CULTURALDemo

Bolivia Potosi Silver Mine and Altiplano Trek

Potosi Department, Bolivia · Bolivia

Moderate5 daysUnknown~£10 est.

Overview

Visit the Cerro Rico silver mine of Potosi — 4,090 m above sea level, the site of the colonial silver extraction that financed the Spanish Empire for 200 years and killed an estimated 8 million miners — then trek across the surrounding altiplano through Inca highways and 17th-century colonial waymarkers to the thermal baths of Uyuni. The mine is still active; tours enter with miners who continue to work the same tunnels. The altiplano hiking above 4,000 m is otherworldly: thin air, vast views, and llama caravans on unpaved tracks.