TAKE A SMALL TOUR

A want you to take in a little tour in my country. Just click on the map the place you want to read about and see a picture and enjoy.

 
 
 
 
 

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COCHABAMBA

Created in January 23, 1826 in the period of Marshal Antonio Jose de Sucre. It is civic day is September 14 and has in Mr. Esteban Arze its principal hero. Its capital is the city of Cochabamba. History: In 1542 a group of Spanish colonizers settled in the Kjocha-Pampa valley. Ten years later, on August 2nd, 1571, by orders of viceroy Toledo the new
city was founded under the name of Villa de Oropeza in honor of the viceroy whose title was Count of Oropeza. Three years later, on January 1st, 1574
the nominal foundation was made by Sebastián Barba de Padilla under orders of viceroy Toledo too. The new city was established along the shores of the Rocha river. From the early days of its existence, the valley showedhints of its natural wealth. At the height of Potosí's silver boom, thanks to its wheat and corn production as well as its cattle abundance, the valleybecame the source of food for the miners in Potosi as well as for other  nearby regions. When Potosi's boom declined in the early 18th century, sodid the demand for Cochabamba's products. By the mid-19th century, however, the economic crisis faded away and the city gained back its position as the nation's granary. Currently, Cochabamba is a progressive and economically active city. Climate: Cochabamba lies in a fertile valley at 2,558 meters above sea level, surrounded by the Tunari hill, the Alalay lagoon and the San Sebastian hill.
Its weather is mild and pleasant. It is considered the best in the whole country, with warm-sunny days and cool nights. the average temperature in winter is about 17C (61 Fahrenheit). In summer the average temperature is 26 C (78 Fahrenheit). By November 1996, according to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) Cochabamba had 482,857 inhabitants.

PANDO

The department of Pando was created in September 24, 1938 in the period of Cnl. German Bush. This day its his civic day. Its capital is the city of Cobija. History: The city of Cobija (which means "blanket") was founded in 1906 by Colonel Enrique Cornejo, originally under the name of Bahia (Bay). During the first half of the twentieth century, Cobija experienced a boom as a rubber-producing center. When that industry collapsed, so did Cobija's wealth and the townwas reduced to little more than a village. According to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estaditica (INE), by November 1996 the population of Cobija was scarcely 15,273 people. Cobija is the capital of the Department of Pando, the youngest department in the country. Climate: The city of Cobija sits on a sharp curve of the Acre river. Located at an altitude of 280 meters above sea level and in the northwestern jungle region - in Brazilian border - Cobija is considered the rainiest region in Bolivia. It is also a very hot spot, with temperatures above 26 degrees Celsius (80 Fahrenheit) of the time.

LA PAZ

Craeted in January 23, 1826 in the period of Marsha Antonio Jose de Sucre. Its civic day is July 16 and the departmental hero is Mr. Pedro Domingo Murillo. Its capital is the city of La Paz. History: Pedro de la Gasca, to whom the Spanish king had entrusted rule over the former Inca lands, commanded Captain Alonso de Mendoza to found a new city commemorating the end of the civil wars in Peru. Then the city of La Paz was founded on October 20th, 1548 under the name of La Ciudad de Nuestra Senora de La Paz (The City of Our Lady of Peace). The city was first established in what today is Laja, on theTiahuanaco road. Shortly after its founding, La Paz was moved to its present location, in the valley of the Chuquiago Marka.
On 1549, Juan Gutierrez Paniagua was commanded to design and urban plan that will designate sites for public areas, plazas, official buildings. La Plaza de los Espatles, what today constitutes the Plaza Murillo, was chosen as the location for government buildings as well as the cathedral.Spain controlled La Paz with a firm grip and the Spanish king had the last word in all matters political. In1781, for a total of six months, a group of Aymara people laid siege to the no longer peaceful city of La Paz. Under the leadership of Tupac Katari, they destroyed churches and government property. Thirty years later ndians laid a two-month siege on La Paz. In 1809 the struggle for independence from the Spanish rule brought uprisings against the royalist forces. Today La Paz is a vibrant city, growing and expanding in all directions. La Paz has a population of morethan a million inhabitants. La Paz is the official government site. Climate: La Paz has different climate environments according to each zone's altitude. While the center of town is at 3,650 meters above sea level, the zone of Aranjuez is at 3,300 m. El Alto (where the international airport is located) is at 4,082 m. The average temperature in winter is 15C (59F) and 22C (72F) in summer. In the summer, rain falls on most afternoons, In the winter, days are slightly cooler, but the skyis mostly clear and sunny.

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TARIJA

Tarija was created in September 24, 1831 in the period of Marshal Andres de Santa Cruz. Its civic day is in Abril 15 and Mr. Jose Eustaquio (Moto) Mendez is its hero. Its capital is the city of Tarija. History: Tarija was founded on July 4th, 1574 as Villa de San Bernardo de Tarija by Don Luis de Fuentes y Vargas under the orders of Viceroy Don Francisco de Toledo. The new city was founded on the shores of the Guadalquivir river and its name was a tribute to Francisco de Tarija, a member of Almagro'sedition who was the first Spaniard to visit the valley. In 1810, Tarija declared independence from the Spanish rule, but the Spanish crown did not pay attention to the rebel act. On April 15th, 1817 at the Batalla de la Tablada, Tarija's citizens won a major victory over the Spanish forces, but not the long-waited independence. Later on, Argentina was keen to annex the agriculturally favorable area, butTarija opted to become part of Bolivia which won its independence and formally established as aRepublic in 1825. By November 1996, the city of Tarija had a population of 111,399 inhabitants. Climate:The city of Tarija lies at an altitude of 1,924 meters above sea level. Its weather is mild and pleasant although sometimes winter nights may get slightly cooler. Tarija is well-known for its Mediterranean-like climate and vineyards.

CHUQUISACA

Created in January 23, 1826 in the period of Marshal Antonio Jose de Sucre.Its civic day is May 25 and its hero is Mr. Jaime Zudanez. Its capital is the city of Sucre. History: The city of La Plata was founded by Pedro de Anzures, Marquez de Campo Redondo, on November 30th, 1538. Its foundation was a result of mining activities overseen by Gonzalo Pizarro, who was interested in exploring the highland east region of the Andean Cordillera. In 1559, Spanish king Felipe II commanded the foundation of the Audiencia de Charcas, with its headquarters in the city of La Plata with the purpose of administering the eastern territories. The Audiencia held judicial authority and executivepowers and presided over the regions of what is now Paraguay, south-eastern Peru, northern Chile and Argentina, and most of Bolivia. On 1609, the city received an archbishopric, and granted it theological autonomy. That, along with the establishment of the University of San Xavier in 1624. During the 17thcentury, La Plata served as a legal, religious, and cultural center of the Spanish eastern territories. The first cry of Independence in the Americas took place in the city of La Plata May 25th, 1809. On August6th, 1825 independence was declared and a new republic was born under the name Bolivia after its liberator Simon Bolivar. On August 11th, the name of the city of La Plata was changed to Sucre in honor of Mariscal Antonio Jose de Sucre, who along with Bolivar, fought for independence from the Spanish rule.
The city of Sucre is also known as the City of Four Names, being those names La Plata, Charcas, Ciudad Blanca (White City), and Sucre. On December 13, 1991 in Carthage (Tunisia) the UNESCO declared the Historic City of Sucre a "World Heritage Site" in recognition for its rich history and its wealth of colonial architecture.
By November 1996, Sucre had 157,775 inhabitants. Climate: The city of Sucre is located an an altitude of 2,790m above sea level. Its weather is mild and pleasant around 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit).

BENI

Created in November 18, 1842 in the period of General Jose Ballivian y Segurola. Its civic day is November 18 and its hero is the General Jose Ballivian y Segurola. Its capital is the betiful city of Trinidad.History: The city of La Santisima Trinidad (the Most Holy Trinity) was founded in 1686 by Padre Cipriano Barace on the shores of the Mamoririver, 14 kilometers from its current location. Later on, in 1769, pestilence and floods along the riverbanks caused the city to be relocated on the shores of Arroyo de San Juan. Trinidad is the capital city of the department of Beni. According to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), by November 1996, Trinidad had a population of 68,694 inhabitants. Climate: The city of Trinidad is located at an altitude of 237 meters above sea level, only 14" latitude south of the equator. Trinidad has a tropical and humid climate, regularly hot all year-round. Its temperature ranges between 22 and 28 Celsius (71 and 83 Fahrenheit). Most of the rain falls during the summer, however winter also has a good measure of precipitation.

ORURO

Created in Septembet 5, 1826 in the period of Marshal Antonio Jose de Sucre. Its civic day is February 10 and Mr. Sebastian Pagador is the departmental hero. The city of Oruro is its capital. History: The city of Oruro was founded on November 1st, 1606 by Don Manuel Castro de Padilla. The city was formally born as Real Villa de Don Felipe de Austria, in honor of then Spanish monarch Felipe III. Oruro owes its existence to the discovery in the early 1605 of rich silver-concentrated minerals in the Urus region, where the city derives its name from. During the 17th century, Oruro became the largest city in the Alto Peru region.
However, exhaustive mining activities exclusively on silver extraction prompted Indian workers to movedon to more lucrative prospects. Oruro became then an abandoned city. Oruro revived as a mining town by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this time with the production of tin. In 1887, Simon I. Patino later one of the wealthiest men in the world, bought La Salvadora, a tin mine located east of the city of Oruro. Later on, La Salvadora became the world's most productive tin mine. Currently, Oruro in not theprosperous city it use to be long time ago and certainly is not one of the fastest growing cities in the country. By November 1996, according to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Oruro's population was composed by 199,260 inhabitants. Climate: The city of Oruro lies north of the salty lakes Uru-Uru and Poopeand it is just three hours (by bus) south from La Paz. Located at an altitude of 3709 above sea level, Oruro its well known for its cold weather. Warmer temperatures generally take place during August, September and October, after the worst of the winter chills and before the summer rains. From May to early July, night time temperaturescombined with cool wind can bring the temperature down to about -40 C. Summers are warmer, but despite the fact of being an arid area, there's quite a lot of rainfall between November and March.

SANTA CRUZ

Created in January 23, 1826. September 23 its the civic day and Mr. Ignacio Warnes is the departmental hero. The Capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. History: The city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra was founded by Ntilde;uflo de Chavez on February 26, 1560. Chavez named the new city in honor of his beloved native city in Extremadura, Spain. The city originally lay 220 km east of its current location, on the shores of the Piralriver. But, by the end of the 16th century, the city was moved to its present position, 50 km east of the Cordillera Oriental foothills.
Santa Cruz supplied the rest of the colony with cotton, rice, sugar and fruit. It was a prosperous city until the late 1800's. Then, transport routes opened up between Peru's sea ports and La Paz, making imported products cheaper than those transported by mule from Santa Cruz. In the 1950's Santa Cruz was connected through roads and highways with other major centers. Also the completion of the railway line to Brazil in the mid-1950s opened trade routes to the east. Tropical agriculture (sugar, rice, cotton, and soybean plantations) prospered and the city entered a period of expansion and economic growth that continues to the present day. The city is connected by railwayswith Brazil and Argentina, and by road with Cochabamba, the Chaco, and Trinidad. By November 1996, according to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra had a population of 904,376 inhabitants. Climate: Located an altitude of 416 meters above sea level, Santa Cruz has a sunny and semi-tropical weather, with an average temperature of 21C (70F) on winter and 32C (90F) on summer. During winter, rainfall occurs in short downpours, but on summer a single deluge can last for days. Santa Cruz also experiences heavy and chilly winds called surazos that blow in from the Argentine pampas.

POTOSI

Created in January 23, 1826 in the period of Marshal Antonio Jose de Sucre. Its civic day is November 10 and Mr. Alonso de Ibanez is its hero. The capital is the City of Potosi. History: The discovery of ore in silver-rich Cerro Rico (rich hill) by Indian Diego Huallpa in 1544 prompted the foundation of the city of Potospon April 10th, 1545 at the foot of the hill. The city was born under the name of Villa Imperial de Carlos V, in honor of then Spanish king Carlos V. Its founder was Juan de Villarroel. Large-scale excavation began in the site immediately and the first of the silver was sent toSpain. In 1672, a mint was established to coin silver and water reservoirs were built to fulfill the growing population's needs. At that time more than eighty six churches were built and the city's population increased to nearly 200,000, making it one of the largest and wealthiest city in Latin America and in the world. During the early 19th-century, struggles for independence caused many churches to be looted. Then the city's wealth was removed to Europe or to other parts of the Spanish realm. By then thepopulation dropped to less than 10,000. By the time of independence in 1825, the mines of the Cerro Rico were almost exhausted. On On the mid 19th century, a fall in silver prices hurt Potosi's economy in a way that it has never completely recovered. On December 11, 1987 (in Paris, France), the UNESCO declared the city of Potosi a "World Heritage Site" in recognition for its rich history and its wealth of colonial architecture. By November 1996, according to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Potosi had a population of 121,097 inhabitants. Climate: The city of Potosi sits at an altitude of 4,090 meters above sea level, being the highest city in the world. The city is well-known for its cool weather and sometimes freezing rain.