Bolivia

Visa requirements for Bolivia depend on which passport you hold. Check the Traveller visa tool to see whether your passport needs a visa and, if so, how long you can stay.

May–September is the dry season — essential for the Salar de Uyuni salt flat (the world's largest, at 10,000 sq km); in May–June the surface is dry and cracked; July–August is peak season; the wet season (November–March) creates the world-famous 'mirror effect' where a thin layer of water reflects the sky. La Paz (3,640m) requires 1–2 days acclimatisation — altitude sickness is serious at this elevation.

• Warm layers for La Paz and the altiplano — temperatures drop sharply at night even in summer
• Sun protection is essential at high altitude — UV is intense
• Modest dress in markets and indigenous communities

• Bolivia has the highest percentage of indigenous population in South America — Aymara and Quechua cultures are living, not historical
• Salar de Uyuni is one of the greatest natural wonders on earth — 10,000 sq km of blinding white salt, the largest natural mirror on the planet when flooded
• The Death Road (Yungas Road, North of La Paz) was the world's most dangerous road — now a popular mountain biking descent (30km downhill from 4,650m to 1,200m)
• Lake Titicaca (on the Peru-Bolivia border) is the highest navigable lake in the world (3,812m) — the floating Uros Islands are made entirely of totora reed

• LGBTQ+ same-sex couples have some rights (since 2010) but no marriage equality; social attitudes mixed
• Drug laws strict despite Bolivia's coca-growing tradition — coca leaf (in tea or chewed) is legal and culturally important; cocaine is not
• Altitude sickness can be severe and life-threatening at extreme altitude — carry diamox and acclimatise properly