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Potosí is a city defined by the tall mountain, Cerro Rico, that overlooks the city, totally criss-crossed by mines that produced vast amounts of silver for the Conquistadores, and now tells of the glory, wealth and tragedy of the colonial era.

Today, the relatively calm and humble streets of high altitude Potosí belie a glorious, hedonistic and controversial past, in which it rose from nowhere in the 16th century to become the largest and most richly decorated city in all of the Americas. The source of such sudden fortune was the discovery of silver deposits in what was to become known as Cerro Rico, the richest mine in history, but when the silver ran out, the city fell into an equally sharp decline. Nearly 500 years on, ornate colonial buildings, the towering presence of the Rich Mountain and the scars of the lives lost in the silver extraction all serve to keep alive the memory of the silver boom. To visit to Potosí is to visit a living museum to one of the most extraordinary periods of time in Latin American history.

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Potosi Cerro Rico
La Paz
Bolivia Rita DSC06073
Potosi & Cerro Rico
The Mint

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For 4 weeks, we have been almost entirely at the mercy of the arrangements you put in place. We visited 7 different places and travelled 23,000 miles with never a worry and hardly a hitch.

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Potosi & Cerro Rico

Potosi

Cerro Rico Mine

Journey underground to see the working conditions of Bolivian miners in the infamous Cerro Rico.

9372 Casa De La Moneda

Potosi

Casa De La Moneda

Take an insightful tour into the old mint and the epicentre of the Bolivian silver rush in colonial times.

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Hotel Coloso is well located for the main attractions of Potosi

Hotel Coloso

Potosi

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READY - 12 April 2024

INDIA: Fascinating Culture & Kembh Mela Festival

LANDMARK TOURS: Multi-Country & Cross Continent. New Cosmopolitan Tour: Buenos Aires, Iguazu, Rio

CHINA & INDIA: Local Life, People & Unique Cultures

GUIDES by Veloso Tours, are the best Local Hosts

PRIVATE VILLAS: Quality Time in exclusive settings

TRAVEL INSURANCE with extensive COVID-19 cover