Totora

Totora is a small town in the valleys southeast of Cochabamba that prospered on the coca and grain trade in the nineteenth century and then declined, which left its colonial and republican architecture largely untouched: cobbled streets, whitewashed houses with carved wooden balconies and tiled roofs, courtyards and a plaza, more complete than almost anywhere else in the department. An earthquake in 1998 damaged much of it and the restoration that followed was careful, using traditional adobe and tile rather than concrete, which is why the town looks as it does. There are small museums, workshops and a cultural centre, and the surrounding valleys grow fruit. It is quiet, has few visitors and is on the road toward Aiquile and the charango country.

History

The town is first mentioned in 1639, when the landowner Fernando García Murillo set up a chaplaincy here, and for long the land was used mainly for coca. It was formally settled on 24 June 1876, when the Totora municipality was split from Mizque, and declared a town on 27 October 1894, its first residents wealthy landowners, traders and textile craftsmen on a trading route between western and eastern Bolivia; on 22 May 1998 an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck Totora and Aiquile, killing 105 people (Wikipedia, Totora, Cochabamba).

What's there

• Colonial streets - cobbles, balconies and tiled roofs largely intact.
• The plaza - the restored centre of the town.
• Post-earthquake restoration - traditional adobe and tile work throughout.
• Valley farms - the fruit-growing country around the town.

When to go

April to October for the roads and clearer weather. The town is quiet year round. Festivals and the Aiquile charango fair nearby in November bring more life to the region.

What to expect

The town is very small and half a day covers it. Facilities are limited, with few places to eat or stay. The road from Cochabamba takes three hours. There is little interpretation and almost nothing in English.

Nearby

Aiquile lies southeast; Incallajta is northwest.

Key facts