Cooperative Mines of Cerro RicoEntering the mines is like a step in to the past. It is a demanding, shocking yet memorable experience. Visitors can experience conditions much the same as when the Spanish used Andean peasants as slave laborers to work the wealth from the mines. Guided tours lead groups along the narrow tunnels and up rickety ladders, stopping along the way to chat to the miners at work. Working conditions are primitive, shafts are poorly ventilated and safety provisions barely exist. The miners work by hand, chipping away at the rock and hewing out rough shafts
in which to place their dynamite. An occasional blast shakes the tunnels and deafens the ears. Thousands of miners work their way through the mountain with no overall control or plan, chewing their way through bags of coca leaves to fend off hunger and exhaustion, in the hope of hitting a rare vein of silver.
Address: The mines are located in the outskirts of Potosi
Casa Real De MonedaThe Casa Real was the Royal Mint House used by the colonial Spanish to turn the silver from the mines into coins to be shipped back to Spain. This is one of Bolivia's best museums, explaining the history of silver production and its influence. Inside are restored presses and wooden minting machines, coins and coin stamps. It also has rooms containing religious art, many by indigenous Andeans, the country's first locomotive and Tiahuanaco artifacts.
Address: Calle Ayacucho
Phone Number: (2) 622 2777
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 9am to 12pm, 2.30pm to 6.30pm; Sunday 9am to 12pm. English tours available
Admission: Bs. 20
Salar de UyuniCovering an area of 4,680 square miles (12,121 sq km), the Salar is the world's largest salt desert set at an elevation of 11,970ft (3,650m) and filled with an estimated 10 billion tons of salt. With picks and shovels the local people harvest the salt from the lake that once covered most of southwestern Bolivia. This region is one of the most spectacular natural attractions in Bolivia, a photographer's delight. It is a surreal landscape combining salt pans, wind-eroded rock formations, and wandering llamas in a completely unspoilt region. In the middle is Isla de Pescadores, a landmass appearing as a mountain out of the white nothingness, covered in towering stands of cactus. Laguna Colorada and Laguna Verde are other isolated marvels. One a fiery-red and the other a deep blue-green, these lakes are inhabited by flamingos and surrounded by extinct volcanoes. Nearby Sol de Mañana reeks with the smell of sulphurous gases from the geysers, fumaroles and bubbling mud pools. The village of Uyuni, to the south east of the Salar, is the best base from which to explore the area and tours can be arranged from here.
Transport: Uyuni is 6-7 hours by bus from Potosi
Hours: Tours usually leave at 10.30am
Admission: Tours are between US$60-100
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