwanaku, the ruins of what was in 1500 B.C., the largest city in the Americas. Also near La Paz are the world's highest golf course and ski resort.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the country's financial and industrial center. The ultra-modern airport, Viru Viru, is a hub to many cities in South America's southern cone. From Santa Cruz, comfortable trips can be arranged to the Missions, Samaipata, the Noel Kempff National Park, Valley of the Volcanoes and several other places of interest. The Missions are a delightful collection of churches designed by a Swiss Jesuit, and they resemble Swiss pastry. Samaipata is a carved mountaintop from prehistoric times, overlooking valleys, and rivers far below. The jury is still out as to its purpose. The Valley of Volcanoes is a lush valley surrounded by mountain high stacks of deep red volcanic ash. Santa Cruz itself, is a delightful mix of colonial and cutting edge modern with all the comforts of a North American city.
Sucre is what you would expect of a small Spanish city 400 years ago. Buildings are low-rise, white-washed yearly and built centuries ago. The city boasts the oldest university in South America, the University of San Francisco de Xavier de Chuquisaca was finished in 1624. Recently an area of many dinosaur footprints were discovered at Calorcko, at the edge of town. Museums abound, including a church museum that features the Virgin of Guadalupe, a painting decorated with thousands of precious gems.
The Glorietta is a Moorish palace situated just outside of town. Side trips include Sunday market at Tarabuco, where many native groups dressed in their colorful tribal clothing congregate for a festive day of dancing and shopping in the local market for local goods. A bit farther down the road is Candelaria. This old hacienda has been in the Rojas family for many generations, and has been the setting for period movies. It is unchanged since the 1700s From Sucre it is a two and a half-hour spectacular drive over good roads to Potosi.
Potosi has been given the title Monument of the Americas and Historical World Heritage. In the 1500s it was as large a city as London or Paris. Situated at the foot of Cerro Rico, the mountain that has produced more wealth than any other, has been the source of thousands of tons of silver. It was then the wealthiest city in the world. Churches and colonial mansions reflect the spending sprees of the wealthy who shopped for furniture and fixtures in Paris. La Moneda, now a museum, was the first mint in the Americas, minting silver coins for many countries. The craftsmanship was so good it spawned a saying "Vale un Potosi". This translates to describing any worth while object or thought as being as valuable as a coin from Potosi. The central plaza sports a Statue Of Liberty. Trips into Cerro Rico takes one deep in the tunnels carved by slaves for hundred of years. It's a pretty spooky experience, but very interesting. From Potosi, trips to Uyuni, with its over 10,000 square km, it's the largest salt flats in the world. can be arranged. There you would see a hotel made of blocks of salt and other spectacular scenes.
