For an out-of-this-world destination, it’s hard to match the Salar de Uyuni. One of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats were formed by a prehistoric lake. Visitors travel in 4×4 vehicles across the expanse of the salt flats to visit locally fashioned structures made entirely from bricks of salt. The salt flats are at their most spectacular after a rain, when water sitting atop the cemented salt acts like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the sky above.

La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, while Sucre is the constitutional capital. Situated on steep hills at an elevation of roughly 3,650 meters (11,975 ft) above sea level, La Paz is the highest capital city in the world. The sight from the air as one flies into La Paz is incredible, seeming to cling to the sides of what looks like a large gash in the earth.

Located between La Paz and Lake Titicaca, the sleepy town of Sorata serves as a base camp for visitors who want to hike in the mountains of the Cordillera Real. The granite slopes of the Cordillera Real lie in the Altiplano, or “high plains,” of the widest part of the Andes Mountains. Six of the towering peaks of the range are over 20,000 feet high. Hikers come to Sorata to plan and prepare for mountain-climbing treks.

Dubbed the “World’s Most Dangerous Road” Yungas Road runs from La Paz to Bolivia’s Amazon rainforest region in the north of the country. From La Paz, the road climbs around 15,000 feet before descending around 4,000 feet to the town of Coroico. The road has proved dangerous for those traveling in vehicles, but Yungas has become a favorite travel attraction for mountain bikers who rave about the 40-mile-long stretch of downhill riding.

Madidi National Park stretches from the Andes to the Amazon. Encompassing over 7,000 square miles, Madidi is known as one the most biologically diverse parks in the world. Visitors to Madidi may spot an elusive jaguar, a giant otter or the titi monkey, a species of monkey found nowhere else in the world. More than 11 percent of the planet’s 9,000 species of birds can be found in Madidi National Park.

Located near the south-eastern shore of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, Tiwanaku is one of the most important precursors to the Inca Empire. The community grew to urban proportions between the 7th and 9th centuries, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes. At its peak the city had between 15,000–30,000 inhabitants. While only a small part has been excavated, Tiahuanaco represents the greatest megalithic architectural achievement of pre-Inca South America. Today it is one of the top tourist attractions in Bolivia.

Known as the “City of Four Names”, Sucre is also called Charcas, La Plata and Chuquisaca. Founded in the 1500s by Spanish colonials, Sucre offers visitors a clear glimpse of life in aristocratic Spain in the 16th century. Sucre has many important historical buildings worth visiting, including La Casa de la Libertad, where Simón Bolívar wrote the Bolivian Constitution, and Bolivia’s National Library, which features documents dating to the 15th century.

Bordering Bolivia and Peru, Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America. Incans, as well as a number of other native peoples, are thought to have originated in the region. Near the south-eastern shore of the lake lies Tiwanaku, ruins of an ancient city state that scholars believe was a precursor of the Inca Empire. Lake Titicaca is a popular vacation destination. The original Copacabana is a favorite resort for both tourists and locals

10-11-2017