Bolivia was once the center of the pre-columbian Tiwanaku culture with its capital near Lake Titicaca.  The culture thrived until about 1000AD when it essentially disappeared.  The Inca civilization followed shortly thereafter and lasted until the Spanish conquest in the early 1500s.  The Spanish controlled the area until the early 1800s when a series of revolts led by General Antonio José de Sucre with the help of Simón Bolívar from the north resulted in the areas independence from Spain and the creation of the Republic of Bolivia – named in honor of Simón Bolívar.  Bolivia is a mineral-rich country and its silver mines once helped sustain the entire Spanish empire.  The country has diverse landscapes ranging from tropical forests, savannas, wetlands in the north, some of the highest mountain peaks in South America in the west, fertile lowlands to the east, the headwaters of the Amazon to the northeast and deserts in the southwest.

Country Highlights

• La Paz:  the world’s highest capital city
• Lake Titicaca:  the world’s highest navigable lake
• The Amazon Jungle
• Salar de Uyuni:  the world’s largest salt flats
• North Yungas Road:  the world’s deadliest road
• Cerro Rico:  world famous silver mine in operation since 1545