Bolivia

by Ben Box, Robert & Daisy Kunstaetter

Overview

Bolivia is home to enormous biodiversity: surreal volcanic landscapes, lush valleys, vast salt flats and Amazon jungle. Footprint’s 6th edition Bolivia Handbook will guide you from the blinding-white expanse of Salar de Uyuni and racing round hairpin bends on the most dangerous road in the world to the stunning turquoise of Lake Titicaca.

• Great coverage of the top activities and sights in the country, including trekking, wildlife spotting&the Che Guevara trail

• Loaded with information and suggestions on how to get off the beaten track, from swimming with pink river dolphins in the Amazon, to exploring the remnants of ancient civilizations

• Includes comprehensive information on everything from transport and practicalities to history, culture&landscape

• Plus all the usual accommodation, eating and drinking listings for every budget

• Full-colour planning section to inspire you and help you find the best experiences

From the colourful indigenous markets of La Paz to the flamingos feeding in the Altiplano, Footprint’s fully updated 6th edition will help you navigate this astonishing destination.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781911082002
Publisher:	Bradt Travel Guides Ltd
Publication date:	08/17/2015
Series:	Footprint Handbooks
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	29 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

One of the first assignments Ben Box took as a freelance writer in 1980 was subediting work on the South American Handbook. The plan then was to write about contemporary Iberian and Latin American affairs, but in no time at all the lands south of the Rio Grande took over, inspiring journeys to all corners of the subcontinent. Ben has contributed to newspapers, magazines and learned tomes, usually on the subject of travel, and became editor of the South American Handbook in 1989. He has also been involved in Footprint’s Handbooks on Central America & Mexico, Caribbean Islands, Brazil, Peru, Cuzco & the Inca Heartland, and Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.Having a doctorate in Spanish and Portuguese studies from London University, Ben maintains a strong interest in Latin American literature. In the British summer he plays cricket for his local village side and year round he attempts to achieve some level of self-sufficiency in fruit and veg in a rather unruly country garden in Suffolk.
Born and raised in Ecuador (Quito and Riobamba), Daisy Isacovici’s pet peeve is being mistaken for a gringa. Robert Kunstaetter hails from Montreal, where Daisy attended university. Soon after they met in 1979, he suggested travelling in South America for ‘a year or so’, and they have yet to turn back. Over the years and miles, Robert and Daisy became regular correspondents for Footprint, contributing to the South American Handbook and other Latin American titles. Based back in Ecuador since 1993, they are authors of Footprint’s Ecuador & Galápagos and Trekking in Ecuador. They also travel frequently to Peru and Bolivia. After all these years, Robert and Daisy still have difficulty distinguishing between work and play.

Read an Excerpt

Like its luminescent sky, Bolivia remains largely unpolluted and, in an age of rampant Disneyfication, stands out for its authenticity. There are over 17 million hectares of protected natural areas, but isolation is what best protects the intense and often bizarre beauty of Bolivia's landscapes. For the same reason, the cultural integrity of its peoples remains intact. Even though Evo Morales' government is bringing municipalities closer together, paving roads and building communal facilities, it takes time and patience to travel from one place to the next. We (the authors) have travelled the length and breadth of Bolivia between us, but just when we might think that we have it figured out, it will catch us off guard. Some amazing new experience leaves us humbled and in awe of this remarkable country. Some of our favourites include a guide playing his charango in a cathedral-live cave near Torotoro; listening to the choir practise baroque music in San José de Chiquitos; walking all day without ever reaching the mirage-like shore of Lago Poopó; bathing in hot springs at Laguna Blanca and not wanting to get out because the air is almost zero; gliding down the River Yacuma being watched by countless caiman and cackled at by family after family of prehistoric hoatzin. From the shores of Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake, to the ‘Lost World’ table-lands of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, following the footsteps of dinosaurs, bandits and revolutionaries, there are endless opportunities for off-the-beaten path exploration. Along the way are rest-stop cities and towns where travellers can indulge in creature comforts as well as tall tales of their adventures.

Table of Contents

1) Planning your trip 2) La Paz and around 3) Lake Titicaca 4) Southwest Bolivia, Oruro, Uyuni, Tupiza 5) Central and Southern Highlands, Potosi, Sucre, Tarija, Cochabamba and around 6) Northern Lowlands, Madidi and Rurenabaque, Riberalta to Brazil, Cochabamba to Trinidad 7) Santa Cruz and Eastern Lowlands, Santa Cruz, Southeastern Bolivia, Eastern Bolivia