Best tours in Bolivia

We recommend G Adventures for small group adventure tours in South America. They have decades of experience in organising group tours, and work with the best and most trusted local experts.

In Bolivia, G Adventures runs two big packages: Bolivia Discovery (11 days) and Highlights of Bolivia (8 days), each including exploration of La Paz, Uyuni, Sucre and Potosí. The longer package includes a more extensive tour of the salt flats, so it gets our vote! A shorter tour, Bolivia Express, is also available, covering just La Paz the salt flats and desert landscapes (this tour is restricted to ages 18–39).

• No visit to Bolivia is complete without seeing the legendary salt flats. Check out our guide to visiting Salar de Uyuni.
• Try mountain-biking down Death Road, reputedly the world’s most dangerous (now very safe and a fun experience!).
• La Paz is home to the exuberant world of cholita wrestling, in which indigenous women face off in traditional dress.

• The picturesque town of Copacabana is Bolivia’s gateway to exploring Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake.
• In the high-altitude town of Potosí you can enter the notorious mines of Cerro Rico, the ‘mountain that eats men’.
• Bolivia’s north is covered with Amazon jungle. You can take an eco-tour of the Pampas Wetlands from Rurrenabaque.

• La Paz, the world’s highest capital, is a hive of activity carved beautifully into the Andes. Here are our top things to do in La Paz.
• Sucre, the ‘White City’, is the country’s constitutional capital. Cheap Spanish lessons are among the popular things to do in Sucre.

• Cochabamba is reputed as the culinary capital of Bolivia. Here’s a neat guide to the city by South America Backpacker.
• Santa Cruz de la Sierra offers a different perspective of Bolivia off the beaten track in the east. Here’s a guide by Tales from the Lens.

• Pique macho – a classic, and our favourite – a messy heap of potatoes, beef pieces, sausage, onions, peppers, egg and sauces.
• Sanduíche de Chola – one of the best pork sandwiches you’ll ever eat, with veg and spices. Grab one in Las Cholas park in La Paz.
• Chicharrón – delightfully indulgent street food, consisting of deep-fried, salted chunks of fatty meat, typically served with corn.

• Salteñas – Bolivia’s answer to the empanada. Baked pastry snack with a filling of meat, spices, potato, egg, olives and raisins.
• Mondogo – we loved this local specialty in Sucre’s markets, consisting of crispy fried pork in a chilli and garlic sauce.
• Trucha from Lake Titicaca – if you visit the great lake it’s a must to try a grilled fresh catch of trout from its deep blue waters.

• Singani – this brandy liquor is Bolivia’s national drink, distilled from white Muscat of Alexandria grapes in the high valleys.
• Chicha – a refreshing alcoholic beverage made from fermented corn, typically drunk from a round bowl.

• Chuflay – a singani-based cocktail dating back to the 19th century. With ginger ale, lemon/lime soda and a slice of lime.
• Bolivian beers – from widespread favourites Paceña and Huari to a diversity of local brews in the growing craft beer scene.

• Evening foodie tour – see the highlights of La Paz while become immersed in its food and drink culture, with special tastings.
• La Paz food, wine and beer tour – learn about the city’s traditional cuisine and sample beverages on this 3-5-hour experience.

• Gastronomic breakfast tour  – an alternative morning food tour with a traditional breakfast and market visits.
• Kitchen 69 – an alternative cooking experience in La Paz, with insights into Bolivian culture and classic dishes, with drink sampling.

• Carnaval de Oruro, February/March – the altiplano city of Oruro hosts the biggest celebrations of the widespread festival in Bolivia.
• Independence Day, 6 August – celebrations on the streets of Bolivian cities with music, dancing, fireworks and parades.
• Fiesta de la Virgen de Candelaria, February – week-long festivities and feasts (the liveliest celebrations are in Copacabana).

• Aymara New Year, 21 June – celebrated in La Paz and Tiwanaku, the indigenous milestone is marked with bonfires and parties.
• Gran Poder, May/June – street dances involving thousands of performers in lavish costumes, and plenty of alcohol.
• Alasitas, 24 January – during the ‘festival of small wishes’, the streets of La Paz are animated with market stalls selling craft and food.

• Marching Powder by Rusty Young (true story of a drug smuggler’s eventful time in La Paz’s famous San Pedro Prison)
• I am a taxi by Deborah Ellis (set in Cochabamba, young adult fiction about the journey of a child whose parents are imprisoned)
• My Mother’s Bolivian Kitchen by Jose Sanchez-H (cookbook with 150 recipes combined with a memoir of a Bolivian childhood)

• Lost in the Jungle by Yossi Ghinsberg (true story of four backpackers struggling to survive deep in the Bolivian jungle)
• The Fat Man from La Paz edited by Rosario Santos (collection of short stories depicting life in modern Bolivia)
• Rocha’s Treasure of Potosi by Fred Staff (telling the 17th century tale of Francisco Rocha, who fought for justice against power)