The 9 Best Places to Visit in Bolivia for History Buffs

With the largest indigenous population in South America and some of its most spectacular mountainous landscapes, Bolivia is a country of breathtaking appeal. Yet it is the country’s fascinating and tumultuous past that makes it a must-visit for history lovers. From priceless ancient ruins to stunning colonial architecture and prized prehistoric finds, the most alluring historical sites in Bolivia will help you better understand its rich and achingly complex history. Here are nine of the best sites you really shouldn’t miss.

Tiwanaku is one of Bolivia’s oldest and most significant historical sites. It is named after one of the mightiest pre-Inca civilizations that no one seems to have ever heard about! Their conquest once spread from the west to Peru and south to Chile, flourishing from 600 to around 1000 CE. Their “headquarters” was a citadel built on the shores of Lake Titicaca, now one of South America’s most prized UNESCO-listed treasures.

Tiwanaku is an astonishing living portal to the past. A past that witnessed the rise of an incredibly sophisticated civilization that existed centuries before the birth of the more prominent Incas. Many of the Incas’ most respected achievements, like their advanced irrigation and architectural designs, were actually inspired by Tiwanaku, a site they held sacred.

2. The Historic Center of Sucre

Sucre is arguably one of the loveliest capitals in South America. It is also one of its most important. The beating heart of Bolivia is a whitewashed colonial stunner, revered for spearheading the call for independence from Spain. It would eventually come in 1825, 15 years after the first South American nation, Colombia, achieved independence.

The historical center of Sucre, a maze of cobbled streets and well-preserved buildings, is UNESCO-listed. At its heart lies Plaza 25 de Mayo, a gorgeous green space framed by some of the most enchanting colonial-era buildings you’ll see on the continent. The National Government House and Grand Catedral Metropolitana will vie for your attention, being the two most striking. Casa de la Libertad, where independence was officially signed and sealed, houses a heritage museum well worth visiting and the Treasure Museum (Museo del Tesoro) offers guided tours in English and perfectly explains how unassuming Bolivia became the economic powerhouse of the New World.

Founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1538, Sucre was initially named La Plata (meaning silver in Spanish) due to its proximity to the invaluable silver mines in nearby Potosi. It acted as the administrative, religious, and economic capital of the Spanish Empire in the region, and the consequential wealth it served up to its founders is still evident in the splendid architecture.

Walk one mile northeast of the plaza, and you will reach the University of San Francisco Xavier, one of the oldest universities in the Americas. At the turn of the 19th century, the studious hub became a breeding ground for revolutionary ideas. Many influential figures in Latin America’s fight for independence, such as Simón Bolívar and Antonio José de Sucre, found inspiration and support for their eventually successful cause here. Wander the grounds, admire the spectacular architecture, and climb to the top for sweeping city views.

4. Dinosaur Footprints at Cal Orcko

While visiting Sucre, don’t miss your chance to see the most important paleontological discovery in history!

The Cal Orcko historical site in Bolivia is home to an astonishing dinosaur “trackway” — a bona fide fossil thoroughfare discovered in a cement quarry just a few miles northwest of Sucre. It features over 5,000 dinosaur tracks from the Late Cretaceous Period — roughly 68 million years ago. Prints belong to at least eight species, including the formidable Tyrannosaurus rex. The tracks are preserved on a soaring limestone wall stretching almost one mile and standing 360 feet high. It is the world’s most extensive collection of dinosaur prints.

Tectonic movement over the last millennia has shifted the ground to ninety degrees, giving the impression the dinosaurs walked up a ridiculously steep incline. The jaw-dropping findings have offered valuable insight into dinosaur behavior, including evidence of herding and predator-prey interactions. The presence of parallel trackways suggests that dinosaurs traveled in groups, forming a literal prehistoric “highway.”

Initially discovered in the 1980s, the tracks were not immediately earmarked for protection because no one realized just how important they were. It wasn’t until a decade later, when a team of foreign paleontologists came to take a look-see that the finding’s significance was finally recognized.

Today, you can visit the protected Parque Cretácico (Cretaceous Park), which features life-size dinosaur replicas and educational exhibits. Take a guided tour and enjoy the visual feast of the tracks from elevated platforms. Admittedly, the park can feel a little Disney-esque, yet the educational offerings are undeniable. Plus, there is simply no way a few kitschy replicas can undermine the star attraction.

Visit Potosí today and you may find it difficult to believe that, once upon a time, the city gave Paris a run for its extravagant wealth. Insane mining richness aside, Potosí’s history is one of incredible struggle, exploitation, and wasteful squandering. A visit to this poignant historical site in Bolivia is a must.

Potosí sits high in the Andes at an altitude of over 13,000 feet. The city’s most imposing feature is Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain), a hill filled with so much silver that it essentially bankrolled the Spanish Empire’s expansion in the New World for over two centuries. An estimated 40,000 tons of silver was siphoned from Potosí, consequently creating an enriched city the likes of which the world had never seen.

Although incredibly lucrative, Potosí’s mines were also sites of immense hardship. Indigenous Bolivians and African slaves were forced to work under brutal conditions here. Historians estimate that one million miners died from unhealthy work conditions, accidents, and diseases like smallpox.

This dark yet crucial chapter in Bolivia’s history is preserved through various sites like the Casa Nacional de Moneda (National Mint of Bolivia) and tours in and around the city. Guided tours of the mines are enlightening and somber, yet they are not without controversy. Some 100 mines still operate in Potosi, and working conditions are bleak. Naturally, this raises ethical questions: are Potosi’s mine tours exploitative and voyeuristic, or can they aid the community when taken with responsible tour operators? The consensus remains divided. Partaking is a personal decision every history lover will have to make.

Nothing can prepare you for the sensory overload that is La Paz, Bolivia’s administrative capital. The city offers one of South America’s most exhilarating travel experiences, and history buffs, in particular, will have a field day here.

Head to the Witches’ Market, or Mercado de las Brujas, to glimpse Bolivian indigenous traditions rooted in Aymara and Quechua beliefs. You’ll find dried llama fetuses, frogs, snakes, and turtles sold openly in market stalls along with other amulets used in spiritual ceremonies. If you think that is slightly unsavory, remember that these dried amulets are primarily purchased by the less affluent. Wealthy Bolivians can afford to sacrifice living llamas to appease Pachamama. So, there’s always that.

7. Coca Museum, La Paz

La Paz’s Coca Museum (Museo de la Coca) is another historical site in Bolivia you really shouldn’t miss. It showcases the history of Bolivia’s other significant commodity: the coca leaf. Despite being vilified for its potential to be turned into powder, the coca leaf has been an essential part of everyday life for Bolivians living at high altitudes since ancient times. Your visit to Bolivia would be much more challenging without the many cups of coca tea you will undoubtedly consume daily. This miraculous leaf is a heaven-sent remedy for combating the effects of altitude sickness, and the museum does an excellent job of dispelling the controversies surrounding coca agriculture in general.

8. Train Cemetery in Uyuni

Better known as the springboard for guided tours of the largest salt pans on earth—the Uyuni Salt Flats—the city that gave the salt flats their name is also home to a fantastic train graveyard that history buffs will love. Uyuni’s Train Cemetery, a sprawling graveyard of rusted locomotives and railcars, lies on the barren, arid outskirts of the city. It symbolizes Bolivia’s attempt at an economic boost that didn’t quite go to plan.

In the late 19th century, Bolivia embarked on an ambitious project to become South America’s central hub for train travel. The government envisioned a network of railways, with Uyuni at its core, that would connect the mineral-rich highlands with the Pacific Coast. With the railroad completed, Uyuni swiftly grew into an important transportation hub.

Although prosperity from the transport of goods and passengers lasted a couple of decades, the drastic decline of the global mining industry in the mid-1900s brought the railroad—and the mineral trade—to a screeching halt. The trains that had once been symbols of progress and modernity were abandoned to the Altiplano’s relentless winds and harsh climate. The Uyuni Train Cemetery is one of Bolivia’s most photogenic historical sites and a poignant representation of the kind of exploitation South America was subjected to for centuries.

The Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos are perhaps the most unique and rewarding Catholic settlements to visit in all of South America. Rather than gazing at piles of (undeniably) old rubble and a few standing walls in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, you can head to Chiquitos and see fully fledged settlements in their fully restored and still-functioning glory.

Jesuit missionaries built towns to “modernize” and evangelize indigenous South Americans from the late 17th century. Most intentionally combined Spanish Baroque elements with indigenous craftsmanship and materials. The architectural fusion is most evident in Chuiquitos’s intricately carved wooden sanctuaries, vividly painted interiors, and the town’s harmonious layout.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990, the singularly listed Chiquitos Missions include six incredibly well-preserved towns: San Francisco Javier, Concepción, Santa Ana, San Miguel, San Rafael, and San José. Combined, they cover an area of around 15,444 square miles. Due to the dubious state of the roads in this eastern region of Bolivia, it takes several days to see them all.

Despite the Jesuits’ expulsion in 1767, the Chiquitano communities preserved their cultural heritage and maintained the now secular towns. This, alongside a distinct musical tradition that exists to this day, is what makes them immensely unique. The Jesuits introduced European classical music to the Chiquitano, who embraced it with gusto. Every year, on the last weekend in August, the towns host the International Baroque Music Festival, which draws musicians from all over the world. Don’t miss it if you are planning to visit Bolivia in August.