Potosi

Potosi, one of the highest cities in the world at over 4,000 metres, was once one of the richest, a UNESCO town that boomed on the staggering silver wealth dug from the Cerro Rico, the red mountain that looms above it, whose ore bankrolled the Spanish empire for centuries. That vast, and brutally extracted, wealth left a legacy of grand colonial churches, mansions and the royal mint, though the mines, still worked today in harsh conditions, are a sobering reminder of the human cost behind the splendour.

What you actually see

• The Cerro Rico - the silver mountain looming over the city.
• The colonial churches and mansions - the legacy of the silver boom.
• The Casa de la Moneda - the grand royal mint, now a museum.
• The working mines - the still-active cooperative mines (tours ethical concerns).

When to go

May to October, the dry season, for the best weather; at over 4,000 metres it is cold and the air very thin, so acclimatise well before arriving, ideally coming up from lower Sucre, and expect breathlessness even walking the streets.

Honest expectations

At over 4,000 metres the altitude is extreme, so acclimatise carefully. The tours into the still-working mines, where miners labour in genuinely dangerous, harsh conditions, raise real ethical questions, feeling to some like poverty tourism, so consider carefully and, if you go, with a respectful, miner-run operator bringing gifts. The city's history is one of both splendour and immense suffering, giving it a sober, poignant atmosphere.

Nearby

The city of Sucre, the Uyuni salt flat and the southern highlands are within reach.