My Bolivia travel memories

My Bolivia trip was peppered with mishaps, strangeness, and staggering beauty. To begin with, reaching Bolivia had been one very, very long flight. Then there have been instances when I wanted to just pack my bags and leave. One such incident had been at the Cochabamba airport when multiple security checks made me nearly lose my flight to Sucre. Cochabamba is a well-known food paradise, and the airport was crowded. By the time I had managed to rush to my transiting plane, my breath was short, and I sank into my seat in a sulking huff. It was much later that I came to know that delicious Cochabamba was also sinfully naughty, and the city was a famous drug trafficking point. Needless to say, that caused much heightened security at the airport, and I did not know what to make of it. Charming Sucre was a colonial delight that showered me with many honey-coloured sunsets, and my Hostal Sucre was a veritable rose garden. It was located in a gorgeous sugar white colonial villa, and unfortunately, its charm ended there. The rock-hard bed and moody, unpredictable showers made my Sucre stay very outdoorsy, but then I am not complaining.

Sucre, the colonial gem of Bolivia

An erstwhile wealthy town, Sucre was drop-dead gorgeous, and it was from here that I made 2 of my most memorable trips. One trip was to the weekly market of Tarabuco, where indigenous families from surrounding villages attended to shop, barter, sell, and gossip. It was colourful, touristy, and a bit expensive, but the drive to Tarabuco was spectacular. The 2nd was the trip to my next destination of the world-famous Uyuni, and it took me a lot of effort to skip the high-altitude silver mining town of Potosi. Uyuni town was a disastrous experience for me. Being in the middle of nowhere, it was super expensive, and even the most basic facilities burned a hole in the pocket. Uyuni, combined with dazzling white Salar and jaw droopingly beautiful Eduardo Avarua National Park, however, remains one of my once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and it is impossible to put their beauty into words.

Indulge in luxury in La Paz

The week-long trip into the wilderness was tough, though, and we quickly learned to battle freezing cold, high altitude sickness, full bladders, and hunger pangs for long hours. There was nothing available in the middle of the region, and apart from a night stay at a salt hotel, we slept under the stars. The salt hotel stay was a weird experience, because everything there was made of salt blocks, and at night it was very cold. But the night skies were literal canvases of entire galaxies, lakes were neon coloured, mountains and deserts were strangely shaped, and vicunas, flamingos were our only companions. My return to Uyuni was marked by a quintessential Bolivian road block, and I nearly missed my night bus to La Paz. The bus ride was one made in hell, and being conned into buying a seat in a full vehicle, I spent an entire night sitting in front of the stinking toilet. It was so unpleasant that my entire La Paz stay was spent moping in my cozy, expensive hotel room, and I had splurged on accommodation there. I remember rushing out of the bus in La Paz and hunting for an expensive place to stay, and sitting under a hot shower for more than an hour.

From the highlands to the Amazonas of Bolivia

I missed much of La Paz and did not leave the comfort of my room, except for short visits to the Witches Market, Lake Titicaca, Sajama National Park, and Death Road. Apart from the Witches Market, all included overnight stays, and I finally left La Paz for warmer tropical weather. The rainforests of Rurrenabaque were my last stop in Bolivia, and I flew in a strange military (commercial) plane to get there. The in-flight service was in a military style, and we landed in an airport which was a clearing in the middle of the jungle. Wild fowl scurried on the tarmac, and our checked bags were parked under a large flowering tree. Rurrenabaque days were sweet, warm, and molasses slow. Fishing for non-scary Piranhas (blame Hollywood for the negative image), searching for equally non-scary anacondas (Hollywood nonsense), and swimming with dolphins, caimans in broad, sluggish rivers were unforgettable experiences. I left Bolivia soon after that, with mixed feelings of sadness and pride, and it really felt as if I had achieved something. One of South America’s least-visited and exceptionally beautiful countries, Bolivia was a dream come true, and it felt great to walk the unknown path.

” Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

Follow the rest of the Bolivia series

• PHOTOS FROM MY BOLIVIA TRIP
• ARRIVING IN BOLIVIA ALL THE WAY FROM INDIA
• THE CHARMING CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
• BOLIVIA TRAVEL PHOTOS

RESPONSIBLE TRAVELING-BECAUSE I CARE

FAQs

What does Bolivia look like?
In this second instalment of the photo series, Bolivia ranges from the colonial charm of Sucre to the stark, dazzling white expanse of the Salar de Uyuni salt flats and the dramatic scenery of Eduardo Avaroa National Park, then shifts entirely to the lush Amazonas rainforest around Rurrenabaque, with a flowering toborochi tree captured at Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

What are the best photo spots in Bolivia?
Standouts from this leg of the trip include the Salar de Uyuni salt flats and Eduardo Avaroa National Park (described as a once-in-a-lifetime, hard-to-put-into-words experience), the colourful weekly indigenous market at Tarabuco near Sucre, and the remote jungle airstrip and rainforest around Rurrenabaque.

What is bolivia in photos ii about?
It’s the second part of the author’s Bolivia photo essay, covering the colonial city of Sucre, a rugged and expensive detour to Uyuni and its famous salt flats, a quieter, room-bound stretch in La Paz punctuated by visits to the Witches Market and Lake Titicaca, and a final stop in the Amazon rainforest near Rurrenabaque.

What makes Bolivia visually striking?
The article highlights the sheer contrast within the country — from Sucre’s colonial architecture to the blinding white salt flats of Uyuni, the high-altitude starkness of Eduardo Avaroa National Park, and finally the dense green rainforest and jungle airstrip near Rurrenabaque.

When is the best time to photograph Bolivia?
The article doesn’t specify a best season for this leg of the trip, though it does describe the Uyuni and highlands portion as involving freezing cold and high altitude, suggesting travelers photographing that region should be prepared for harsh, cold conditions regardless of season.

Can you describe what visiting Bolivia actually looks and feels like, through someone’s own eyes?
The author is candid that this trip was ‘peppered with mishaps, strangeness, and staggering beauty’ — from a stressful, nearly-missed connection at Cochabamba’s security-heavy airport (a known drug-trafficking checkpoint) to a genuinely disappointing, overpriced stay in Uyuni town, balanced against the awe of the Salar de Uyuni and the slow, sweet pace of days spent in the Rurrenabaque rainforest.

What visual details make Bolivia stand out compared to other destinations?
Few destinations offer the same range in one trip: Sucre’s colonial elegance, the otherworldly white salt flats of Uyuni, freezing high-altitude national park terrain, and then a complete shift to a remote jungle airstrip and Amazon rainforest — a visual and climatic contrast the author found genuinely striking.

What’s the story behind bolivia in photos ii?
This instalment picks up after the author’s earlier travels, tracing a rougher, more honest leg of the journey — a stressful airport transit through Cochabamba, day trips from Sucre to the Tarabuco market and onward to Uyuni, a low-key stretch in La Paz, and a final, restorative stay in the Amazon rainforest near Rurrenabaque.

If I wanted to capture Bolivia well in photos, what should I focus on?
Based on this leg of the trip, focus on the contrast between regions: the colonial streets and architecture of Sucre, the vast white salt flats of Salar de Uyuni, the colourful indigenous market at Tarabuco, and the lush, remote rainforest scenery around Rurrenabaque, including its jungle airstrip and wildlife.

What impressions does Bolivia tend to leave on first-time visitors?
The author’s honest account suggests Bolivia leaves a mixed but memorable impression — genuine frustration with logistics in places like Cochabamba’s airport and overpriced Uyuni town, contrasted with awe at natural wonders like the Salar de Uyuni and a deep sense of calm during the slow-paced days spent in the Amazon rainforest near Rurrenabaque.