The historic heartland of Bolivia lies on the 3700 meters high plains around Lake Titicaca. This is the cradle of Altiplano civilisation: the sacred Lake gave birth to the founders of the Inca Empire, and at its shores lays Tiwanaku, where the roots of Andean culture were invented. When the Spanish arrived, attention shifted to the South. The biggest bounty of their colonial plundering was found there in Potosi. The amount of silver found in the Cerro Rico was enough to create a city bigger than London and richer than Paris at an altitude of 4000 meters, and is believed to have fired off the industrial revolution in Western Europe. As still is the case today, profits left the country at an alarming rate. When the mine started to run out, Bolivia was left with two poor cities in the most wonderful of clothes. Potosi is still struggling to survive, whereas nearby official capital Sucre now is the most cosy and developed city in the country.

.+ Cochabamba

.+ La Paz

.+ Potosi

.+ Santa Cruz

.+ Sucre

.+ Sun