Daily Women Travel Tips | Trekity.com
Daily Women Travel Tips
Chilean and Argentine wines have been gaining popularity in the United States and European markets for the past decade.
Now – located just north of South America’s two largest wine producers – Bolivia is hoping to stake their claim on the global market.
They just might. Continue
Carnaval. The biggest celebration in the Americas… and while it may lack Rio’s hedonistism, the Carnaval de Oruro can certainly hold its own as one of South America’s best places to celebrate.
But first…
Carnaval is a celebration prior to the beginning of Lent. And in case you’re wondering, Lent is the forty day period before Easter (Roman Catholics believe Jesus rose from the dead on Easter).
During Lent, Catholics (over 90% of Bolivia’s population) are expected to make sacrifices in honor of Jesus. The most common sacrifice is to avoid eating red meat. In Latin, the period before Lent was originally called “Carne Levare” which literally means “take away the meat.” Needless to say, people party hard before forty days of sacrifice. And now you can join in on the fun, whether you’re Catholic or not.
Layers. The best cities always have them. Layers which reveal different views and experiences – if you’re willing to let them, anyways – over a period of days, weeks, years.
La Paz is such a city. And unlike most large cities around the world, its high elevation (an ear-popping 11,975 feet/3650 m) quite literally forces you stop and soak up what La Paz has to offer.
This is a very, very good thing. Continue
At first glance, you’d swear you were in the Himalaya. Known as the “Tibet of the Andes” Bolivia’s Cordillera Apolobamba is a startling transition from the Amazon jungle in the east to the Andes mountains to the west.
This altiplano (“high plateau”) includes valley floors over 13,000 ft (3,962m) above sea level. Snow-capped mountains and glaciers loom above the valley as a sign of good things to come. Continue
Lake Titicaca. Sitting 3,811 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, it’s the largest high altitude lake in the world, and spreads over 8400 sq km across Peru and Bolivia’s section of the Andes mountains.
These snowcapped mountains overlook Titicaca’s pristine waters, which surround several small islands where village life has remained unchanged for centuries.
Most travelers arrive in Juliaca. It’s not a pleasant introduction. Home to the only commercial airport around, it’s a necessary, albeit unpleasant place to travel through. Take our advice: hightail it to the much more attractive and laidback Puno.
Puno – a small port town located on the northeastern coast of Lake Titicaca – is the first stop before the islands of Lake Titicaca. Spend a day or two here admiring the few colonial buildings, old fishing boats and setting up a tour of the islands beyond.
WARNING: Tours vary widely. Be sure to ask other travelers for reviews.Continue
Adventure awaits you in the Bolivian highlands.
A 17 hour bus ride from La Paz leads you into Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat. Spanning an astonishing 4,650 square miles, Salar de Uyuni is actually a remnant of Lake Minchin, a giant prehistoric lake which dried up, leaving nothing but salt behind.
From time to time – usually after rain or recent snow melt from the Andes – a thin layer of water spreads across the salt pan, reflecting the sky above in picture-perfect clarity.Continue
While La Paz may have become the new capital, Sucre remains the heart and history of Bolivia. Numerous white-washed colonial style buildings, including cathedrals and museums, line the open avenue.
Colorful street markets, hole-in-the-wall cafes and bakeries reveal themselves on closer inspection.Continue
Tiwanaku is one of the most important pre-Inca ruins in all of South America. Located along the eastern shore of Lake Titicaca – about 45 miles (72 km) west of La Paz – Tiwanaku was the capital of a powerful culture for over 500 years.
500 years.
That’s more than five times longer than the Inca empire (and about as long as the Romans).
Unfortunately, Tiwanaku’s people had no written history, making it difficult to understand who they were and what their intentions may have been.
In short, they remain a mystery.
Tiwanaku was rediscovered in 1549 by Pedro Cieza de Leon, a Spanish conquistador who came across the ruins while searching for the Inca capital of Qullasuyu.Continue
Cowboy up. Tupiza is where the American Wild West ended in all its glory. It’s also the rumored site where Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid were gunned down by the Bolivian Army, which ended their string of bank robberies.
Check out the movie with Paul Newman and Robert Redford about the two, it’s a great flick.
In addition to bank robbers, Tupiza is famous for its red-rock outcrops, which just out from the grey ground (similar to Monument Valley in Arizona, where many Western movies were filmed).Continue
