La Paz – Page 5 – Pirwa Hostels BLOG

Pirwa Travel Guide: Discover the Surreal Beauty of Uyuni Salar

August 5, 2015 Pirwa

One of the most striking geological wonders Bolivia offers is the Uyuni Salt Flats. This child of prehistoric lakes, with its peaks of ancient submerged volcanoes referred to as ‘islands’ and carved by erosion into a delicate filigree, its brine lake under a salt crust, picturesque lagoons where flamingos breed, and giant cacti, deserves a spot on the list. During the rainy season, a light layer of water converts it into a giant mirror, and it’s expanse and flatness makes it more preferable for calibrating satellites than the oceans. Multi-day tours of Uyuni don’t only include the world’s largest salt flats themselves, but also the surreal surrounding landscape, marked by gigantic cacti, red and green lagoons, feeding flamingos, ‘islands’ of prehistoric coral, shooting geysers, hotels made entirely of salt, and bizarre eroded rock structures.

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Celebrate the Solstice & Aymara New Year at Tiahuanaco by Lake Titicaca this June

May 28, 2015 Pirwa

The ‘Return of the Sun’

Those of you planning on traveling to La Paz next month should think about swinging through Tiwanaku (in Spanish, Tiahuanaco) for the Aymaran New Year on June 21^st, when the 5,522nd year of the Ayamara calendar will begin. As an agriculture-based society, the Aymara began their new year at the beginning of a new agricultural cycle. During the Southern Hemisphere’s winter solstice, the longest night of the year when the sun was at its farthest, meant a new sowing season was to begin, and required rituals of celebration, adoration to initiate the sun’s return.

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Get Ready! The Gran Poder 2015 Festival in Bolivia Begins May 30th

April 25, 2015 Pirwa

One of Bolivia’s largest festivals of the year is just around the corner: the Fiesta del Gran Poder, which is marked by an endless succession tens of thousands of brightly dressed dancers and marching bands parading for miles along the city’s main streets. They are organized into associations representing the neighborhoods, community groups, and companies of La Paz. Performers dance for around 5 hours, in spite of costumes averaging more than 50 pounds. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, locals and travelers alike gather to down copious amounts of beer while shouting street vendors enthusiastically sell their wares.

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What to Do in La Paz, the City in the Clouds

April 22, 2015 Pirwa

With its high altitude, La Paz is a certainly a shock, but it isn’t only the altitude which will leave you breathless. Most people first see the city from its suburb El Alto, which sits at the rim of the valley in which the city sits, offering expansive views overlooking La Paz. The modern and colonial buildings of the city center and the colorful shantytowns climbing up the canyon slopes are hemmed in by magnificent snow-covered peaks. While you can visit various lookouts, especially the well-known Killi Killi Lookout, a cable car ride down into the city is enough to enjoy stunning views.

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The Official Program for the 2015 Carnaval in Oruro, Bolivia

January 16, 2015 Pirwa

Carnaval time in Bolivia is marked by parades, folkloric characters and dances, beer and chichi, water games, and festive crowds. The flavor changes with the location, however: there’s the Carnaval de Antaño (Carnival of Yesteryear) in Sucre, which recreates the colonial and republican era, and the Carnaval Grande in the same town; there’s the Carnaval Minero (Miners’ Carnival) in Potosí, and the Carnaval Paceño (La Paz Carnival), where one must continually duck water and foam attacks while watching the endless lines of dancers. Which is the most famous of the Bolivian Carnavals? The Oruro Carnaval is known worldwide, and was declared by UNESCO a Masterpiece of Oral & Intangible Heritage of Humanity for its impressive mix of religious Spanish and indigenous Andean traditions.