Geography       

A country as big as France and Spain together...        Bolivia has an area of 1 098 581 Km² , which means that Bolivia is as big as France and Spain together ! The administrative capital is called "La Paz".1 million people live in this city, and 7.8 millions people live in Bolivia. The constitutional capital "Sucre" is located in the southern part of the country and has some 150 000 inhabitants. Bolivia is often known as " the Lamas' country".

A 3800 m high capital ! The country has 3 geographical regions : The Altiplano is a 3500 metres high plateau located between the Peruvian and the Argentine border. The highest points are : the Illimani (6 882 m), the Parinokata (6 873m).  Main towns : La Paz, Oruro, Potosi. The Yungas, stand in the center of the country. In this region, climatic conditions are cooler because of the Altiplano foothills. Elevation  is "only" 2 000 meters high and soils are very fertile. Main towns : Cochabamba, Sucre, Tarija.  The Oriental plains stand along the paraguayan border and stretch over most of the north lands . Over there, the climate is hot but also humid due to the proximity of the  Amazonian forest. Oriental plains occupy almost half of the country. Main towns : Santa Cruz, Trinidad, Riberalta.

The world largest lake: lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca makes the border between Bolivia and Peru. It is located near the Altiplano, at an outstanding elevation over 3800 meters!  Lake Titicaca is immense : 233 km long and 97 km wide with at least 36 islands ! It is considered as the highest navigable water reserve in the world. It seems to be also a mystic lake. Indeed, Indians, who composed more than 30% of the population, consider that the Inca's legend was born on 2 of the 36 six islands: Sun's island and Moon's island.

An economicaly poor country...     Bolivia's Gross National Product world ranking is 112th (the Gross National Product is the sum of all the wealth produced within the country). Most of the bolivians are poor peasants. For this reason, most of the wealth comes from the lands : sugar cane, corn, rice,  cotton, banana, coffee. However, one of the most important source of income (sometimes legal but more often illegal) stays the "Coca". After some transformation, the genuine plant gives place to a sadly famous drug : the cocaine.

...But a rich culture !  People compose a mosaïc of an extreme diversity. Bolivia has kept a lot of traditions. Thus, in La Paz, the Cholita (wife) always wears a bowler hat as well as 2 braids. Everywhere, we can see a strong dedication to gods and Nature. Bolivians just worship "Pachamama" (mother Nature). Music is very important into bolivian's folklore : Sampoña (panpipes) and Kena (flute) are often associated with dances.