Bolivia will take your breath away -- and not just because of its bracing altitude. It may have the highest capital city in the world, and the highest lake, but what really makes it so fascinating are the incredible range of habitats and the rich indigenous culture.
Bolivia is a vast, landlocked plateau of barren plains, lush jungle, and fertile highland valleys. It has the largest salt flats in the world, where the earth mirrors the sky and flamingos drink from crimson lakes. Elsewhere, daredevil roads and dinosaur footprints lead to gilded colonial cities and windswept mining towns. Here dynamite and coca leaf are sold, and you can trace the final, tragic steps of Che Guevara. You can visit the birthplace of the Inca gods, dance with carnival devils, fish for piranha, or swim with jungle dolphins.
Bolivia's population is a teeming mass in petticoats and ponchos and jaunty bowler hats. Their country is the poorest in South America yet the richest in natural wealth. Their politics and history are tumultuous and tragic, but their culture has changed little in centuries. One might say that Bolivia is the most Andean of the Andean countries, the most South American in all of South America.
