Bolivia - Sajama National Park

The Sajama National Park includes geological natural wonders made up of flora, fauna, thermal springs and also cultural wonders such as polychromed chullpas (pre-hispanic burial buildings), cave paintings, pucaras and colonial architecture and art. The native population, proud of what they have, has always tried to preserve their way of life as well as the ambience that surrounds it. The park is the first protected area in Bolivia. It was declared a natural reserve in 1939 because of its kheñua (Polilepis tarapacana) that grows on its hillsides and that constitute the highest forests in the world. The region’s main inhabitants are Aymara Indians of Caranga origin, grouped in ayllus. The area is one of the ones that has best preserved the traditional indigenous social organizations, the customs and mythic-religious beliefs

Bolivia - Pulacayo, Industrial Heritage Site

Pulacayo is the important mining center of the second part of the 19th Century which encompassed Huanchaca, the main silver mine in Bolivia and the second largest in the world, which belonged to Aniceto Arce, former president of Bolivia. With the riches stemming from Huanchaca, the country was able to develop democratically and the economical boom allowed for the creation of the liberal and conservative political parties, the creation of the Political Constitution of 1880 –which lasted until 1938 and brought great stability and growth– and the development of a group of experimented Bolivian professionals in banking, mining and export areas. During this time, the per capita income of the Bolivian citizens grew like in no other time. Bolivian history in the second part of the 19th Century is, in a big way, the history of the Huanchaca mine, located in Pulacayo.

Bolivia - Incallajta, the largest Inca site in the Kollasuyo

The archeological site of Incallajta, with a surface area of 67 hectares, is among the main Inca sites in the country. Once they had conquered the Collao territories, the Incas marched deep into the semi-tropical valleys of what now are the Cochabamba and Santa Cruz states. There, they established a series of cities, specially fortified to control de advances of the Chiriguano indians. The Incas created, among other sites, Inca Racay, near Sipesipe in the state of Cochabamba, where they also built the fortified city of Incallajta. In the state of Santa Cruz they settled in Samaipata (WHS). Incallajta was probably built around 1463 and 1472 during the rule of Tupa Inca Yupanqui and later reconstructed by the Inca Huayana Capac. According to the historian José de Mesa, Incallajta can be identified as the Pocona fortress mentioned by the Spanish chronicler Sarmiento de Gamboa. The site is an anormous complex, made of stone and similar to the many others that exist in the Cuzco area, specially Macchu Picchu. It has close to forty buildings and a defensive wall. The ruins that are known best today belong to the Kalanka, a big space that was probably covered and has a longitude of 70meters, 12 doors and 44 niches. The only architectural luxury of this big spaces –according to Erland Nordenskiöld, which was the first on to cientifically describe them in 1913-14– are the niches, so characteristic of Inca architecture. This is the bigges Inca complex on Bolivian territory. Besides the Kallanka, it has habitational, defensive, military, religious agricultural –tacanas and circular silos– areas and towers for astronomical use. The archeological site of Incallajta was the biggest and most important administrative center of the region, with the purpose of reaching the lower lands of our territory.