5 Days / 4 Nights
Besides being of historical interest, this is also an important cultural center with colonial and textile museums, as well as one of the first universities in America, the University of San Francisco Javier, which is older than Harvard, e.g.. The rich textile traditions (weavings) of this area, centered around Tarabuco, are another very popular attraction.
The lovely subtropical weather enhances Sucre´s special ambiance for international tourists. Days are sunny with bright blue skies and the nights are filled with stars.
Potosi: Located at nearly 13,100 ft (2,550 m) and only 3 hours from Sucre, this city is one of the highest in the world. Potosí´s fame comes from centuries ago, when it supplied extraordinary quantities of silver to Spain. This metal was extracted from thousands of mineshafts in "Cerro Rico" (Rich Mountain) and processed in hundreds of smelters. In fact, you can still visit a working mine where conditions have not changed in centuries.
During the 16th Century, the city had over 160,000 inhabitants, approximately 10 times more people than New York at that time. Some of the richest people in the world may have lived here. You can still see many examples of the gothic and baroque architecture from this era. The city of Potosí was the largest silver producer in the world until Bolivian independence in 1825, when its population decreased to 9,000 inhabitants. World demand for tin created a second boom by about 1880, which lasted until the mid-1960s. Today the city has a much lower population than three centuries ago, but mining is still its main industry. The most important building in Potosí is The Royal Mint House, one of two built to mint the silver coins used by the colonial Spanish empire. This impressive mint operated until 1953 and can look back on 400 years of continuous coinage. There are other important buildings open to visitors, including the Santa Teresa Convent (still occupied), the San Francisco Monastery, and the Potosí Cathedral.
Day 1 - La
Paz - Sucre
Transfer from your hotel to the airport. Flight to Sucre. City tour visiting
Asur (the textile museum) and other places of interest (for example, the
Charcas Museum, where you can see colonial furniture and other antiques).
Lunch at a garden restaurant where you can enjoy typical local food, overnight
in hotel.
Day 2 - Sucre
- Hacienda Candelaria
Visit to the dinosaur tracks and departure to Hacienda Candelaria, which
has a great history of local weaving traditions. After a country lunch,
enjoy the "Pujllay" dance, a wonderful display of color and tradition
-- you´re welcome to participate! After the dance, meet your teacher (a
lady from the village) and collect your materials for tomorrow´s weaving
lessons. The afternoon is spent learning the dyeing process, using natural
plant and also artificial dyes. At night, star watching. Lodgings at the
hacienda.
After a traditional indigenous breakfast, mount your own loom, using the wool you dyed yesterday. The morning is spent weaving and learning how traditional Bolivian weavings are made. In the afternoon, you will visit a nearby village, where you can see local weavers at work, while you taste the local "mote con queso" (boiled corn with goat´s cheese). Return to the hacienda for a candlelight dinner.
Breakfast, followed by an hour of basic Quechua lessons so you can enjoy bargaining at the Tarabuco market. Trip to see this lively Sunday market, and return to the "El Horno" restaurant, where you´ll enjoy baking indigenous bread in a traditional oven, ready for lunch! Return to Sucre. Dinner in a beautiful colonial house, still furnished with colonial furniture. Textile exhibition displaying one of the best collections of weavings in Bolivia. Fashion show where you will see a beautiful collection of Bolivian ponchos. Then wear these ponchos yourself, and have your photo taken. Overnight in hotel.
Transfer to the airport, flight to La Paz. Transfer to your hotel.