New Seven Wonders - Cities

Recently, I've been obsessed with bucket lists and whether or not I agree with the findings of votes (or committees) who decide what goes on these rolls of honour. When I was looking at The Seven Wonders of the World, the 'New Seven Wonders - Cities' list caught my attention. The Swiss Foundation managed vote suggested: Durban, South Africa, Vigan (Philippines), Havana (Cuba), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Beirut (Lebanon), Doha (Qatar), La Paz (Bolivia).

This is a weird and eclectic collection. Maybe it's designed to be alternative. They're all interesting cities. Well, nearly all. Durban I just don't get. Nice beaches, theme parks and a lot of crime. Though it has been renovated, since I was there, in 2003. Give me Cape Town any time. Vigan's a gorgeous colonial city, but there are plenty of those, especially in Latin America. I'm not sure it stands out.

Havana has colonial architecture and more modern communist era buildings. And that mid last century vibe. La Paz: witch's market, colonial architecture and that wonderful gondola transport system. Beirut: 'The 'Paris of the East', a mix of religious buildings, pavement cafes and a pretty corniche. But lots of renovation, still ongoing, to repair war damage. Doha - ultra modern, with a tiny old souq and falconry area. I'll take Abu Dhabi instead. (Dubai is too large and artificial.) Kuala Lumpur, again a mix of colonial and modern. But, it's not my favourite Asian city.

What criteria do you use to choose a favourite (or Bucket List) city? I suppose for me its a mixture of beauty - aesthetic appeal, general vibe, interesting things to do and see (galleries, unusual buildings, monuments, sculptures, living history and lovely things to eat.

Here's my list. There's no way I can stick to just seven, so I've come up with a cunning plan. I'm going to incorporate the latest fashion for dupes, or duplicates (usually at lower cost). The idea annoys me instantly, of course, Not least as it's a silly word which implies you've fallen for some con trick. No place has a duplicate. But some are more similar than others...

Beautiful Cities - Venice

Let's start with beauty. It might be a cliche, but it has to be Venice. It wasn't love at first time. The first visit was classically crowded and smelly. But the second time I went, in the Time of Covid, Venice was bereft of tourists. I actually got to see what the city looked like. It was utterly gorgeous, sublime, despite the ghoulish Don't Look Now images, which intrude, as I wander the canals. There's absolutely no duplicate for Venice, but there's always Florence (or Bologna, or Milan, or the cities of Sicily. Not to mention Rome.

Feasts of European Architecture - Vienna (Budapest and Prague)

Staying with European cities which are historically and architecturally interesting. All of the European capitals (and many other cities, such as Munich) warrant a visit. but three cities on rivers stand out here, the first two, on the Danube. It's hard to beat Vienna, the capital of Austria, if you like somewhere stylish to wander around. Baroque buildings, palaces, museums and gardens to admire, The Prater Park (Harry Lime on the wheel) and a plethora of coffee shops. And nip up the Danube, in a boat, to Bratislava, a pocket city that's a mini Vienna, just over the border, in Slovakia. Two for the price of one.

Further east on the Danube, Budapest, capital of Hungary, makes for a great stay, with the old and new cities, again plenty of interesting architecture, (Disneyesque crenellations), vibrant edgy quarters and lovely food.

Prague, capital of Czechia, is closer to Bratislava (for some time they were in the same country) but it's on the Vltava River. The waterway divides the city, as it does in Budapest and again it's a veritable feast of architecture, right through to modern day and The Dancing House, castles, museums and eateries.

Colonial Cities - Cartagena, (St Louis, Granada, Antigua, Willemstad)

Further afield, but still with architecture, it's generally the Spanish colonial cities, which delight the eye. Cartagena in Colombia, has to take the crown. But sadly it's on the cruise circuit and the streets are too often too crowded to properly enjoy. Otherwise, head to Latin America. Granada, in Nicaragua is gorgeous (thrown in Leon too), Antigua in Guatemala (not the island) is another strong contender (go during Easter week for the celebrations and carpets of flowers). I've already mentioned Havana and Vigan.

French colonial atmosphere - try the Caribbean or Vietnam. But it's strong in Africa, perhaps most notable in Saint Louis, in Senegal, the old capital of French West Africa. It's a satisfying contrast, to the bush and rainforest, with its shabby chic and overflowing markets. My other pick is Willemstad, in Curacao, for its (almost toy town) clusters of bright pastel painted Dutch colonial houses.

All of these cities are on the UNESCO World Heritage list, except for Granada, which has been hovering on the tentative list, since 2003

Culturally Enchanting Cities - Samarkand (Esfahan, Varanasi, Fez)

Cities which draw you into their culture through their beauty and ambience are perhaps my favourite. I've chosen Samarkand, in Uzbekistan. The Registan ensemble of Islamic buildings is an absolute must see. It's also home to other glorious mosques and complexes, as well as ancient Samarkand. (Don't miss Bukhara and Khiva while you're there.)

Esfahan, in Iran, offers a very different Islamic experience, with its souks, palaces, squares and amazing domes. Fez, in Morocco, has one of the most authentic and winding souks in the Arab world, though the sour smell (some would say stink), in the world renowned tanneries may prevent you from staying in that section overlong.

For an unforgettable spiritual experience, then it's Varanasi. Like much of India, it's uncomfortably crowded, dirty and overwhelming at times. But take a boat trip on the Ganges, watch the hugely spiritual cremation ceremonies on the ghats, take in the astonishing light, at dawn or dusk, and listen to the inspiring music.

Cities With Beautiful Settings - Cape Town, (Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Vancouver, San Francisco, Tel Aviv)

CIties voted to have the most beautiful setting almost inevitably have natural harbours. Cape Town, South Africa, Sydney, Australia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Vancouver, Canada, and San Francisco, U.S.A, all qualify here. And they all regularly feature on best city lists and best places in the world to live.

Except for maybe Cape Town, as South Africa still has a reputation for crime and violence. But I'm still going to make it my number one. The beaches are gorgeous, the food and architecture are great, there's a huge amount to see in the vicinity, from wildlife to wine estates, the view of the Twelve Apostles backdrop is stunning and Table Mountain is iconic, from above, or below.

I'm also going to sneak in Tel Aviv-Yafo. It may not have the same mountain scenery, and only a small harbour, but The Big Orange, in Israel, has a long string of lovely beaches, the old city at Yafo (Jaffa) and plenty of cafes, museums and an extraordinary amount of Bauhaus architecture, in The White City area, to explore.

Mega Cities - New York (Chicago, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Singapore)

And then there are the mega cities, the ones which offer history, diversity and an endless list of sights and experiences and one visit just won't do. New York often tops best city in the world lists for good reason. We get to interact with all those landmarks we've seen on TV. And there are some great panoramas and fabulous restaurants. Though I've never rated the shopping.

Chicago is another close contender, with its 1930s vibe. Further south, Buenos Aires is another city you can walk for days, taking in the barrios from up market Palermo to La Boca, home of the tango.

Istanbul is mostly in Europe (it's the largest city of that continent), but it spills over the Bosphorus into Asia, making it unique and exciting. And Singapore, the city state, which continually reinvents itself: China Town, Little India, The Bay Gardens. It's one huge theme park. I'm not sure if I like it, but there's plenty to do.

The City That Has it All - London

So many contenders. Ghent, in Belgium, some of the Dutch cities. I really wanted to include Lisbon (and Porto). You may have noticed that I've missed out Paris. It's undoubtedly a lovely city, in parts, but its also very one dimensional and urban. Romantic? I'm not sure. And I've never had a good meal there. I think it's had very good PR.

But one city has to get the final mention and that's London. The place of my birth frequently tops polls for best city in the world, and with reason. It's historic, once the largest city on earth, vibrant, hugely diverse, both in terms of population and architecture and city areas. The food is great (if expensive) and you never run out of new things to see and do. And, apologies, that makes eight.

What would your Cities of the World Bucket List be?

La Paz

Rodrigo meets me off my flight from Uyuni to La Paz. He is dapper, with a straw trilby and speaks English, French, German and Spanish fluently. I’m expecting to have a quiet day, with a chance to catch up and rest. However, Rodrigo informs me that I’m touring the city today, as there’s a national protest against President Evo Morales’ proposed fourth term called for tomorrow and all the main roads will be blocked. Rodrigo is more philosophical about Morales than Oswaldo. Yes, he’s gone a little crazy, but he’s done so many good things. The country is much more prosperous and homogenous. And Morales doesn’t mind if people criticise him. Rodrigo says that Bolivia has the world record for presidential coups, 120 of them. There were three presidents in one day in the early twentieth century.

La Paz - in a Nutshell

• La Paz is arguably the capital of Bolivia – the government is located here, but Sucre is the constitutional capital.
• La Paz, The City in the Sky, is also arguably the highest capital city in the world (if it is the capital). Lhasa is 58 metres higher, but Tibet is an ‘autonomous’ region of China.
• Whatever, it’s scenically situated in a steep-sided bowl-shaped canyon on the edge of the Altiplano, with elevations ranging drastically from 3,200 to 4,100 metres above sea level. It is lined with a sprawl of adobe and red-brick buildings and framed by more white tipped mountains. A massive metro area of over two million residents when combined with the neighbouring plateau city of El Alto.
• La Paz has the world’s longest and highest urban cable car system, which acts as the main public transit network and connects the downtown area to the high-altitude sister city of El Alto.
• The city was founded, in 1548, by Spanish conquistadors under the name Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace). The name was changed officially to La Paz de Ayacucho, in 1825, to commemorate the decisive republican victory over the Spanish army in the war of independence. but the city's indigenous Aymara name is Chuquiago Marka (Gold Farm Village).
• The city also hosts unique cultural spectacles where indigenous Aymara women wearing traditional layered skirts, bowler hats, and shawls engage in theatrical, high-flying wrestling matches.
• The downtown area contains the infamous San Pedro Prison, which is known globally for its unconventional, self-governed societal structure where inmates live with their families, elect their own leaders, and purchase their own cells.

Exploring La Paz

La Paz is hardly recognizable from the city I visited 18 years ago. The City in the Sky is still a jumble of buildings sprawling scenically across a great canyon, ringed by the snow-capped Andes, and the traffic is still awful. But it’s clean and organised and there are modern buildings spinning up everywhere. Nothing like the dirty ramshackle streets I remember. And some genius has solved the pedestrian transport problem by building a colour coded metro system of cable cars, interlinking and whizzing up and down the valleys. The skyline is dominated by Mount Illimani, a massive, snow-capped three-peaked volcano which towers over the city at 6,438 metres.

The historic centre is focused around Plaza Murillo and Calle Jaén, a preserved eighteenth-century cobblestone street lined with pastel coloured, restored colonial buildings and local museums, most notably the Ethnography Museum.

Then, the Plaza Murillo, the historic, political, and cultural heart of La Paz. Named in honour of independence hero Pedro Domingo Murillo, this bustling public space is defined by towering bronze monuments, manicured trees, and thousands of resident pigeons. The square is flanked by the country’s most important institutional buildings, including the neoclassical Government Palace (historically known as the Palacio Quemado), the modern concrete tower of the Bolivian Parliament (the Plurinational Legislative Assembly) and the towering Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace - a structure built ingeniously into a steep hillside, so its front entrance sits a full 12 metres higher than its back base. The government buildings are guarded by grave soldiers in scarlet uniforms.

Just off the corner of the plaza stands the Casa Grande del Pueblo, a controversial 29-story modern skyscraper infused with indigenous Aymara and Quechua motifs, which opened in 2018, to replace the historic Palacio Quemado as the official presidential palace and seat of executive power.

The Plaza is really lively, a cross-section of Bolivian life sitting on the steps chatting, or in the case of the younger generation, chasing the pigeons. It is also, I have read, a frequent focal point for national political demonstrations, military parades, and civic gatherings. It’s fascinating to see how European dress has become the norm here. Many of the city ladies don skirts with layered petticoats, topped with blouses and woolly cardigans. Atop are bowler hats worn jauntily askew. They adopted the hat wearing habit from the railway workers of the 1930s. Oswaldo takes me into a shop to explain and compels me to try the look. It's not my finest hour.

The Witches' Market

The famous Witches' Market is a fascinating (and creepy) hotch-potch of weird items: spell boxes, amulets, lotions and potions, aphrodisiacs, snakes, dried frogs, turtles, feathers, dried llama foetuses and armadillos. Presiding over this hocus pocus are the indigenous Aymara .ladies of La Paz in their scarves and bowler hats. Also wandering the labyrinth of stalls are the distinctively woolly capped Yatiri or witch doctors, who can solve your health problems and tell your fortune.

This area is unrecognisable since my last visit, having been substantially upgraded from the chaotically basic. There are now lines of neat booths, packed with jars, teas, coca leaves, idols of varying sizes, and heaps of lurid coloured rocks. These face (incongruously) a row of football gear shops. In many cases medicament stock has expanded to include souvenirs, as well as items from all continents, such as joss sticks and Chinese lucky cats, to cover all bets. There’s even a brand-new gallery. Not everything has changed though. You can still have a consultation with a shaman or witch or choose from a pungent smelling assortment of herbs and powders and most of the shops still have llama foetuses dangling from the ceiling (essential for the foundations of new buildings) .

My hotel is, conveniently, just around the corner. Llama steak for supper.

Around La Paz

Tiwanaku

Last time I was here, with Elaine, (coming from Peru) we decided to opt out of the cycle ride down the deadliest road in the world, but other excursions were on offer. I met an archaeologist, in a bar, so on his recommendation, we embarked on a half-day tour to the Tiwanaku Archaeological Site, where he was excavating.

The Tiwanaku civilization was a powerful pre-Inca empire flourishing from roughly 200 CE to 1000 CE. At its peak it supported up to 40,000 people. Sophisticated high-altitude farming techniques involving irrigation, extended its cultural and religious influence across parts of modern-day Bolivia, Peru, and Chile, leading to domination of the southern Andes. Ironically, severe drought led to its collapse. They vanished, centuries before the arrival of the Incas.

The architectural remains showcase an extraordinary mastery of engineering, where multi-ton blocks of sandstone and volcanic rock were fitted together with interlocking joints and copper staples. In the central ceremonial zone, the vast Kalasasaya courtyard houses the centrepiece Gate of the Sun, a monolithic stone archway covered in intricate cosmological carvings and the Semi-Subterranean Temple where dozens of unique stone heads protrude from the sunken walls.

The site also includes the Akapana pyramid, a massive seven-tiered stepped structure which served as the city's religious core, and the nearby Puma Punku complex, that contains shattered, interlocking H-shaped blocks. This is some of the most sophisticated stone-cutting precision in the pre-Columbian Americas. Much of the work is still underway and we have to peer at these wonders through barbed wire.

Moon Valley

And a return visit, this time with Rodrigo, to Moon Valley. Valle de la Luna is about 10 kilometres south of downtown La Paz. Here, erosion has worn away the mountainous clay to leave as series of tall pinnacles. There are two walks through the park, with a small amount of scrambling over bridges and boardwalks. The spires are close knit and tower overhead. It's a little reminiscent of Bryce Canyon in the USA , but it's an inferior and smaller version. The mineral content is said to create a variety of hues, but today most of them are literally, plain beige. And sadly, it doesn't compare well with the Chilean version, I've just seen either. But I don't feel too bad writing this - as I've raved about so much of this Bolivian journey.

We then  zip back across town on the green and yellow cable car lines. Here there’s a great view of the new and old, teetering on the cliff tops.

Room 101

My ‘boutique’ hotel is in a traditional converted house, with brick walls and gabled ceilings. I’m in Room 101, which is living up to its name. It faces out onto a central corridor, as does its only window. This is cloth covered and too dark during the day and too bright at night, especially as the passage light comes on every time someone walks past.

I’m not sure that my disturbed night entirely accounts for the racing heart, shivering and dizziness when I finally get up. I peek outside, at the riot police, grouped by the plaza, plastic shields raised. They were absolutely correct about the plaza being the place for demonstrations. But I have to go back to bed. Altitude sickness seems to have set in. The hotel, not missing a trick (well it is next to the witches’ market), has provided Diamox in the room, at two US dollars a pop. The chemist next door sells eight for 45 Boliviano (about £5). And I’m also throwing caution to the winds and adopting driver Wilson’s approach to coca leaves (handfuls at a time).

I can hear chanting and a few firecrackers outside, but nothing that suggests a revolution is taking place.

Bexit

I’ve had an unwelcome message from Rodrigo. We have to leave earlier than planned, at 5 a.m., in case the roads are still difficult. In the event, we have a very smooth passage and I’m at the airport with plenty of time to sit in the café. I’m still not feeling great. And the plane doesn’t take off until three passengers have volunteered (suitably bribed) to disembark and fly tomorrow. Otherwise, we’re overweight and the plane won’t be able to get over the mountains. I’m carefully not making eye contact with the airline officials. Back to Santiago.

The Altiplano of Bolivia

The border post at Bolivia, coming from Chile, is unprepossessing to say the least. This is Hito Cajón, high up in the Andes, at about 4,500 metres elevation and roughly 28 miles away from San Pedro de Atacama. It’s a small hut, with a long winding queue of increasingly disgruntled tourists, furiously arguing because they are being made to pay an unexpected exit fee. It's operated by a single man, who sits at one desk to count his takings and another, to stamp passports. I’ve also gone back an hour in time, which I don’t understand at all, when I’m travelling east. I’m sure there’s some logic to it somewhere.

Oswaldo's Introduction to Bolivia

It’s 400 kilometres to Uyuni. 'These are Bolivian kilometres, very different to European kilometres', explains Oswaldo, my new guide. The driver is called Wilson and he’s in charge of a Toyota Landcruiser. It’s the affordable car of choice here, where the roads are nearly all dirt, except in areas around mines, where corporate mining conglomerations have funded a surface of sorts to get their ore out. Bolivia is mineral rich, but hasn’t the resources and technology to extract the wealth it’s sitting on. It hasn’t helped that relationships with the USA have been frosty and the American companies have all pulled out, in case their assets were nationalized. Oswaldo says that President Morales has been in power too long and now he’s mad. He’s currently requesting a fourth term in office, when the law says only two are allowed. It’s an all too common story.

Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and the Incredible Panoramas of Bolivia

The scenery however, is not at all common; it is increasingly incredible, as we climb away from Mount Licancabur, the stratovolcano on the border. We've almost immediately entered the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve. The park was officially established in December 1973 and is named after Eduardo Avaroa, a national hero, recognized for his role in the War of the Pacific. It says fauna - but this is mainly about preserving birds. There are a lot of gorgeous flamingos.

The carved peaks, canyons, huge salt lakes, volcanic cones and flat, open valleys beyond are uniquely beautiful and genuinely rainbow coloured, with starkly contrasting blues, greens, purples, yellow, orange and reds. It’s vividly surreal. So surreal, that part of the route is known as the Salvador Dali Desert. There's some debate as to whether that's because the area features in his paintings or because the landscape is so bizarrely unusual, though Oswaldo says Dali never came here. Oswaldo also bemoans the fact that the beautiful lagoons are drying up, because of global warming.

First, the frosted white and green lagoons, a 4500 metre high spectacle, nestling just the other side of Licancabur. Then, beyond this, Dali’s Painted Ladies of the Desert, a fantasia of peaks daubed in pinky reds, yellow ochre and black. We're not actually driving on a road - this is a vast track running through a flat valley, lined with mountains. You pick your own route. Wilson is inclined to treat it like a racecourse.

Up to the another ice blue lake, but this time with geothermal pool attached, at Aguas Termales de Polques, on the Salar de Chalviri salt flat.

Climbing, gradually, the Sol Manyana (Morning Sun) geysers, at 4870 metres. These are the counterpart to the amazing columns of Tatio, and the actual geysers here are diminutive in comparison. But they are just the backdrop for a raft of bubbling spitting pools, hues ranging from grey, through dusky pink, to bright orange, surrounded by a whole, exquisite artists’ palette of salt encrusted rings. Forget the mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan. These are far more impressive. I stand for ages with my camera, taking hundreds of pictures, in an attempt to some of the geysers erupting. It's not easy as there's no forewarning and the bubble fountains are usually obscured by accompanying clouds of steam. I'm also trying to make sure I don't fall in.

Laguna Colorada

San Pedro had me enthralled, but Bolivia is surpassing the Chilean Atacama. This is a delightful day of continuing surprises, one of the most amazing journeys I have ever undertaken. The highlight is yet to come. The Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon), despite, as Oswaldo keeps reminding me, its diminishing size, is almost beyond words, utterly extraordinary, with stripes and swirls of powder white, jade and coppery red, dotted with thousands of feathery flamingo balls. The technical explanation is that its striking scarlet and pink coloration is caused by red algae sediments and microorganisms, with white borax salt deposits providing the contrast.

The lagoon is a crucial breeding site for three flamingo species, including the rare James's Flamingo, which nests here in the world's largest concentration and features a bright yellow bill with red legs, the larger Andean Flamingo, distinguished by its light yellow legs; and the Chilean Flamingo, recognized by its greyish-blue legs with distinct pink joints. There are two species here. I will leave you to work out which is which.

Wildlife of the Altiplano

The route crosses the Siloli Desert and leaves the Eduardo Avaroa Reserve at a northern park checkpoint. We are still traversing the Altiplano - a massive, high-altitude Andean plateau, which looks like a hyper-arid wasteland of volcanic sand, but is pockmarked with mineral water sources and specialized wildlife ecosystems.

It’s so dry, there’s hardly any snow, despite the fact it’s cold, high country. Nothing will grow in this rocky terrain until we drop, from our 5000 metre highpoint, into a semi-arid basin where the desert sand changes to pockets of yellowish ichu grass and lush, green bofedales - high-altitude wetland oases where sponge-like moss pads trap mountain snowmelt to provide vital water. These vibrant marshes then give way to the crusty borax shores of five Altiplanic Lagoons (including Laguna Hedionda and Cañapa), where thousands more flamingos gather to feed on algae.

Wild vicuñas and llamas congregate to graze on the vegetation. Rabbit-like vizcachas sun themselves in crannies and Andean foxes roam. The Spanish word is Zorro, but less romantically they're usually seen around the rubbish bins.

There's also a rhea scuttling into the distance. Rheas are relatives of the African ostrich, Australian emu, and New Zealand kiwi, all large and flightless. There are two species: the greater rhea stands up to 1.5 metres tall and weighs around 23 kilograms, and Darwin’s rhea (or lesser rhea), a smaller alternative standing about 0.9 metres tall and weighing up to 25 kilograms. This is the one I've seen, uniquely adapted with white-flecked feathers for the harsh Patagonian steppe

Darwin’s rhea earned its name through a famously chaotic scientific discovery in January 1834 at Port Desire, Argentina. Charles Darwin had spent months searching for this elusive bird, only to realize mid-meal that he was actively eating a specimen the ship's crew had shot for dinner. Upon his sudden realization, Darwin scrambled to salvage the remaining scraps.

City of Stone

Next stop, The City of Stone is, of course, also magnificent. It looks like a ruined medieval town from a distance, but in fact, it’s the spectacular remains of eroded red volcanic flow. There are countless gigantic edifices that become mansions, puma’s heads, moas, howling wolves and bell towers, with a little imagination. I’m the only person visiting. We’ve hardly seen a car since we left the Laguna Colorada, where there were maybe a dozen vehicles parked up when we left. The population here is so sparse, it's almost beyond remote.

The 4WD is great fun, speeding across the wide valleys, choosing our own washboard route across the ruts. If rain wasn’t so scarce the road would be much more difficult. Wilson plays mountain music from Bolivia throughout the journey; El Paso Condor meets Swiss yodelling. He also stuffs his mouth with coca leaves the whole time we’re driving. I’ve tried one and it hasn’t had much effect. But he eats handfuls at a time. Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong. Whenever we’re parked, Wilson cleans the car, which is some challenge in this dust. He’s fanatical about the Toyota. Unfortunately, it doesn’t belong to him, though he wishes it did.

Finally, the route crosses the cracked, brownish-grey expanse of the Salar de Chiguana - passing the smoking Ollagüe Volcano and an old railway line. We roll into Uyuni at 7.30 pm and I head straight for bed. Travelling in such dry climates has its drawbacks. My hair is like straw, lips peeling, nose bunged up, hands sandpaper. My iPhone won’t even recognise my fingerprint.

Salar de Uyuni

Salar means salt flats and the salt flats of Bolivia are the biggest in the world. The Salar is actually a huge (80 miles across) prehistoric lake of brine (which is lithium rich), covered by ten metres of salt crust. We're still exceptionally high up, This is almost the crest of the Andes, at 3,656 metres above sea level. And it is extraordinarily flat - the elevation doesn't vary by more than a metre over the entire area. Apparently, the large area, clear skies, and exceptional flatness of the surface make the Salar ideal for calibrating the altimeters of Earth observation satellites.

Perhaps more excitingly, and unsurprisingly, Salar has been used as a filming location for several movies like Star Wars: The Last Jedi (it was planet Crait). And it's great for a spot of adventure. Today, we’re picking our own route again, straight across the glistening giant paving slabs that are the flats. The Salar serves as the major transport route across the Bolivian Altiplano. Once again, I’ve set my expectations too low; the salt stretches in all directions, a snowy ocean, curving on the horizon, the volcanoes forming a diorama at the rim, surmounted by a cerulean sky. It’s another wonderful journey, although sadly, with the exception of a few pools at the edges, the famous reflections are almost absent. There hasn’t been any rain. When it's wet, the flats become the world's largest mirror.

Exploring Salar de Uyuni

Incongruously, there’s a Dakar Rally monument en route, bearing an African turban. They ran the race here from 2014 to 2017, before deciding it was too destructive for the fragile environment.

Stretched across the centre of the Salar is a string of small islands. Isla Incahuasi is crammed with spiky columnar cacti, with huge bent fingers, impossibly picturesque against the blue and white background. Needless to say, it’s even better than the Cactus Valley of Chile.

Wilson has prepared a picnic lunch, which we eat at a cloth covered table, under an umbrella, out on the salt flat. Another surreal experience. The red stools against the tessellated salt trace patterns reminds me of last year’s picnic lunch, in the lagoon at Tuvalu. It was warmer there. The food is typically Bolivian - plenty of carbohydrate, potato, banana, and quinoa (a local crop) with some chicken and vegetables.

We spend the afternoon admiring the far fringes of the flats. Here is the most dramatic landscape of the flats, dominated by the imposing peak of the massive, multi-coloured Tunupa Volcano. Its mineral-rich slopes hold ancient cave shrines containing the Coquesa Mummies. These pre-Inca remains are technically skeletons classified as mummies; because they were naturally preserved by the hyper-arid Altiplano environment leaving intact hair, fingernails, and original woven clothing. There are wardens who have to be paid in order to obtain visiting rights.

The surrounding shoreline transitions into a rugged volcanic terrain dotted with tiny, traditional salt-harvesting villages. At Coquesa and Tahua, local farmers tend to fields of high-altitude quinoa and herd of llamas against a brilliant white horizon. On this remote side of the salt desert there are isolated, rocky outcrops like Pia Pia Island, a desolate mound of fossilised coral filled with hidden caves and more giant cacti that offers completely solitary panoramic views far away from the standard tourist tracks.

Here is The Cathedral (La Catedral), a spectacular natural structure of petrified coral and ancient volcanic rock. Over thousands of years, aggressive winds and water erosion have carved filigree tracery, soaring, vertical pillars and hollow arches into the dark stone. So, the entire cliff, inside and out, has the Gothic, towering appearance of a ruined medieval cathedral looming directly over the flat white salt crust.

This is another prime breeding ground for several species of flamingos - a few St James's still linger, obligingly in reach of my lens. And this is where they collect the salt for sale, heaped mounds are drying in the sun.

As daylight fades, these vast, empty northern flats become the ultimate arena for viewing surreal sunset reflections on the crust, a profound, silent wilderness experience.. We speed back across the salt - I keep wanting to say ice - to tonight’s lodging on the eastern edge of the plain. It’s called Luna Salada and it’s built entirely of salt.

Next stop, La Paz

What is the Capital of Bolivia?

• The official capital is Sucre, the government is based in La Paz and the largest city is Santa Cruz de la Sierra

A Very Brief History of Bolivia

• Early agricultural communities took root throughout the high Andes and the eastern lowlands around 1500 BC, which gradually evolved into complex regional cultures, most notably the Tiwanaku civilization that arose near Lake Titicaca, pioneered advanced stone architecture and sophisticated high-altitude farming, and expanded its spiritual and political influence across the entire altiplano region from 300 AD until its collapse around 1000 AD.
• From the fifteenth to the early sixteenth century the area that is now Bolivia was ruled by the Incas.
• Spanish forces led by Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire in the 1530s and Bolivia was subsumed within the Viceroyalty of Peru.
• Discovery of massive silver deposits, at Potosí in 1545, transformed the region into an economic powerhouse of the Spanish Empire, fuelled by forced indigenous labour.
• Independence was finally won, by Venezuelan Simón Bolívar, El Libertador, in 1825, after many years of war, (along with Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru).
• Venezuela’s then-leader Antonio José de Sucre was given the choice of uniting Charcas (modern-day Bolivia) with either the United Provinces of Rio de la Plata or the newly formed Peru Republic or, to declare independence from Spain and go it alone.
• Sucre chose the latter and named the new republic after Simón Bolívar.

• More war followed, a Civil War and conflicts with all of its neighbours: Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile, at different times. Bolivia eventually lost control of several parts of its territory, including its access to the Pacific coastline, (to Chile in 1879). This loss is bitterly resented by the Bolivians. They say that the Chileans invaded at carnival, when everyone was drunk and that this was therefore totally unfair. They still, hopefully, maintain a navy and celebrate Sea Day annually.
• A military coup, in 1964, overthrew the civilian government and initiated nearly two decades of shifting military dictatorships and political repression.
• Democratic governance returned permanently, in 1982, amidst severe economic hyperinflation and deep financial crises.
  Native leader Evo Morales won the presidency in 2005, initiated widespread social reforms, nationalised gas resources, and renamed the nation to the Plurinational State of Bolivia. Mass protests over disputed election results led to his resignation in 2019 and triggered a period of political transition, before constitutional elections restored his party to power, in 2020.

Is Bolivia a Poor Country?

• Though historically rich in mineral and energy resources, Bolivia is the poorest of South America's countries. Almost 40 percent of Bolivians live in extreme poverty.

Is Bolivia Safe to Visit?

• There are the usual warnings about petty crime, travelling at night and avoiding con men, especially in La Paz. Intriguingly, the FCO also says this: 'Avoid prison tours. They are illegal and unsafe. There are no guarantees for your safety inside prison premises.'

Facts and Factoids

• Bolvia spans several extreme geographic zones, ranging from the rugged peaks of the Andes Mountains to the tropical rainforests of the Amazon Basin.
• One third of the country is in the Andes, making Bolivia one of the highest countries in the world. Lake Titicaca, straddling the border between Peru and Bolivia, is the highest and largest navigable lake in the world. Hence the nickname, The Tibet of the Americas. Nevado Sajama is the highest point in the country, reaching an elevation of 6,542 meters above sea level.
• Madidi National Park is recognized as one of the most biologically diverse protected areas on the planet, housing thousands of species of birds, plants, and mammals.
• Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat on Earth, covering over ten thousand square kilometers and holding a significant percentage of the global lithium reserves.
• Bolivia has the only Bolivianite (ametrine) mine in the world
• The currency used throughout the country is the boliviano, which is issued by the Central Bank of Bolivia.
• The national flag features three horizontal bands of red, yellow, and green, with the national coat of arms positioned in the center
• The age at which you can vote, in Bolivia, depends on your marital status. If you are married, you can vote at the age of 18. However, if you’re single, you’ll need to wait until you reach 21. And voting is mandatory.
• People dressed as zebras help children to cross the road (lollipop ladies)

What Language is Spoken in Bolivia?

• The nation speaks thirty-seven official languages
• The most prominent indigenous languages include Quechua and Aymara, while Spanish is the most widely-spoken language in the country.

What To See in Bolivia?

• Landlocked Bolivia is the highest, poorest and most isolated country in South America. It is also the cheapest and the most surprising.
• La Paz is a reinvented city
• The rituals in and around Copacabana (Titicaca to La Paz) are fascinating
• The people are friendly and the scenery on the route from the Atacama, across the Altiplano and up to Uyuni (the largest salt deposit in the world) is absolutely astonishing. Surreal painted mountains, vivid lakes, colourful bubbling geysers, a rock city in the desert. Not to be missed.

Overland to Copacabana

A tourist bus picks Elaine and I up early from Puno, in Peru and drives to the Kasani Peru-Bolivia border crossing. The road hugs the shoreline of deep blue Lake Titicaca for a large portion of the way. Trout farms, and traditional agricultural terraces roll down to the water’s edge. The border post is surprisingly relaxed, though the actual border is marked by a brick triumphal archway. which we must walk through, on foot.

Copacabana

Nestled along the shores of Lake Titicaca Copacabana is a historically significant cultural hub and the primary gateway for water transit to the sacred islands of the Sun and the Moon. Long before the arrival of European explorers, the site was a prominent pre-Columbian ceremonial centre. It then evolved into a major Catholic pilgrimage destination, following the construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana in the sixteenth century.

This expansive, white-washed Moorish-style sanctuary houses the Dark Virgin, a carved, four foot, wooden statue created by indigenous artist Francisco Tito Yupanqui, in 1580. Over time, The Virgin of Our Lady of Copacabana became associated with travellers due to the church's physical location on a vital, but bottle necked peninsula, on a trans-Andean trade route. It could be treacherous, leading voyagers to stop at her sanctuary to pray for safety before embarking on the long journey. The association solidified, in 1589, when a group of Spanish navigators caught in a violent storm off the coast of Peru prayed to the Virgin of Copacabana for their lives. Their miraculous survival spread her reputation as a powerful protector against the perils of travel and rough waters.

The name Copacabana is thought to originate from the indigenous Aymara language native to the Lake Titicaca region. The most widely accepted etymology is that it evolves from the phrase kota kahuana, where kota means 'lake' and kahuana means 'view'. It's very different from the much more famous beach, in Rio de Janeiro. There is a direct historical link, but the Brazilian beach is actually named after this town, not the other way around.

In the eighteenth century, a group of Peruvian and Bolivian merchants were travelling by ship along the coast of Rio de Janeiro. A violent Atlantic storm hit their vessel, threatening to sink it. The sailors prayed intensely to the Virgin of Copacabana for their survival, promising to build a shrine in her honour if they made it to land. They survived and built a small chapel on a rocky headland near the shore, placing a replica of the Bolivian statue inside. Over time, locals began calling the entire surrounding area and its crescent-shaped beach Copacabana.

Today, the town fans out from the central plaza toward a scenic crescent-shaped bay, while the prominent hill of Cerro Calvario rises steeply above the northern edge of the settlement, to mark an ancient trail which mirrors the stations of the cross. And the rituals associated with travel and the Virgin are still maintained, incorporating the Ch'alla, an ancient Andean ritual of reciprocity, gratitude, and blessing directed toward Pachamama, or Mother Earth.

Everyday, in Copacabana, there is ritual centred heavily around motor vehicles. Motorists, truck drivers, and taxi fleets actually drive across Bolivia and Peru, to have their vehicles blessed for safety. The ceremony takes place right outside the church walls, in the main plaza. Drivers decorate their cars in elaborate finery, including floral garlands, paper streamers, car-sized rosaries, and small hats. A Franciscan priest or monk moves down the line to say a prayer and sprinkle holy water over the open engine bay, the exterior, and the passengers.

Immediately following the Christian prayer, the traditional Andean Ch'alla component begins. The vehicle owners pop bottles of champagne, beer, or local alcohol to vigorously spray down the tires, hood, and roof as a libation to Pachamama. The ritual concludes with the lighting of firecrackers around the car, to ward off evil spirits, before the vehicle is safely driven away.

Lake Titicaca - Facts and Factoids

• At an altitude of 3,812 metres above sea level in the Andes mountains, Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable body of water in the world and the largest true lake in South America, stretching roughly 190 kilometres in length and 80 kilometres at its widest point.
• The lake is split between two nations, with the western portion belonging to Peru and the eastern section belonging to Bolivia.
• A natural geological depression divides the lake into two distinct basins, the larger Lago Grande and the smaller Lago Pequeño, connected by the narrow Strait of Tiquina.
• The unique ecology of the lake supports several endemic species, including the giant Titicaca water frog, which breathes entirely underwater through its loose, folded skin.
• Multiple indigenous cultures view the lake as a sacred birthplace, including the Inca, who believed their creator god rose from its depths to fashion the sun and the first Inca ancestors.
• Fed by five major river systems and melting glaciers from the surrounding Cordillera Real, the lake loses most of its water through high evaporation caused by strong winds and intense high-altitude sunlight.

Isla del Sol

Then, a boat trip boat, posh dining facilities, to the Isla del Sol, a rugged place, steeped in central Andean cosmology and history. According to Inca mythology, this rocky landscape was the sacred birthplace of the sun god Inti and the first Inca ancestors, Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo, who rose from the lake to establish their empire.

The boat lands at Yumani, a village in the south. The stone Inca steps carry us upwards. The island is a series of steep hillsides shaped by ancient, agricultural stone terraces, still farmed today by indigenous Aymara communities using traditional crops like quinoa and potatoes. Dotted across the landscape are dozens of significant archaeological ruins, including the multi-roomed Pilkokaina Inca Palace and the intricate Chincana labyrinthine complex.

No motor vehicles are allowed on the island, so transport relies entirely on footpaths and pack animals. It's more obviously touristy than the Peruvian Uros islands, with a display museum/complex.

Copacabana to La Paz

The journey from Copacabana to La Paz covers roughly 150 kilometres across the Altiplano and requires all vehicles to cross the narrow Strait of Tiquina on motorized wooden barges. We have to disembark from our car cars and take small passenger ferries across the 800-metre water gap while the vehicle is balanced precariously on the flatbed barges.

Once across, the highway climbs sharply into the high plains of the Andes, offering sweeping panoramic views of the snow-capped Cordillera Real mountain range before descending directly into the sprawling urban basin of La Paz.