Fun fact#707
Bolivia has two capitals
Sucre is the constitutional capital while La Paz holds the government, making La Paz the highest seat of government on Earth.
Bolivia
Two capitals, the highest seat of government on Earth, and a salt flat that becomes a mirror.
7 entries · 3 stories, 4 fun facts
Bolivia at a glance
The practical numbers, before the stories.
- Capital
- Sucre (constitutional), La Paz (seat of government)
- Currency
- Boliviano (BOB)
- Official language
- Spanish and 36 recognised indigenous languages
- Climate
- Cold and thin on the altiplano, temperate in the valleys, tropical in the eastern lowlands.
- Best time to go
- May–October, with the Uyuni mirror effect December–March
- Time zone
- UTC−4, no daylight saving
- Driving side
- Right
- Plugs and voltage
- Type A / C, 230 V
Worth knowing: La Paz is the highest seat of government in the world. Altitude sickness is common and worth planning around.
Planning a trip to Bolivia
The decisions that determine whether the trip works, whichever country you are going to.
Sucre is Bolivia's constitutional capital while La Paz holds the government, which makes La Paz the highest seat of government anywhere. When a thin film of water covers the Uyuni salt flat it reflects the sky so precisely that the horizon disappears entirely.
Beneath that same flat lies one of the largest lithium deposits on the planet. The entries here also cover La Paz's cable car network, which is public transport rather than a ride, and the sixty-four kilometres of the Yungas Road where the guide checks the brakes four times and you are glad he did.
Entries from Bolivia
Fun fact#709
Salar de Uyuni becomes a mirror
When a thin layer of water covers the salt flat, it reflects the sky so precisely the horizon disappears.
Fun fact#711
Bolivia holds huge lithium reserves
Beneath the Uyuni salt flat lies one of the largest lithium deposits on the planet.
Fun fact#713
Lake Titicaca has floating islands
The Uros build and maintain islands from layered totora reeds, adding fresh reeds every few weeks.
Story#819
Salt flat perspective
Everyone takes the same forced-perspective photo and everyone thinks they invented it. Our driver had a box of props and a practised routine and enjoyed it more than we did.
Story#822
Death road brakes
Sixty-four kilometres downhill with a drop on one side. The guide said the brakes were the only thing worth checking and then checked them four times.
Story#825
La Paz cable car commute
The world's biggest urban cable car network is public transport, not a ride. We commuted across the city over rooftops for the price of a bus fare.
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Bolivia is one of 36 countries in the library. Read straight through a continent, or start from the map of everywhere we have written about.