Best Things to Do in Bolivia: Uyuni, La Paz & the Andes
The best things to do in Bolivia include exploring the Salar de Uyuni salt flats, riding La Paz’s cable cars, visiting the Witches Market, and trekking in the Cordillera Real. This guide focuses on Uyuni, La Paz, and the Andes, with original traveler accounts and practical advice for choosing suitable adventures.
Choose your Bolivia tour by itinerary
A Uyuni day trip and a multi-day southwest expedition are different products. For a short visit, compare the day trip below; for lagoons or a Chile connection, read our longer salt-flats guide first.
Plan a longer Bolivia salt-flats tour
For La Paz, a guided walk adds local context to the cable cars and markets. Independent cable-car travel is also possible; avoid booking two city tours that cover the same stops. Prices, language, fees, pickup, and cancellation depend on the selected option.
Bolivia at a glance
- Trip length: Allow roughly 10 days for La Paz and Uyuni with transfers and buffer time; add days for trekking. This is an editorial planning suggestion.
- Route: Start with city time, then choose one larger adventure. Do not schedule a glacier climb immediately after arriving at altitude.
- Season: Rainfall and access matter more than a guaranteed photo. Ask the operator what is reachable on your dates.
- Budget: Compare the total tour cost, including room type, guide language, entry fees, and transfers.
Bolivia lies landlocked between Chile, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Its landscapes range from Amazonian rainforest and snow-capped mountains to the high-altitude deserts of the southwest, the salt flats, and Lake Titicaca, shared with Peru.
The original contributors explain what made these places memorable on their trips. Their specific observations and credits remain below; first-person accounts are historical experiences, not claims of a new visit.
This is a focused shortlist, not a complete circuit of the country. For a wider journey, compare our South America destination guide and things to do in Peru.
Check conditions before committing to your route
Roadblocks, fuel shortages, and weather can disrupt transport. Check current travel advice and local updates; keep flexibility between a remote tour and an international flight. Never try to cross a roadblock.
Six experiences at a glance
- Salt landscapes and photography: Salar de Uyuni
- Exposed mountain biking, only if suitable: Death Road
- High-altitude trekking: Cordillera Real
- A short rope-based adventure: Urban Rush
- City views without a summit hike: Mi Teleférico
- Living traditions and shopping: Witches Market
1. Salar de Uyuni salt flats
Visiting the Salar de Uyuni is like being on another planet.
A tour of the Salar de Uyuni salt flats is a reason to build a Bolivia itinerary around the southwest.
It is possible to arrange a day trip to see the salt flats from Uyuni. Longer expeditions also visit the lagoons and high-altitude deserts; compare the departure point, number of nights, and final destination carefully, especially when arriving from Chile or Argentina.
The scenery in southern Bolivia includes colored lagoons and snow-covered mountains, and pink flamingos feeding in the waters. These stops belong to a longer southwest itinerary, not every salt-flat day trip.
The Salar de Uyuni salt flats are the largest in the world.
In some areas, you can’t see anything else around you apart from the expanse of salt, which results in lots of comic photographs where distance perception no longer exists.
In the rainy season, the salt flats are more difficult to cross due to flooding. Shallow water can create reflections, but the mirror effect and access to particular stops cannot be guaranteed.
Even in the dry season, visiting the Salar de Uyuni is not without challenges. High altitude can cause illness, and nights can be very cold, so allow time to adjust and bring plenty of warm clothes.
Sunrise over the salt flats is worth considering if photography is your priority. Book an itinerary that explicitly includes it; a daytime departure or sunset tour does not include sunrise by default.
Recommended by Claire from Tales of a Backpacker
More from the original contributors: salt flats tour, salt flats.
Plan your visit
- Location: Uyuni and the salt flats in southwestern Bolivia.
- Admission and fees: Tours are priced by date and group type. Ask whether island entry, meals, and transfers are included; carry the requested local cash for extras.
- Access and hours: Use a local driver or guided tour. Flooding and conditions can change the route; departures follow the booked itinerary.
- Time needed: One full day for the salt flats; longer tours are separate itineraries with different endpoints.
- Booking advice: Confirm guide language, return town, luggage allowance, and accommodation standard before paying.
Our take: Choose a day trip if the salt flats are your priority; choose a longer itinerary for the lagoons. Do not pay twice for the same salt-flat stops.
The linked eight-hour jeep outing is a day trip from Uyuni with lunch, not a multi-day lagoon expedition or a transfer to Chile. Verify the selected language, pickup area, island access and entry fees, and return time; weather may change the stops.
2. Cycle the Death Road
If you love cycling and adventure, you may be considering the Death Road while in Bolivia.
Death Road, known locally as El Camino de la Muerte or the North Yungas Road, follows exposed mountain slopes. The scenery is part of the appeal, but this is a consequential ride rather than a casual sightseeing cycle.
Read also: Cycling the Death Road in Bolivia – The World’s most dangerous Bike Ride.
The narrow road runs along sheer cliffs with very few guardrails.
The experience of cycling the Death Road takes you from the chilly Altiplano Highlands down into warm rainforest. That change in landscape is what makes the route so distinctive.
Tour arrangements differ, so compare the bike, protective equipment, guide-to-rider ratio, support vehicle, and weather policy.
You start with a safety briefing, get your gear, test your brakes, and start the descent.
There are stops and photo opportunities along the way. Serious and fatal accidents are possible; an organized tour does not make an exposed mountain road risk-free.
Choose an operator that explains the risks and equipment checks clearly, follow the safety instructions, and do not push beyond your riding ability. Skip the ride if you are uncomfortable controlling a bike on loose surfaces beside steep drops.
Recommended by Oksana & Max from Drink Tea & Travel
More from the original contributors: cycling the Death Road.
Plan your visit
- Location: North Yungas Road, usually visited on an organized trip from La Paz.
- Admission and fees: Operator quotes vary. Confirm bike, protective equipment, transfers, meals, and any local access fees.
- Access and hours: A scheduled guided departure, subject to road and weather conditions.
- Time needed: Allow a full day including transfers.
- Booking advice: Choose for equipment and risk management, not the lowest price; confirm cycling and rescue insurance coverage.
Our take: Worth considering for confident riders who accept the risks; skip it if exposure or loose-road bike handling makes you uneasy.
3. Trek in the Cordillera Real
Bolivia’s Cordillera Real, or the “royal range” of the Andes, is an impressive sight that can be seen dominating the horizon from the shores of Lake Titicaca to the skyline of La Paz.
The higher peaks are mountaineering objectives, while trekking routes offer different levels of commitment. Even routes without technical climbing can be strenuous at this altitude.
For example, I spent 8 days trekking from Laguna Khotia to the summit of Huayna Potosi, a peak that can be seen from El Alto.
Most days during the trek, the only other people I saw were the odd llama farmer. The Cordillera Real offered an escape from the crowds drawn to other hiking destinations in South America, such as the mountains around Cusco, Peru, and Patagonia.
For people looking for shorter options, Pico Austria is a steep high-altitude day hike that can be arranged from La Paz. Ask a mountain guide whether your acclimatization, experience, and the current conditions suit the route.
Huayna Potosi involves glacier travel and mountaineering equipment. Some guided programs include training, but describing it simply as a beginner-friendly peak understates the demands of altitude, cold, and glacier conditions.
Since the mountains are at such high elevations, plan acclimatization with your guide before embarking on a high-altitude trek, especially if trying to reach a glaciated summit. Check that your insurance covers the actual activity, altitude, and rescue arrangements.
Thea’s account retains her original personal experience; route choices and summit attempts must reflect conditions on your own travel dates.
Recommended by Thea from Zen Travellers
More from the original contributors: Patagonia.
Plan your visit
- Location: Cordillera Real, with many guided departures arranged from La Paz.
- Admission and fees: Route-specific quote: check guide, transport, equipment, food, refuge/camping, and local fees.
- Access and hours: Weather and mountain conditions determine access; glacier routes need a suitable guided plan.
- Time needed: A day for a selected hike or several days for a trek/climb, plus acclimatization. These are different activities.
- Booking advice: Ask about guide qualifications, client ratio, training, rescue procedures, and turnaround decisions.
Our take: Choose a trek matched to your experience. A glacier summit is not a casual add-on to a short city stay.
4. Urban Rush in La Paz
Urban Rush offers a very different view of La Paz: a rope descent from a building in the city center.
The operator describes a 50-meter descent from the 17th floor, with a practice wall and a choice of traditional abseiling or a face-first technique. Ask which option is suitable for you before paying.
The original article’s video is retained below. It shows the experience, not confirmation of today’s opening hours, price, or available appointments.
Plan your visit
- Location: La Paz city center; reconfirm the meeting point with Urban Rush.
- Admission and fees: Request a current quote directly; no verified public price is reproduced here.
- Access and hours: Confirm an appointment, operating status, and participation requirements directly.
- Time needed: Ask for the total slot including check-in, briefing, and practice; the descent alone is not the visit duration.
- Booking advice: Confirm health, age, and weight requirements, equipment, and cancellation terms.
Our take: An optional adrenaline activity; skip it if you prefer scenery, culture, or less exposed experiences.
5. Ride Mi Teleférico
Because La Paz is situated inside a canyon, traveling between its neighborhoods and El Alto involves steep slopes and winding roads. Mi Teleférico adds an aerial route above this terrain.
Mi Teleférico is a public cable car network serving La Paz and El Alto. Choose the lines around the neighborhoods you want to see rather than trying to ride every line in one day.
A ride on Mi Teleférico gives you a different understanding of the city. From the cabins, you can see how neighborhoods extend across the slopes and along the edge of the plateau.
Gliding over the cliffs and plunging into the bowl of the Sopocachi neighborhood offers a literal bird’s-eye view into the contrast between the top and bottom of the city.
Riders can marvel at the buildings somehow impossibly constructed on practically vertical cliffs.
Buy the appropriate ticket at a station and confirm the fare and transfer rules for your route. A guided city walk is optional: you do not need a tour simply to use the cable cars.
Recommended by Jen from Long Haul Trekkers
Plan your visit
- Location: Cable car stations across La Paz and El Alto.
- Admission and fees: Pay the applicable station fare; confirm transfers and ticket type. A guided tour is an optional additional service.
- Access and hours: Check current service hours and line notices with Mi Teleférico, especially on holidays.
- Time needed: Allow 1–2 hours for selected lines and views (editorial estimate); the linked guided walk lists about 2.5 hours.
- Booking advice: Ride independently for the views; book a guide for neighborhood context. Check station access and any walking sections if mobility is limited.
Our take: A useful independent city experience; a guide is worthwhile for context, not a requirement for riding.
This approximately 2.5-hour guided walk combines La Paz, El Alto, cable cars, and market stops. Check the meeting point, included tickets, walking demands, and selected guide language. A German booking page does not mean a German-speaking guide.
6. Visit the Witches Market
Mercado de las Brujas, or the Witches Market, is a unique shopping experience in La Paz, Bolivia.
The market is a small section of shops with goods spilling out of their doors. You’ll see tinctures, candles, ritual offerings, and dried llama fetuses.
These items have a place in living Andean religious and medicinal traditions. Approach them with curiosity and respect rather than treating the vendors as a performance.
A local guide can explain the meaning of different offerings. Products sold as remedies are not a substitute for medical advice.
The original contributor described the practice of burying a llama fetus when building a house as an offering associated with good fortune. Customs vary, so ask respectfully rather than assuming every household follows the same practice.
There are many souvenir shops in the surrounding streets, so you can also look for a gift to take home.
Etiquette tip: Many of the women here do not always appreciate having their photos taken. Remember, ask for permission first before snapping pictures of the vendors or their wares.
Recommended by Abbie from Speck on the Globe
Plan your visit
- Location: The Mercado de las Brujas area in central La Paz.
- Admission and fees: Street browsing does not require an attraction ticket; shopping and guided walks are separate expenses.
- Access and hours: Individual shops set their own hours; visit during the day and check locally.
- Time needed: Allow 45–90 minutes (editorial estimate), longer with a neighborhood walk.
- Booking advice: A guide can explain the cultural context. Ask before photographing people or ritual objects.
Our take: Visit for cultural context and respectful browsing, not promises of cures or a staged spectacle.
Higher Ground Café: a historical note
Historical recommendation, not a current café listing
Current operation could not be confirmed, and business directories list Higher Ground as closed. The original account is kept for its personal detail; do not plan a visit to the old Tarija 229 address without fresh confirmation.
In Jeanette’s original account, Higher Ground Café was a place she stumbled across down a street, around a corner, and down some stairs.
She remembered taking the long and awkward way to find a coffee stop that became a favorite of her visit.
Her account praised the friendly staff, lattes, and cookies.
She described the owner as a former mountain bike guide who would talk about Death Road and adventure activities in the area.
For her, good coffee and local knowledge were part of the same stop.
The Melbourne-inspired café was also described as a community meeting place for locals and backpackers.
The original review recalled regular movie nights.
One evening might feature a TED Talk, another a film associated with the Banff festival. These are historical observations, not a current events calendar.
Recommended by Jeanette from Traveling Honeybird
How to plan La Paz and Uyuni
La Paz is Bolivia’s seat of government; Sucre is its constitutional capital. Use La Paz as a base for the city experiences in this guide, then plan Uyuni as a separate part of the trip rather than a city day trip.
For arrival in La Paz, arrange transport from El Alto airport with your accommodation or a recognized transfer provider. Ask for the current fare and expected journey time on your arrival date; traffic, protests, and fuel availability can affect the trip.
Compare currently operating flights and established overland operators for the Uyuni leg. Favor daylight road travel where practical, and avoid a tight onward flight after a remote expedition. Check whether a salt-flats package returns to Uyuni or ends in another town or country.
Where to base yourself
- Central La Paz: Convenient for the market area and city-tour meeting points. Check street access, noise, stairs, and the exact pickup arrangement before choosing a hotel.
- Sopocachi: An alternative for travelers who prefer to choose accommodation around restaurants and a neighborhood base. Check the walking route and gradients to the nearest transport stop.
- Uyuni: A practical base before and after a tour. An out-of-town salt hotel is a separate accommodation choice; confirm transfers, heating, hot water, and whether your tour can collect you there.
A flexible 10-day Bolivia itinerary
This is an editorial outline for the places covered here, not a fixed package or medical acclimatization schedule. Add time when transport or your response to altitude requires it.
- Days 1–3: Arrive in La Paz, settle in, and keep plans light. Fit in the market and selected cable-car lines when you feel well enough.
- Day 4: An optional city activity or rest day. Only choose Death Road if the conditions and your riding ability suit it.
- Day 5: Transfer to Uyuni using a confirmed service and allow time for a tour briefing.
- Days 6–8: Choose a longer southwest tour returning to Uyuni, or take one salt-flat day trip and retain extra flexibility. Confirm that your chosen product actually matches this route.
- Days 9–10: Return to your departure city and keep buffer time. Add separate days for the Cordillera Real rather than squeezing a summit into this plan.
When to visit Bolivia
The country does not have one uniform climate. For a highland itinerary, compare the drier part of the year with the rainy season, generally November through April, when flooding and landslides can interrupt roads. Winter nights in the highlands can be cold even when daytime skies are clear.
At Uyuni, shallow water can create the mirror effect, while dry conditions suit salt-pattern and perspective photographs. Neither conditions nor access to every island or lagoon can be promised for a particular date. Ask your operator for the recent route, not just a seasonal advertising photo.
What to budget for
Bolivianos (BOB) are the local currency, but some tours are quoted in US dollars. Compare prices for the same departure date, language, group size, room type, and finish point; a cheap headline price can exclude the part of the trip you actually need.
Before paying for a tour
- Uyuni: Shared or private vehicle, driver versus separate guide, entry fees, meals, sleeping arrangements, showers/heating, and endpoint.
- La Paz: Tickets, pickup versus meeting point, walking distance, language, and overlap with other tours.
- Mountains and biking: Equipment quality and fit, group supervision, emergency arrangements, and suitable insurance.
- Currency: Check the actual card currency and exchange rate before payment. Bring the amount of local cash specified by the operator for legitimate extras.
Altitude and current travel advice
La Paz, Uyuni, and the mountains involve high-altitude exposure. Allow a gradual itinerary and obtain appropriate travel-health advice, especially before strenuous activity; being fit does not remove altitude risk. If you feel unwell, do not treat a prepaid excursion as a reason to continue upward. Official travel-health guidance
Check entry requirements for your own passport with Bolivian authorities before booking. Do not assume the rules for US visitors and European visitors are the same. Also review current regional warnings; they can affect routes outside the places covered in this article. Check the current travel-advice pages
Bolivia travel FAQs
What are the best things to do in Bolivia on a first trip?
For the highland route covered here, prioritize the Salar de Uyuni, La Paz’s cable cars, and the Witches Market. Add a mountain trek only if you have the time, experience, and acclimatization it requires. Death Road and Urban Rush are optional activities, not essential steps on every Bolivia itinerary.
How many days do you need in Bolivia?
About 10 days is a useful starting point for La Paz and Uyuni with transfers and some flexibility. It is not enough to cover all of Bolivia at a relaxed pace. Add days for the Cordillera Real, other regions, and transport disruption rather than treating every day as a tightly scheduled sightseeing day.
Should you book a one-day or multi-day Uyuni tour?
A day trip from Uyuni suits travelers who mainly want to see the salt flats. A longer southwest itinerary can include lagoons and desert landscapes, but routes vary. Check the departure town and endpoint carefully: a trip ending in Chile is not interchangeable with one returning to Uyuni, even if both mention the salt flats.
Is the Uyuni mirror effect guaranteed?
No. Reflections depend on shallow water and suitable weather, and rainfall can also restrict access. Ask the operator about recent conditions and which stops are currently reachable. A tour photograph is not a promise that your departure will have the same light, water level, or route.
Is cycling Death Road safe for beginners?
Do not assume that a tour marketed to beginners removes the risks. Loose surfaces, exposed edges, weather, and bike control all matter. Discuss your experience honestly with the operator and check the equipment and emergency arrangements. If you are uncomfortable riding beside steep drops, choose a different activity.
Do you need a tour to ride Mi Teleférico?
No. Mi Teleférico is public transportation, and you can buy an appropriate ticket at a station. Check the current fare, transfer rules, and operating notices. A guided walk is useful if you want explanations of neighborhoods and market traditions, but it is a separate service rather than a requirement for a cable-car ride.
Can you climb Huayna Potosi as a casual day trip?
Do not plan the summit as a casual sightseeing excursion. It involves glacier travel, equipment, altitude, and a suitable guided program. Some operators offer training as part of a multi-day itinerary, but that does not guarantee readiness or a summit. Distinguish a viewpoint visit or hike from an actual mountaineering ascent.
Is La Paz the capital of Bolivia?
La Paz is the seat of Bolivia’s government, while Sucre is the constitutional capital. For this itinerary, La Paz works as the base for the cable cars, markets, and several adventure departures. Do not confuse it with Sucre when arranging accommodation, domestic transport, or an extension to your trip.
- About the Author
- More info
Tim Kroeger is the founder and editor of Universal Traveller, covering luxury stays and active travel. Based in Bangkok, he draws on 15+ years of travel across 112+ countries, from reviewing luxury hotels to bikepacking through Southeast Asia. He also writes about luxury wellness and longevity travel at tim-kroeger.com, where he developed the Restorative Index.
