After every country we visit, Vikram writes about our overall experiences and highlights. Here’s his take on Bolivia!

I had the lowest expectations for Bolivia of all the countries we visited in South America. I’d read that Bolivia was the most impoverished country in South America, with poor sanitation, bathrooms without running water, unpaved roads, and a general lack of infrastructure. Additionally, other travelers told us that people in Bolivia were rude and unwelcoming to tourists. Crossing the border from Argentina into Bolivia, I mentally prepared myself for a difficult couple of weeks.

While those concerns weren’t entirely unfounded, we left Bolivia wishing we’d had more time there. Sure, we struggled with altitude sickness (which can hardly be blamed on Bolivia). And it was probably not a coincidence that Bolivia was where we had the most stomach issues, given its unsafe drinking water and a disproportionate share of the worst bathrooms we encountered on our trip. (Though once we got into the cities and larger towns, sanitation and facilities seemed about the same as anywhere else in Latin America.) And some parts of our bus rides in Bolivia were a bit of an adventure, although they were largely uneventful.

But Bolivia also had some of the most spectacular experiences of our trip. Pictures and videos do not capture the full experience of standing in the Bolivian Salt Flats and seeing nothing but white salt in every direction, or seeing the horizon and the sky merge indistinguishably when rain turns the Salt Flats into the world’s largest mirror. Biking down the Bolivian Death Road was a (surprisingly safe!) adrenaline rush with incredible scenery. Dinner at Gustu in La Paz was one of our best meals in South America, and cost about half of what that kind of meal in that kind of setting would cost in DC. Additionally, we met plenty of friendly and helpful Bolivians, and nearly everyone we met was decent enough to us—the travelers who told us Bolivians were unfriendly seem to have forgotten that many people in touristy areas in the developed world can actively dislike tourists as well.

Overall, I’d recommend Bolivia to anyone willing and able to put up with a little discomfort in exchange for some truly unique, bucket-list experiences, as well as insight into how the other half lives.

Basics

Total days in the country: 18

Number of cities visited: 5 (Uyuni, Sucre, La Paz, Copacabana, Isla del Sol)

Number of train rides: 1

Number of bus rides: 3

Number of plane rides: 1

Number of boat rides: 2

Finances

Average daily cost per person: $58 USD (excluding $160 visa fee; our average cost per day was high largely due to the cost of some of the tours)

Exchange rate: $1 USD = $6.82 BOL (as of April 1, 2016)

Attractions

Favorite things we did:

• Tour of Salar de Uyuni (salt flats)
• Mountain biking down Death Road
• Dinner at Gustu in La Paz

Better than expected:

• The tour we took of Isla del Sol
• Vikram’s barbershop shave in La Paz

Worse than expected:

• Altitude sickness
• Our roommates (the first night) at Wild Rover Hostel in La Paz

Things you have to eat:

• Minuteman Pizza in Uyuni (get the spicy llama pizza)
• Salteñas in La Paz
• Gustu in La Paz

Biggest challenges we faced:

• Altitude sickness upon our arrival to the country in Uyuni
• First real stomach issues, likely due to Bolivian water

What we would have done differently: More time in Sucre and La Paz

Read More!

How to Get a Bolivian Visa from Argentina (for U.S. Citizens)

The Otherworldly Salar de Uyuni

Biking Down Bolivia’s Death Road

The Time We Went Off-Road Hiking on Isla del Sol

Bolivia Pictures