Bolivia

Bolivia is a country filled with contrasts that dazzle any visitor, and with a strong cultural heritage which will surprise you in every corner. Remains of ancient empires shrouded in cloud and mystery, the sights and sounds of traditional vibrant markets, native and colorful festivities, a stunning diversity of landscapes and nature, and a friendly native population wait for you in this surprising country.

Lake Titicaca (3,810 m, with a surface of 8,300 square kilometers) the highest navigable lake on Earth is shared with Perú, and since pre-historic times has been one of the main focuses of human settlement in South America. The remains found at Tiahuanaco near the southeastern end of the lake attest to the previous existence of one of the oldest known civilizations in the Americas, preceding those of the Aymara and Inca.

The region is famous for the fine work and creativity of the llama and alpaca shepherds, superb weavers that use shinning colors and beautiful designs inspired in the nature to decorate their ponchos and clothings.

But the Titicaca is not the only treasure of the Bolivan Altiplano. The Andean Plateau hosts some of the most stunning landscapes of the Southern Hemisphere, including geysers, snow-capped volcanoes and peaks of more than 5.500 mt. at the fabulous Cordillera Real Range, lakes inhabited by 3 species of flamingos and endemic waterfowl at Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve, tiny towns of native llama shepherds and the "Salar de Uyuni", the largest salt flat on Earth, covering a surface of more than 10,580 square kilometers!

Bolivia shares with Brazil and Paraguay part of the Pantanal, the biggest seasonal flooded area of the Americas, home of caimans, capibaras, marsh deer and a surprising diversity of birds. The Amazon rainforest also enters into Bolivia, covering almost the 50% of its territory around the enormous basin of the Madre de Dios River, being the home of more than 2,500 species of plants and wildlife as scarlet and blue and green macaws, several species of primates, toucans, harpy eagles, tanagers, turquoise-fronted parrots, pink river dolphins, tree iguanas, caimans, tapirs and giant anteaters, among thousands of species. Madidi and Beni National Parks are a good sample of this incredible diversity.