Oruro

Things to do

• Socavón museum and mine
• Cable car up to the Virgen del Socavón
• Carnival (February or March)

What to eat

• CharqueDried, shredded llama or beef, fried and served with corn, egg and cheese.
• Sajta de polloChicken in a yellow ají amarillo chilli sauce, with chuño and potato. Typical of the Altiplano.
• FricaséA spicy pork soup with yellow chilli and mote, said to cure hangovers.

Also here

• Festivals · UNESCO Oruro CarnivalThe biggest carnival in the Andes: tens of thousands of masked dancers, devil dances and morenadas, parade for almost twenty hours to the Socavón sanctuary.
• Myths and legends Wari and the plagues of OruroThe god Wari sent a toad, a lizard, a snake and ants to punish the people of Oruro. A princess turned them to stone: you can still see them around the town.

How to get to Oruro

• Uru Uru Road (bus, car) · 15 to 30 min

  Taxi or minibus from Oruro.

• Machacamarca Road (bus, car) · 30 min

  Minibus or taxi from Oruro.

• Obrajes Road (bus, car) · 30 to 45 min

  Minibus from Oruro.

• La Paz Road (bus, car) · 3 h 30 to 4 h

  Buses every 30 minutes.

• Sajama Road (bus, car) · 4 h

  Car or tour (few buses).

• Chipaya Road (bus, car) · 3 to 4 h

  Transport from Oruro's Avaroa market, few departures: check the day before.

  You often arrive late: arrange lodging.

• Cochabamba Road (bus, car) · 4 to 5 h

  Frequent buses from the Cochabamba bus terminal.

• Potosí Road (bus, car) · 5 to 6 h

  Frequent buses.

• Uyuni Road (bus, car) · 6 to 7 h

  Buses from the Oruro bus terminal.

• Uyuni Train · 7 h

  FCA trains, the Expreso del Sur and the Wara Wara del Sur, only a few departures a week (check times at fca.com.bo).

  The most comfortable and scenic option: flamingos along Lake Poopó.

Photos of Oruro

More places in this region

• Sajama National ParkBolivia's highest peak (6,542 m), geysers, hot springs and llamas.
• Curahuara de CarangasThe “Sistine Chapel of the Altiplano”: an adobe church covered in murals.
• Obrajes and Capachos hot springsNatural hot-water pools on the Altiplano, less than an hour from Oruro.
• Machacamarca railway museumOld steam locomotives and the history of the mining railways, south of Oruro.
• Lakes Uru Uru and PoopóShallow Altiplano lakes on Oruro's doorstep, visited by flamingos.
• ChipayaVillage of the Uru-Chipaya, one of the oldest peoples of the Andes, with round earthen houses.
• Coipasa Salt FlatBolivia's second-largest salt flat, wild and almost without visitors.
• UyuniBase town for Salar tours, with a train cemetery on the edge of town.
• Salar de Uyuni + Sud Lípez (tour)The world's largest salt flat, then the colourful lagoons of the Sud Lípez. The highlight of many trips.
• TupizaWild West scenery: red canyons, cacti and the last ride of Butch Cassidy.
• CotagaitaA small green town in a fruit-growing valley, on the road from Potosí to Villazón.
• VillazónThe border with Argentina, facing La Quiaca: the crossing travellers use most.