BOLIVIA

Capital: La Paz

Currency: The local currency is the Boliviano.

Population: The population of Bolivia is 9.2 million, about 70% of whom are Indian (mostly Aymara and Quechua), 25 % mestizo (Spanish/Indian) and 5% Caucasian, of European origin.

Language: Spanish, Aymara, Quechua and Guarani.

Geography: At 1,098,580 km² (424,135 mi²), Bolivia is the world's 28th-largest country (after Ethiopia). It is comparable in size to Mauritania, and it has about 1.5 times the area of the US state of Texas. Colours of Altiplano BolivianoBolivia have been a landlocked nation since 1879, when it lost its coastal department of Litoral to Chile in the War of the Pacific. However, it does have access to the Atlantic via the Paraguay River. An enormous diversity of ecological zones is represented within Bolivia's territory. The western highlands of the country are situated in the Andes Mountains and include the Bolivian Altiplano. The eastern lowlands include large sections of Amazonian rainforests and Chaco. The highest peak is Nevada Sajama at 6,542 meters (21,463 ft) located in the department of Oruro. Lake Titicaca is located on the border between Bolivia and Peru. The Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, lies in the southwest corner of the country, in the department of Potosí. Major cities are La Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and Cochabamba.

Climate:

·     Sucre and surroundings: Warm during the day when the sun shines. A little bit cold during the night (2100m to 3500m altitude).

·     Uyuni Salt Deserts: Sunny during the day (15ºC – 20ºC), cold at night (3600m altitude).

·     Lake Titicaca: Sunny during the day (15ºC – 20ºC), cold at night (3850m altitude).

·     These statistics excludes the so-called "Surazo" (usually in June), a cold wind from the South that originates from the Antarctic, Tierra de Fuego and Patagonia. During these days, cold winds, rain and even snow are all possible.

Culture: Bolivian culture has been heavily influenced by the Quechua, the Aymara, as well as by the popular cultures of Latin America as a whole. Traditional Bolivian dance the best known of the various festivals found in the country is the "Carnaval de Oruro", which was among the first 19 "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity," as proclaimed by the UNESCO in May of 2001. Entertainment includes football (soccer), which is the national sport, as well as table football, which is played on street-corners by both children and adults. Zoos are a popular attraction, with a diverse population of interesting creatures, but lack proper funding.

Gastronomy: has Bolivian kitchen is good and is representative of the Bolivian products. The national dishes most typical of the country are the empanada salteña (kind of meat chicken rissole, potatoes, olives and eggs, to which one can add onions, peas or other vegetables) the chuño (cold dried potatoes, used in soup chairo and other traditional dishes) montado of lomo (eggs fried on a beefsteak, been useful with fried rice and plantins (type of bananas) picante LED pollo (boiled chicken passed to the frying pan and cooked in its juice, accompanied by fried or chuño and salad scrambled with peppers) lechon Al horno (pig of roast milk accompanied by camote, sweet potatos and fried plantins). Drinks: The Bolivian beer, especially Cruzeña is one of best continent. The chicha cochabambina very strong liquor containing fermented corn is the drink preferred of Bolivian.