Day Trips from La Paz, Sucre and Coroico

October 29, 2026

Travel advisory, as of October 2026. A nationwide state of exception was decreed in June 2026, and day trips are the plans most exposed to it. Road blockades can stop buses at short notice, including routes to airports, and fuel shortages are regular. The UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Chapare Province, including Villa Tunari, and the US warns against travel there. See FCDO advice and travel.state.gov , and keep a spare day in any itinerary.

Day trips from Bolivia’s cities

Bolivia’s cities are good bases, because each has a ruin, market or landscape within a day’s reach. Fares below are rough and in bolivianos, which now trade at about 12 to the US dollar after floating in 2026. Buses are cheap, but blockades can cancel a return, so start early and leave the evening free.

From La Paz

Tiwanaku. This pre-Inca ceremonial site, about 72 km west at 3,850 m, was inscribed by UNESCO in 2000. Allow roughly 1.5 hours each way. Minibuses leave from near the General Cemetery for about Bs 15, and organised day tours run about Bs 150 to 250 before the entry ticket, which is around Bs 100. Highlights are the Kalasasaya temple with its Gate of the Sun, the sunken temple lined with carved heads, and Pumapunku. The Aymara New Year is marked at dawn on 21 June.

Valle de la Luna. Wind-carved clay spires in Mallasa, on the southern edge of the city, make a short half-day. Entry was listed at about Bs 15 and it opens daily during daylight, so check before you go.

From Sucre

Tarabuco Sunday market. About 65 km south-east, 1.5 to 2 hours by road, this weekly market fills with Yampara families in traditional dress selling textiles and produce. Shared transport costs about Bs 10 to 15, and agency shuttles about Bs 40 to 60. Go on a Sunday morning and ask before photographing people.

Maragua crater. Tours take you about 40 km west to a chapel near Chataquila, then down an old paved path through red gorges toward the crater and dinosaur tracks. Guided day tours cost about Bs 180 to 250. It is a full day of walking, so wear boots.

Potosí. About 155 km south-west, around three hours by bus at roughly Bs 20 to 30, Potosí is possible as a day but rushed. It sits near 4,000 m, which is over a kilometre higher than Sucre at 2,810 m, so expect to feel it. A second night is kinder. Read the guide to attraction tours for the mint and convent.

From La Paz towards the Yungas

Coroico lies in the warm Yungas valley, with coffee farms and citrus groves, and the paved road makes it a long day or an overnight. Landslides and blockades regularly close the route in the wet season, and Death Road cycling tours depart from here as well. If you cycle, book a guided operator only.

Practical notes

Altitude: La Paz is about 3,600 m and above. Rest on arrival, and treat coca tea as a local custom, not as a proven treatment.
Cash: bring small bolivianos. ATMs are unreliable outside big cities.
Time: set off before 08:00 so a delay does not strand you.

For a guided option, compare Bolivia day trips on Viator .