I took early morning bus from Uyuni to Potosi. The total journey takes about 4 hours and the bus passes through some great landscape. I felt Bolivia is safe in terms of bus travel. Please avoid taking night buses in Bolivia because there have been some accidents during the night time. Tickets can be bought online via ticketsBolivia.com. Most buses are not full so there is no need to book the tickets early. You just need to show up at the bus stop 30 minutes before the departure and you can get the tickets easily. All the tickets counters and Bus routes are marked in English so it is very convenient to buy a tickets. Bolivian people are very friendly and they will go out of their way to help you out. Bolivia is an important tourist route among backpackers so there is high chance that you will always meet some tourists from different parts of the world.
I reached Potosi at 11.30 am. I booked my stay at Hostal La Casona. The hostel is located at a convenient location in Potosi. There are two bus stops in Potosi. Old bus stop of Potosi is located near Potosi Town center. New bus stop is located far from the main city. Bus from Uyuni dropped me near old bus stop and my hostel was about 30 minutes walk from the Bus Stop.
Cerro Rico Mine tour
Potosi is one of the highest cities of the world. Potosi is located at the altitude of 4090 m. Potosi is famous for Cerro Rico mountain. Cerro Rico is a Spanish word and it means Rich mountain. Cerro Rico was a prominent silver mine during the Spanish colonial era. The mine is infamous all over the world because around 6 million slaves died while extracting silver from the mine. You can visit the mine as a half day tour. I didn’t take the mine tour because I feel very claustrophobic when I go inside cave or places with small space. Visit to the mine is the most sought after tourist activity in Potosi. The mine is still used for extraction of silver and around ten thousand workers visit the mine every day. The workers have a very short life and most of them succumbed to various lung diseases before they reach age of 40.
Casa Nacional De Moneda
Casa Nacional De Moneda is an important museum in Bolivia. The entrance to the museum costs about 6 USD and entry fee includes a guided tour. During the colonial era the place was used to turn the silver into coins. The silver coins were then shipped to Spain. The museum now consists of various artifacts from the colonial era and different types of silver coins. It takes about 2 hours to visit the entire museum.
San Francisco Convent and Temple
San Francisco Convent and temple is located very close to my hostel. The Convent has a beautiful 16th Century architecture. The convent remains closed from 12 noon till 3pm during lunch time. During my visit to Potosi it was rainy and very windy. The viewpoint located at the top of the Convent provides great views of the city and the Cerro Rico Mountain. Unfortunately, the viewpoint was closed because of bad weather. The museum inside the convent was open for public viewing and I really enjoyed the beauty of the ancient Spanish architecture inside the museum.
Plaza 10 de Noviembre
Plaza 10 de Noviembre is the center of Potosi. Number of colonial era buildings are located near the Plaza. The Plaza plays host to major events and political rally within the city. You will see number of street hawkers selling fruits, snacks and toys around the Plaza. It is a great place to just sit back and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
Obelisco Potosi
Obelisco Potosi is a beautiful park located near the main square of Potosi. It is a great spot to take some beautiful Instagram pictures. The architecture surrounding the Park was completely breathtaking.
Iglesia De San Lorenzo De Carangas & Mercado Central
Mercado Central and Iglesia De San Lorenzo are located close to each other; Mercado central is just 10 minutes-walk from the Plaza 10 de Noviembre. Iglesia De San Lorenzo is a beautiful church with Bell tower. You can climb to the top of the bell tower for bird’s eye view of the Potosi city and Cerro Rico mountain. Mercado Central is the central market Potosi. Mercado central is a great place to visit for local snacks and food.
Potosi Cathedral
Potosi Cathedral is located near Plaza 10 De Noviembre. The Cathedral is well known for its beautiful architecture. You can also climb to the top of the view point for awesome bird’s eye view of the city and the Cerro Rico mountain. The cathedral is currently converted to a museum and it is worth taking a guided tour. The Cathedral is also called Santiago de Potosi and the entrance fee to Cathedral is about $ 3 USD. Religious relics made from Silver and Gold can be found inside the Museum. The Cathedral is open from 9-12 in the morning time and 3-6 in the afternoon time.
The weather completely deteriorated during my visit to Potosi and I couldn’t access any of the viewpoints located around the Plaza. The temperature was well below freezing point and it started raining at night. I wanted to do lot of things in Potosi but unfortunately couldn’t do because of bad weather. I would strongly recommend everyone to visit Potosi because of its rich cultural heritage. Visiting the city will give you feel of how it is like to live at an altitude of more than 4000m.
It is very critical that you prevent altitude sickness when visiting Bolivia. Most of the tourist locations in Bolivia are located above 3000m. I took regularly Dimox Tablets which helped me to ease the altitude sickness related symptoms. Local people drink a lot of hot coca tea. You should definitely avoid alcohol consumption at high altitude location.
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