Tupiza was founded in 1574 and was a key settlement for the Spanish (it was previously a part of the Incan empire and before that the Aymara Chicha). Situated in southern Bolivia, it was historically a major trade route between Argentina and Potosi. The American outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are believed to have met their end near Tupiza in 1908, specifically after a robbery in the nearby area. The city is a high desert sitting between 9,350 and 9,800 feet of elevation and has a population of around 27,000 people.
Getting In
The last day of my Uyuni Salt Flats tour ended just before 7 giving me enough time to catch the 8pm bus to Tupiza. I ate a $0.75 salteña at the bus station which was enough to top me off after our sunset picnic in the Salt Flats. The bus ride was an easy four hours. About halfway through we stopped at a random town where more than 80% of the bus got off. I had that fleeting thought that we might have to switch buses because you just never know in South America. Why else would so many people be getting off? But there were four or five other people remaining on the bus and I had bought a ticket to Tupiza so I figured I was safe. Within ten minutes we were off again and my fears vanquished. I arrived in Tupiza a little before midnight and had to walk only five minutes to my hostel where I quietly slinked into my bed.
Lodging
The first two nights in Tupiza I stayed in an eight person dorm room in a hostel, which luckily only had four people counting me. The beds weren’t that comfy but hard to complain when it cost about $8 a night.
My dorm room was two 18 year old British backpackers and an Argentinian guy missing a good portion of his teeth. He had the vagabond look and I didn’t get the best vibe from him. He would talk to me nonstop and didn’t catch a hint that I didn’t really feel like talking with him. He would ask me questions like how much money people make per month in the U.S. and I had a suspicious feeling about him going through our things when we were gone from the room. Maybe it was a bit judgmental, but I felt the need to have my guard up more.
On the other hand, I got along quite well with the British girls in spite of our age difference. They were only on week two of their trip which included heading to Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. I felt like the their mentor giving recommendations and telling stories of my travels in those countries. One of the girls was getting really into hiking so we geeked out on mountain talk for a while. Then we went to a restaurant in the main square and got a big beer to share and chatted about travel, politics, our lives; the usual. I ordered wings for dinner, which were very average. None of the food in Tupiza was very memorable.
Originally I was only going to stay two nights in Tupiza and take the night bus to Sucre on the third but the region of Chuquisaca (where Sucre is located) had an election that Sunday so no transportation runs in and out of the city from midnight tonight until 6pm on Election Day. I could have taken a night bus to Potosi (an old mining town with a colonial center and one of the richest places in South America in the 1600s due to silver mining) to get closer to Sucre and to explore a new city. But after being on the go so much my first 11 days, I was okay relaxing another evening in Tupiza enjoying the slow pace of the city then having a zero day the next day. I didn’t feel like dealing with the hustle and bustle of a new city so I got a hotel and chilled hard. The beauty of long travel is you don’t have to force yourself to do something every day; it’s okay to slow down and take a day off.
Wandering Around Town
Every morning I would get 1-2 salteñas for breakfast for $0.60 a pop. On my first day I strolled around the city before hiking up to Cerro de la Cruz. The walk to the trailhead required crossing the bridge over the mostly dried up Rio Tupiza to the other side of town. The city has a nice feel to it with the surrounding red rock canyons. The most dangerous part of Tupiza is the street dogs. They are fine on paved road but they get feisty on the dirt roads; that’s their territory and they’re prone to growling at you. I passed by the local middle school where kids were playing soccer with an incredible view.
It was difficult to find the trailhead off the highway and once I finally did, some parts were hard to decipher the actual trail. I was glad I had AllTrails to help keep me in check. It was partially a trail and partially a rock staircase. The viewpoint from the top had a nice 360 view of the town and surrounding landscape (1 mile, 381 feet elevation gain).
After the hike I got a $2.25 menu del dia lunch at a local hole in the wall (which was quite popular) that had a small Samsung TV from the early 2000s playing telenovelas. The soup was overflowing from the bowl and the chicken milanesa was nothing to write home about, but it was cheap. I liked that the moment I sat down they served me a bowl of soup before even asking what I wanted as my main dish. I felt like a local.
On my way back toward my part of town, I stopped into a beauty products store where the lady also had a little table with a blender and fresh fruit she made into juice. I ordered a jugo de pino and she asked if I wanted it cold! Duh I’m American! We love our drinks cold! But a lot of other places in the world prefer lukewarm. It cracked me up that she was wearing a big fluffy pink jacket even though it was upper 70s out. I continued along some quaint side streets before checking out the central market, a one stop shop for food and various home goods. One row was Home Depot with tools, hoses, toilet bowl seats, faucets, you name it. The next was Michaels with arts and crafts, school supplies, backpacks. Then you had Macy’s with pants, shoes, shirts, suitcases. It was basically an American strip mall.
On my final day, I had a lot of time to kill before my 9pm bus to Sucre. It was good to have a zero day. I started my day with yet another salteño and a refresco served in a bag, because who doesn’t like drinking with a straw out of a bag? I went from the square to lunch to the park to ice cream then back to the square. I studied Spanish, wrote my blog, and caught up on finances for the trip so far; it was a productive day in a different way. There were lots of younger people hanging out in the square on a Sunday; Bolivia has a much younger leaning population. It was funny to see the shirts and hoodies with the different colleges people were repping: Michigan State, Michigan engineering, Indiana, and Harvard. Lots of Big Ten fans in Tupiza.
Horseback Tour
One of the main reasons I went to Tupiza was for the horseback riding tour. Tour agencies offer three, five, and seven hour tours (as well as multi day tours) so I opted to go in the middle and take the five hour tour. Sadly it was only average. The tour was meant for beginners and it went a little too slow for my liking. It was more of a scenic tour than a real horseback ride. The guide let me trot a few times in the canyon but most of the day we went at a walking pace. Even though I told her I had experience riding horses, she was pretty cautious. The tour I did in Salento, Colombia where we crossed multiple rivers and galloped on our horses spoiled me. That being said the landscape was incredible and I got in a lot of good Spanish practice.
It was a solo tour, just me and the guide. We talked about lots of different things over the five hours: the high cost of iPhones in Bolivia, Bolivian politics, her education (studying to be a vet), her urge to live somewhere less dry, how Bolivians typically have kids at an early age (some by the age of 14) and have big families, and she gave me some good recommendations for things to do and eat in other Bolivian cities.
The landscapes were beautiful and the rock formations very unique. Am I in Sedona, Arizona; Salta, Argentina; or a Tupiza, Bolivia? It was very warm with the sun beating down on us and little shade.
The first stop of the tour was Cañón del Duende where the urban legend is that duendes (small magical creatures in Latin American culture equivalent to gnomes, goblins, or leprechauns that are notorious tricksters who cause mischief by hiding possessions) live there; although my guide believed otherwise. The route to get to the canyon was along a road with the occasional car so our horses slow walked this part.
Then we continued through the desert where the landscape opened up to more impressive views. We passed by a few landmarks along the way: Quebrada de Palmira, La Puerta del Diablo, and Valle de los Machos before arriving at the famous Cañón del Inca.
Afterwards she let our horses get to a trotting pace a few times but overall our horses mostly just walked. We stopped in a shady spot for a snack at the true entrance to the canyon that was only accessible by hiking from there on out. Then we slowly made our way back to the ranch.