Potosi and Cerro Rico

UNESCO World Heritage Site: City Of Potosi (1987, Listed In Danger 2014 2019). One Of The Highest Cities In The World, Built On Silver From Cerro Rico, The Mountain That Financed The Spanish Empire And Cost Millions Of Lives. Colonial Churches, The Casa De La Moneda Mint Museum And Cooperative Mine Tours Into The Working Mountain. · Potosi, Potosi

Potosi sits at about 4,090 m beneath Cerro Rico, the Rich Hill, and is among the highest cities in the world. Silver found here in 1546 made it, by about 1600, one of the largest cities on Earth, and that silver helped to finance the Spanish empire. The wealth came at a terrible price: enslaved Africans and indigenous forced labourers under the mita system died in the mine in huge numbers, though the totals are disputed. UNESCO lists the city, its Royal Mint, churches and carved balconies, and the Cathedral roof gives wide views over the red tiles and the mountain. You can also enter the working cooperative mines with an ex-miner as guide. That tour is DANGEROUS, dusty and tight, and the mountain itself is unstable. Getting here is part of the trip: Sucre is about 3 hours away by bus or shared taxi, Uyuni 4 to 5 hours and La Paz 9 to 10 hours by night bus. Come for the history, acclimatise first in Sucre or La Paz, pack warm clothes for freezing nights, and check for strikes and road blockades before you travel.

High-altitude colonial mining city at about 4,090 m beneath the silver mountain Cerro Rico in south-west Bolivia, with the Casa de la Moneda in the centre, Potosi, Potosi, Bolivia

The city is open every day, but museums and churches keep short, changing hours and often close on one weekday, usually Monday, and for a long midday break. Mine tours leave in the morning from the agencies and run most days. The Plaza 10 de Noviembre is FREE and open always. Confirm hours and strike news locally on the day.

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