Bolivia

Where Is Bolivia Located?

Bolivia is a landlocked country in central South America. It borders Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest and Peru to the northwest. Sucre is the constitutional capital, and the national government sits in La Paz. The country covers about 1.1 million square kilometres.

Last checked: November 2026

Bolivia has no sea coast. It lost its Pacific shoreline in the nineteenth century, and today it relies on port access through neighbouring countries.

The land falls into three broad zones. The Andes and the high plateau called the Altiplano run through the west, at roughly 3,600 to 4,000 metres. Temperate valleys and the forested Yungas slopes lie in the middle. Lowland Amazon forest, grassland and the dry Chaco plain take up the largest share of the territory in the east. Many people expect a cold mountain country, but most of Bolivia’s land is warm lowland.

The main geographic features are Lake Titicaca, which Bolivia shares with Peru at about 3,800 metres, the Salar de Uyuni, a salt flat of more than 10,000 square kilometres, and Sajama, the highest peak at 6,542 metres. Bolivia uses Bolivia Time, which is UTC minus 4 all year, and it does not change its clocks.

Most international visitors arrive at El Alto airport near La Paz or Viru Viru airport in Santa Cruz, and our guide to flights to Bolivia explains both. Distances inside the country are long, so getting around Bolivia deserves its own planning.

Bolivia Travel Guide: What Is the Country Known For?

Bolivia is known for high Andean scenery, the Salar de Uyuni salt flat, Lake Titicaca, Indigenous cultures and colonial cities such as Sucre and Potosí. Its official name is the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Spanish is the most widely used language, and the currency is the boliviano. About 11.4 million people live there.

The country is a presidential republic. Rodrigo Paz has been president since November 2025. The 2009 constitution recognises Spanish and 36 Indigenous languages as official languages, which is why the state is called plurinational.

The population figure is for the whole country, not for one city. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) counted 11,365,333 people in the 2024 census, a lower number than earlier projections. Santa Cruz is the most populous department, and La Paz and El Alto together form a major urban area in the Andes.

Bolivia stands out for its extremes. Seven places are on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), including Tiwanaku, Sucre and Potosí, and the UNESCO page for Bolivia lists them all. La Paz runs a cable-car network that works as public transport. Many villages still use Aymara, Quechua or Guaraní every day.

• Capital: Sucre (constitutional) and La Paz (seat of government)
• Currency: boliviano (BOB)
• Official languages: Spanish and 36 Indigenous languages
• Calling code and domain: +591 and .bo

Entry rules depend on your passport, so read the Bolivia visa guide for tourists before you book. For a first route, the best places to visit in Bolivia are grouped by interest.

A Short History of Bolivia

Bolivia’s history runs from early Andean settlements and the Tiwanaku culture, through Inca rule and Spanish colonisation, to independence in 1825 and today’s plurinational state. Silver from Potosí, the loss of the Pacific coast and the 1952 revolution shaped the country that exists now.

Early peoples and Tiwanaku

People have lived in the Andes for thousands of years. Tiwanaku, near Lake Titicaca, grew into a major ceremonial and political centre that reached its height between about 500 and 900 AD, and UNESCO inscribed the site in 2000. Inca rulers extended their empire into the region in the fifteenth century and absorbed the Aymara kingdoms of the Altiplano.

Spanish rule

Spanish forces arrived in the 1530s. The settlement of La Plata, now Sucre, was founded in 1538, and Potosí followed in 1545 after silver was found on Cerro Rico, the Rich Mountain. Potosí became one of the largest cities in the Americas, and its silver paid for much of the Spanish empire. The region was then called Upper Peru. Forced labour in the mines, known as the mita, cost many Indigenous workers their lives.

Independence and the nineteenth century

Uprisings began in Sucre and La Paz in 1809. Independence was declared on 6 August 1825, and the new republic took its name from Simón Bolívar. Antonio José de Sucre, a general who fought beside Bolívar, became an early president, and the capital was later named after him. Bolivia then lost territory in two wars. In the War of the Pacific, from 1879 to 1884, Chile took Bolivia’s coast. In the Chaco War, from 1932 to 1935, Paraguay gained most of the disputed Chaco region.

Revolution, democracy and the present

The National Revolution of 1952 nationalised the large tin mines, introduced universal voting rights and led to land reform. Military governments ruled for much of the period from 1964 to 1982, and civilian rule returned in 1982. Evo Morales, an Aymara union leader, became president in 2006 and led the drafting of the 2009 constitution that created the Plurinational State. He resigned in November 2019 after disputed elections and protests. Luis Arce won the 2020 election, and Rodrigo Paz won the 2025 election. In 2026, weeks of protests and road blockades led the government to declare a state of exception in June.

Tiwanaku, Sucre and Potosí all fit into the 10 and 14 day plans in our Bolivia itineraries.

Bolivian Culture, Language and Traditions

Bolivian culture blends Indigenous Andean and lowland traditions with Spanish colonial influence. Aymara and Quechua communities are the largest Indigenous groups, Spanish is the common language, and Catholic practice mixes with Andean beliefs such as respect for Pachamama, or Mother Earth. Music, dance and festivals are central to public life.

Language

Spanish is used in government, schools and business. The constitution also recognises 36 Indigenous languages, and Quechua, Aymara and Guaraní are the best known. In La Paz and around Lake Titicaca you will hear Aymara, while Quechua is common in Cochabamba, Sucre and Potosí. A few Spanish phrases such as buenos días and gracias help in markets and small towns.

Religion

Most Bolivians are Christian, mainly Roman Catholic, and the number of Protestant and evangelical churches has grown. The constitution says the state is independent of religion. Andean beliefs remain strong. Families and guides make small offerings to Pachamama, often by pouring a few drops of a drink on the ground, and the Witches’ Market in La Paz sells items used in these ceremonies.

Festivals

The Carnival of Oruro, which UNESCO listed as intangible heritage in 2008, fills the mining city with dance parades in the days before Lent. Alasitas, a fair in La Paz in late January, sells miniature objects that people hope to own. Gran Poder in La Paz, in late May or June, is a large religious dance parade. The Virgin of Urkupiña festival in Quillacollo falls in mid-August, and Todos Santos on 1 and 2 November brings families to cemeteries with bread figures and food. Festival dates change each year, and the best time to visit Bolivia guide lists them month by month.

Etiquette

A handshake and a greeting of buenos días, buenas tardes or buenas noches is polite when you enter a shop or office. Ask before you photograph people, especially in markets and rural areas. Chewing coca leaves and drinking coca tea are traditional and legal in Bolivia, but you should not carry coca products across borders. Social plans are often relaxed, though tour departures start on time.

Music and arts

Traditional music uses the charango, a small stringed instrument, the quena flute and the zampoña panpipes. Dances such as the diablada, morenada and caporales appear at nearly every major festival. Many Aymara and Quechua women wear the pollera skirt and a bowler hat, and woven cloth called aguayo carries traditional patterns. In El Alto, brightly coloured buildings called cholets mix Indigenous designs with modern architecture.

Bolivian Food and Drink: What to Eat in Bolivia

Bolivian food is built on potatoes, corn, quinoa, rice and meat, served with fresh chilli sauces and hearty soups. Salteñas, baked pastries with a juicy filling, are the best-known snack. Highland cooking is warm and filling, while the lowlands use more rice, cassava and river fish.

Staples

Bolivia grows many native varieties of potato and corn. Chuño is a freeze-dried potato that keeps for years, and quinoa is grown on the Altiplano. Charque, dried and salted meat, and llajwa, a fresh sauce of tomato and locoto chilli, appear on many tables. Lunch is the main meal of the day, and many restaurants sell a fixed-price set menu.

Signature dishes

• Salteñas: baked pastries filled with a juicy, slightly sweet stew, usually eaten in the morning.
• Silpancho: a thin breaded beef cutlet over rice and potatoes with a fried egg, popular in Cochabamba.
• Pique macho: chopped beef and sausage with fries, onion, pepper and boiled egg, made for sharing.
• Sopa de maní: peanut soup with potatoes and meat or noodles.
• Plato paceño: a La Paz plate of boiled corn, potato, fava beans and fried cheese.
• Fricasé: a spicy pork stew with hominy and potatoes, a La Paz favourite.
• Chairo: a thick Andean soup of chuño, potatoes, vegetables and meat.
• Saice: a spicy minced-beef stew with rice and potatoes, linked with southern Bolivia.
• Majadito: a lowland dish of rice cooked with dried beef and topped with an egg.

Street food

Street stalls sell salteñas, empanadas, anticuchos, which are skewers of grilled beef heart, and choripán, a sausage sandwich. Choose busy stalls where food is cooked fresh, and drink bottled or treated water. Santa Cruz is known for cuñapé, a baked cheese bread made with cassava starch.

Drinks

Singani is a grape brandy and Bolivia’s national spirit, and the valleys around Tarija produce wine at high altitude. Chicha, a fermented corn drink, is closely linked with Cochabamba. Api, a hot purple-corn drink, is often served with a fried pastry on cold mornings. Coca tea, called mate de coca, is common in the highlands, and local beers include Paceña, Huari and Taquiña.

Desserts and regional differences

Sucre is known for chocolate, and highland cafés sell helado de canela, a cinnamon ice cream. Cochabamba has a reputation as the food capital of the country. Altiplano cooking leans on potatoes, chuño and soup, the valleys use more corn and spice, and Santa Cruz relies on rice, cassava and beef. Travellers who want a kitchen for fresh ingredients or dietary needs can compare apartment options in where to stay in Bolivia.