Potosí
The National Mint is Potosí’s star attraction and one of South America’s finest museums. Potosí’s first mint was constructed on the present site of the…
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Potosí
The conquistadors never found El Dorado, the legendary city of gold, but they did get their hands on Potosí and its Cerro Rico, a ‘Rich Hill’ full of silver. Indeed, the city was founded in 1545 as soon as the ore was discovered and pretty soon the silver extracted here was bankrolling the Spanish colonial empire. Even today, something very lucrative is said to vale un Potosí (be worth a Potosí).
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Must-see attractions
Museo y Convento de Santa Teresa
Potosí
The fascinating Santa Teresa Convent was founded in 1685 and is still home to a small community of Carmelite nuns who have restored the sizable building…
Potosí
The Lagunas de Kari Kari are artificial lakes (ranging from an elevation of 4500m to 5025m) constructed in the late 16th and early 17th centuries by 20…
Potosí
Belief in the curative powers of Tarapaya (3600m), the most frequently visited hot-springs area around Potosí (21km northwest of the city), dates back to…
Museo y Convento de San Francisco
Potosí
This convent, founded in 1547 by Fray Gaspar de Valverde, is the oldest monastery in Bolivia. Owing to its inadequate size, it was demolished in 1707 and…
Iglesia y Museo de San Lorenzo de Carangas
Potosí
The ornate mestizo baroque portal of this church, probably one of the most photographed in Bolivia, is an explicit expression of the mezcla (mixture)…
Potosí
Construction of La Catedral was initiated in 1564 and finally completed around 1600. The original building lasted until the early 19th century, when it…
La Capilla de Nuestra Señora de Jerusalén
Potosí
This church is a little-known Potosí gem. Originally built as a humble chapel in honor of the Virgen de Candelaria, it was rebuilt more lavishly in the…
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