Potosi, built at an altitude of 3976 metres, is the word’s highest city and a monument to Spanish colonial rule.

Its streets are lined with grandiose architecture reminiscent of the city’s heyday when Indian and imported Negro slaves mined enough silver out of a nearby mountain to prop up the entire Spanish economy for hundreds of years.

Potosi fell on hard times in the early 1980’s when the bottom dropped out of silver. However the mine is still operational and tourism has bolstered the local economy.

Hell, it's hot down here - hot in an ice-cream-one-second-gone-the-next kind of way.

And so it is that the remote Amazonian town of Rurrenabaque has become a Mecca for heat-struck backpackers.

Easily the hottest spot in the Bolivian lowlands, Rurrenabaque has earned itself the reputation as a cheap place to sweat away the days in between drifting off into the surrounding rainforest or pampas to bond with wild nature and anacondas.  

Bolivia's wannabe capital, the low-key, white-washed city of Sucre has been recognised by UNESCO as a colonial gem.

You'll definitely need your sunglasses when wandering around the historic centre of the so-called 'La Ciudad Blanca'.

The leafy main plaza is an elegant public meeting centre and also the focus for the frequent political demonstrations that paralyze Sucre (the city is vying to be the political capital of Bolivia).

Known as the 'City of Eternal Spring', sprawling Cochambamba is Bolivia's third-largest city. And while its elevation (2448m) is well below La Paz, this fast-growing city is moving up in the world in every other sense.

First-rate restaurants and bars line the city's modern streets while La Cancha delivers shopaholics one of the largest and most cacophonous markets in South America. 

Its cheesy Latino name doesn’t do this small town justice. Built on the shores of  Lake Titicaca, Copacabana is dwarfed by a beautiful 17^th century cathedral which in turn is built on the ruins of an Incan temple. The Spanish no doubt chose the town as an important outpost of Catholicism due to the Incan belief that nearby island ‘Isla del Sol’ was the birthplace of their Sun God.

La Paz is one of the most impressive cities you’ll ever visit, not for its architecture or culture, but for its remarkable topography.

Built in a giant high alpine bowl and shadowed by Bolivia’s second highest peak   Mount Illimani, La Paz tenaciously clings to life in a rambunctious, chaotic style.

The mountaineer magnet of Sorata lies at the foot of the magestic snowcapped Illampu and Ancohuma mountains, some 160 kilometres northwest of La Paz.

Set on a hillside and surrounded by verdant valleys, this chilled-out colonial town sports a labyrinth of cobblestone streets and a busy Sunday market.

Aside from relaxing, Sorata makes an ideal base for day hikes to nearby lakes and caves as well as multi-day hikes to glaciers and lofty peaks.

The Salar de Uyuni salt flat lies on Bolivia’s southwest border with Chile. It’s a surreal white landscape complete with rock islands of cacti, a hotel built entirely of salt and flocks of pink flamingos.

To experience the other side of Bolivia, it’s essential to head east into the sweltering jungle.

In one day you can go from wearing a down jacket on the Altiplano to shorts and a T-shirt in the sticky jungle.

The region of Santa Cruz de la Sierra is an outpost of agriculture, mostly rice, sugar and soy, and also the gateway to Brazil and Argentina by train.

One of Bolivia's prettiest and most relaxing villages, Samaipata really has it all: a balmy climate, a cosmopolitan population, gourmet restaurants, a range of excellent accommodation and plenty of nearby attractions.

Located 120km (three hours) west of Santa Cruz, Samaipata sits in a lush valley surrounded by wild mountains.