Bolivia

Bolivia sits on the roof of the Americas, a landlocked country of captivating landscapes. In the highlands, Lake Titicaca glistens under the distant Cordillera Real mountains, while colourful sailing boats flit between the Islands of the Sun and Moon, legendary birthplace of the Inca. Heading across the spine of the Andes, tiny white-washed, colonial towns such as Sucre and Potosi evoke the glory and tragedy of the Spanish conquest under soaring peaks.  East of the altiplano, Bolivia then plunges down into the semi-tropical lowlands of the Yungas and beyond to the Amazon basin itself where historic Jesuit Missions are shrouded in tropical forest. And yet it is in the far south that the scenery takes on a whole new dimension. Multi-coloured lakes, petrified forests and smouldering volcanoes straddle the border with Chile and culminate in the dazzling Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt-lake and one of South America’s natural wonders.

Of all the Andean countries, Bolivia is the most unique where indigenous colours and cultures remains firmly embedded in society. In cities and villages alike, the streets are dominated by the flowing skirts and bowler hats of the Aymara people, where witches markets sit alongside, colonial churches.

With an ever improving infrastructure, Bolivia is no longer the backpacker destination that it once was. Endure the pitted highways and you discover one of South America’s most captivating and least explored countries where ancient cultures continue to thrive amidst breathtaking landscapes.