51 Unique + Fun Things to do in Bolivia | Bolivia

You don’t always hear great things about Bolivia. The transport is described as dismal, the tourist highlights start and end with the Salar de Uyuni, and Peruvians call it “Pollivia” to indicate its culinary homogeny. But you know what the best part of being an underdog is? No one expects anything, and you get the chance to blow them away.

Go to Bolivia for endless views from Isla del Sol or nights in a hotel made entirely of salt. There are tons of fun things to do in Bolivia, ranging from feasting on chorizo sandwiches straight from the street, watching wrestling Cholitas, or hitting up retro arcades. The South American country is surprisingly fun to travel around, and if you like candor and everything quirky,  it promises to become one of your favorite countries. Wondering where to travel in Bolivia? Here are all the fun things you can do.

51 Unique + Fun Things to Do in Bolivia

Very Bolivia Experiences

1. Take in views of the city from the top of the teleférico (La Paz)

2. Explore the collection of antique and indigenous instruments at the Museo Instrumentos Musicales de Bolivia (La Paz)

3. Scoop poop for an animal conservation project in the Amazon (Coroico)

4. Check out the high knockers and patron saint statues at Metropolitan Cathedral of Sucre  (Sucre)

5. Visit the ornate tombstones and mausoleums of the Sucre General Cemetery  (Sucre)

6. Explore the white-walled city of Sucre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Sucre)

7. Travel outside of the city for the day to witness the range of local costume at the Tarabuco Market  (Sucre)

8. Venture onto the Salar de Uyuni on a 4×4 tour (Uyuni)

9. Plummet deep underground in the Potosí salt mines (Potosi)

10. Take the train across an unusual Bolivian landscape (Everywhere)

Eating Bolivia

11. Load up your choripan with a world of pickled vegetables (La Paz)

12. Sample ethnic food at one of the many Vietnamese, Greek, and Italian restaurants (La Paz)

13. Shop produce and locally made cheeses in the epicenter of places to eat in Bolivia – Mercado Central (Sucre)

14. Grab a salteña – a sweeter take on a beef empanada – for breakfast (Sucre)

15. Spend the day at the park for fried foods, dino-themed swings, and some hilarious children’s rides  (Sucre)

16. Eat Bolivia’s surprisingly delicious bread from a local panadería (Sucre)

17. Order up a heaping plate of BBQ from one of the street stalls (Uyuni)

18. Sip a cup of api – a spiced corn drink – with your breakfast (Sucre)

19. Feast on street burgers and hotdogs (La Paz)

20. Head to Red Monkey Cocina Consciente on Sunday for a decadent, 10-course vegan tasting menu (La Paz)

Drinking Bolivia

21. Spend the day sampling Bolivia’s best craft beers at Saya Brewery (La Paz)

22. Grab drinks at the eclectic Diesel Nacional (La Paz)

23. Imbibe in each city’s regional beer – Potosiña, Sucreña, etc. (Everywhere)

24. Drink a chuflay – Bolivia’s national pisco cocktail (Everywhere)

25. Work on your footwork with a free salsa lesson at Joy Ride (Sucre)

Adventures in Bolivia

26. Hike across the treeless Isla del Sol for spectacular views of Lake Titicaca (Copacabana)

27. Venture outside of La Paz to explore the moon-like Valle de la Luna (La Paz)

28. Explore the trains going nowhere at the Great Train Graveyard (Uyuni)

29. Venture into the jungle for one of the least expensive Amazon experiences in South America (Amazon)

30. Fearlessly conquer one of the most fun things to do in Bolivia – the Death Road – by bicycle (La Paz)

31. Go searching for ocelot in Amboró National Park (Santa Cruz)

32. Observe flamingos grazing on brilliantly covered algae inside Eduardo Abaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve (Uyuni)

33. Get a view of the Dalí Desert on a Salar de Uyuni tour (Uyuni)

34. Wake up to a sunrise over the lunar landscape of Sol de Mañana (Uyuni)

Into hiking? Explore more: The 15 Best Treks in South America.

Bolivian Events + Festivals

35. Purchase miniatures of everything you desire to ensure next year’s success at the Alasitas Festival (La Paz)

36. Travel to Lake Titicaca to celebrate Virgen de la Candelaria (Copacabana)

37. Witness the carnage at Tinku – the brutal fistfight festival (Macha)

38. Welcome the returning dead at Todos Santos (La Paz)

Love festivals? Discover more: 21 Weird + Unique World Festivals

Keeping Bolivia Weird

39. Spend the night inside a giant seashell in Las Olas (Copacabana)

40. Paddle across Lake Titicaca in a recycled swan boat (Copacabana)

41. Spectate a Cholitas Wrestling match in El Alto (La Paz)

42. Get your exercise in with a few rounds of Dance Dance Revolution at the retro arcades (La Paz)

43. Pass through the intriguingly-named-yet-somewhat-stupid Witches Market (La Paz)

44. Walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs (sorta) at the Dinosaur Dance Floor (Sucre)

45. Hop on a retired Japanese school bus for a quite organized local transport experience (Sucre)

46. Marvel at the impressively slow internet connection (Everywhere)

47. Relive your favorite scenes from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Tupiza)

48. Spend the night at a very sweet salt hotel (Uyuni)

49. Travel into Chile overland at the end of your Salar de Uyuni tour (Uyuni)

50. Join the locals in getting fit at a Zumba class (Sucre)

51. Play a round at La Paz Golf Club, the world’s highest golf club (La Paz)

Traveling in South America? You might also like:

• 51 Unique + Fun Things to do in Ecuador
• 51 Unique + Fun Things to do in Chile
• 11 Unusual Hotels in South America
• 15 Best Treks in South America
• BOOK: Lonely Planet Bolivia

What do you think are the most fun things to do in Bolivia? And if you’re traveling in Bolivia…