In the southwest area of Bolivia lies area called Lipez. It is home to arid deserts, salt plains and a wealth of mineral deposits.When one of the largest, and maybe the largest ever found, silver mines was discovered just above a small town called San Cristobal and the concession was purchased by the Canadian mining consortium Apex Silver the problem arose - what should we do with the town below?

This little museum is hidden away up an alley off Calle Linares aka ‘Gringo Street’ due to all the travel agencies and clothing or crafts shops. 
Whilst tiny in size it is bursting with information about the little green leaf that has been held sacred in the Andes for centuries. The displays themselve look a little worn and the whole setup can seem a little amateur, but if your patient enough to follow the self guided tour whilst reading the provided infomation in your own language (available in many languages) you will no doubt learn plenty of facts you didnt know about the coca plant.

One of the things that sticks in the mind of most visitors to La Paz is the traditional dress of many of the local women - a bowler hat worn slanted on the head and a long decorative skirt called a pollera or often 2,3 or more of them! These distinctive looking residents of the capital city are known as cholas or cholitas and have been wearing this traditional dress for many years.

The witches market or ‘mercado de las brujas’ in La Paz is surely on every tourist’s must see list when visiting the capital. On Calle Linares, just off Calle Sagarnaga (aka Gringo Street), it seems more touristy than mystical nowadays as the artesian stores make up the majority of the area. At the Calle Santa Cruz end of Linares however there are still a few genuine stalls selling all sorts of weird and wonderful, well wonderfully disgusting, things. Dried Llama fetuses, dried toads...

Bolivia is an incredible country for photographers as it has an amazing variety of scenery and a diverse and rich culture. From lush Amazon jungle scenery full of wildlife to the white barren landscapes of the Salar de Uyuni Salt flat, colonial architecture and colourful traditional costumes – a visit to Bolivia will keep any keen photographer occupied with an endless choice of subjects .

Alasitas, athough celebrated in many places in Bolivia it is certainly best witnessed in La Paz. It is the first major festival of the year in Bolivia (there always seems to be some festival or other) and is probably the quaintest of them all. It is a festival/fair in celebration of Ekeko the god of abundance who is often represented as a Super Mario look alike that seems like he has just looted Walmart. Makeshift stalls selling miniturised versions of just about anything you can imagine spring up all over the city on January 24th and from around midday the buying begins.