Photograph: Cerro Rico above Potosi by Pavel Spindler, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Potosi is the capital of Bolivia's Potosi department, a colonial silver city at around 4,000 metres under Cerro Rico, the Rich Mountain the major source of silver for the Spanish Empire. Packing for it means packing for altitude first: average nights below freezing for several months of the year, sun by day, and the cold, dusty question of whether to go inside a working mine.
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This is Potosi in Bolivia. The Mexican city and state of San Luis Potosi took their name from it, and Cerro Potosi in Mexico is a different mountain altogether; if you are heading for Real de Catorce or anywhere else in central Mexico, this is the wrong page. The photograph above shows Cerro Rico itself, a bare cone of red, brown and grey under a clear sky, rising behind a hillside of brick houses, many of them unplastered. In the foreground is an ordinary street with a white lorry, a car, a few pedestrians, two yellow road signs and a curving railway track. What the frame cannot show is the colonial city. There is no historic centre in it, no mint, no cathedral and no church, nothing of the inside of a mine or the people who work there, and nothing of the thin, cold air, which is the thing you will feel first.
What Is Here
Potosi exists because of the mountain. The English Wikipedia describes Cerro Rico as a mountain popularly imagined as being made of silver ore that dominates the city, and calls it the reason for Potosi's historical importance: it was the major supply of silver for the Spanish Empire until Guanajuato in Mexico overtook it in the eighteenth century. The city grew from a mining camp in the sixteenth century and was known in the colonial period as the Villa Imperial. Spanish still has an expression from it, valer un Potosi, to be worth a Potosi, meaning to be of great value.
The wealth had a cost that the city does not hide. Indigenous labourers were forced to work the mines under the Spanish mita system, and the mountain is still known, in the encyclopaedia's words, as the mountain that eats men because of the large number of workers who died there. It has never stopped being a mine. Today mining cooperatives work underground, and many miners contract silicosis. Centuries of tunnelling have weakened the peak itself: a sinkhole opened at the top in 2011 and had to be filled with ultra light cement, and the summit continues to sink a few centimetres every year.
The colonial architecture of the historic centre, together with Cerro Rico, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1987. Since 2014 UNESCO has listed it as in danger, citing uncontrolled mining operations. That double identity, a protected colonial city and a working, deteriorating mine above it, is what you are visiting.
The Mint, the Churches and the Mountain
The Casa Nacional de Moneda is the place to start. For centuries Potosi was the location of the Spanish colonial silver mint, and the building now houses a museum. Wikivoyage notes that visits are by guided tour only, so check the current tour times on arrival rather than trusting a printed timetable.
Wikivoyage lists several other sights in the centre. The Convento de Santa Teresa runs tours, in Spanish only, that explain the life and work of the Carmelite nuns who lived there. The tower of the Compania de Jesus, half a block from the main square, gives what Wikivoyage calls nice views of the surroundings from above. Wikivoyage also lists the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, and notes that from many streets in the historic centre Cerro Rico is visible as an obvious conical hill in shades of red and tan. Our suggestion is to use it as your landmark on a first afternoon, before the altitude has let you settle.
For food, Wikivoyage names kalapurka, a spicy soup served hot with a volcanic rock in it, as a Potosi institution, and says the cheapest meals are in the Mercado Central.
The Mine Tours
Whether to go inside Cerro Rico is a decision we think is best made before you arrive rather than at a tour desk. Wikivoyage says many agencies in the city offer tours of the cooperative mines. A tour starts at the miners' market, where visitors buy gifts for the miners such as coca leaves, drinks, cigarettes or dynamite, continues to an ore refinery, and then goes underground, where a typical visit has you walking and crawling through the tunnels for about two to three hours. Inside, the miners keep statues of El Tio, a figure the encyclopaedia describes as a deity of the land, to whom they offer coca leaves and alcohol for protection.
Wikivoyage is unusually blunt about it. It calls the tour a kind of poverty tourism, says the dust is thought to contain silica that causes silicosis and tells readers to wear a disposable mask, warns people with claustrophobic tendencies to be wary, and says of one operator that the safety aspect seems very low, actually totally missing. The FCDO says there are no official minimum standards for tour operators in Bolivia, that you should get local advice and use only reputable companies, and that you should check your travel insurance covers the activities you plan.
Our advice is plain. If you have asthma, any heart or lung condition, or a dislike of tight spaces, or if you are still struggling with the altitude, do not go in. If you do go, choose an operator on recommendation, confirm what your insurance covers before you pay, wear the oldest clothes you own, and bring a proper disposable dust mask. Our affiliate register has no mask, so buy one before you travel. In our view the mint museum is the better way to learn the history if you have any doubt.
When to Go
Potosi is cold all year and the seasons are decided by rain rather than heat. The English Wikipedia describes summers as cool and wet, with daily highs rarely above 20C, and winters as having cooler days with much colder nights, averaging around minus 4C. Its long term table gives average highs of about 15 to 19C in every month. Almost all the rain falls between December and March, with January the wettest month, while May to August are close to dry.
The dry months bring the clearest skies and the coldest nights. The wet months bring milder nights but also the risk the FCDO describes for the whole country: during the rainy season, November to March, there is a risk of landslides and roads can be blocked, and travellers may become stranded in high, remote areas. It advises taking food, water and warm clothing in case of delays or bad weather, which on the roads out of Potosi is sensible in any month.
Getting There
Wikivoyage says Potosi has two bus terminals and lists hourly buses to Sucre taking about three and a half hours, buses to Uyuni taking five to seven hours, several daily to Oruro at about six hours, and buses to La Paz at about nine hours. Collective cabs also run to Sucre and leave when full, which Wikivoyage calls a godsend during bus strikes. The city has an airport, Captain Nicolas Rojas, but check current flights directly with the airline.
Bolivia's roads need planning at the moment. The FCDO says a State of Emergency has been declared, giving police and armed forces powers to remove roadblocks and disrupt protests, and tells travellers not to try to cross roadblocks, to allow extra time and to be ready to change plans quickly. It reports regular petrol and diesel shortages that can affect bus services between cities, and says that a bus ticket sold as condicionado means the company may not be able to guarantee arrival. It also says accidents involving long distance buses are common, that drivers drive for longer than UK law would allow, and that some companies catering to the tourist market, though more expensive, tend to have better safety standards, including seatbelts and better trained drivers. Our advice is to pay for that seat and travel by day.
Is Potosi Safe for Women Travelers
Potosi is not named anywhere in the FCDO's Bolivia advice, read on 11 November 2026. The only area the FCDO advises against is the Chapare region of Cochabamba department, including Villa Tunari and highway routes 4 and 24 through it, and it notes that travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against its advice. Potosi is a different department, but check the regional page yourself if your route runs towards Cochabamba.
The national warnings apply here. The FCDO says Bolivia is in an economic crisis and dollar shortage that has led to an increase in crime, and that petty crime is common in central La Paz, in other popular tourist destinations, on buses and in crowded areas. On night buses it advises a money belt under your clothes, because theft can happen while you sleep. It warns that tourists, especially those travelling alone, are at risk of express kidnapping, and that thieves impersonate police officers: do not get into an unmarked police car under any circumstances, and know that police cannot stop or search you on the street without a written order from a state prosecutor. For taxis it advises using established companies, ordering by phone and never getting into a taxi already carrying other passengers.
For women specifically, the FCDO reports rape and sexual assault incidents at clubs and hostels, and advises caution when approached by strangers and locking your room when you return. It notes that illegal bars exist, that legal bars close at 3am, and that police may detain people found at an illegal one. Wikivoyage calls Potosi relatively safe but advises not walking alone at night outside the main plaza, and warns that many street dogs are about, some of them aggressive. Carry copies of your passport photo page and entry stamp and leave the original somewhere safe, as the FCDO advises, and ask before photographing people.
The Potosi Packing List
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and at this altitude a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is the garment you will live in. Wear it under everything by day, sleep in it at night, and expect it to stay fresh across several days of cold rooms and long bus rides. Add a heavyweight merino base layer for the nights in the dry season, when the long term average low is below freezing.
For the Cold
A Columbia Powder Lite hooded jacket handles evenings in the street and early starts at the bus terminal without much bulk. A Smartwool merino beanie and a pair of merino glove liners make the difference in a stone museum or an unheated room, and both pack small. If you take a mine tour, wear old layers you do not mind ruining over these rather than the jacket itself.
For the Sun
Cold air does not mean the sun is weak, and a wide brim sun hat is worth its space for walking the centre at midday, in our view. Our affiliate register carries no sunscreen and no eyewear, so bring high factor sun cream, lip balm with sun protection and good sunglasses of your own.
For Your Feet
The photograph shows how steeply the houses climb the hill, and the air is thin. Salomon hiking shoes with real grip suit the slopes and, if you go, the uneven floor of a mine. That is our sixth affiliate link, our limit per post, so the dust mask and the warm socks we would also pack go without links. The FCDO also says some medications are in short supply in Bolivia and that you must bring your prescription with you, so pack enough of anything you take for the whole stay.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Essential Resources for Women in Potosi
Emergency numbers: ambulance 118, police 110, fire 119, according to the FCDO's getting help page; its health page says to call 118 and ask for an ambulance.
Medical care: the FCDO says private clinics in all main cities work with international insurance, that you will need to pay up front to receive treatment, and that in remote areas emergency medical assistance is limited. It keeps a list of medical providers in Bolivia where some staff speak English. On altitude, the FCDO names altitude sickness as a risk in parts of Bolivia and points to the TravelHealthPro altitude illness factsheet; read it before you arrive, and if symptoms worsen rather than settle, get medical help and go lower.
US State Department travel advisory: the Bolivia advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/bolivia, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Official health authority: the World Health Organization country office for Bolivia, used here as a substitute because the Bolivian health ministry's own site does not serve over HTTPS.
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in La Paz, is in La Paz; keep its number with your passport copies.
Official tourism authority: the Bolivian government portal, linked here because the national tourism board's own domain does not resolve, ask at your accommodation for current mine tour operators and museum hours.
Solo women safety assessment: Potosi sits outside the only area the FCDO advises against, and Wikivoyage calls it relatively safe. The realistic risks are the national ones the FCDO lists: petty theft on buses and in crowds, express kidnapping, fake police and unregistered taxis, and sexual assault at clubs and hostels. Book taxis by phone, lock your room, do not walk alone outside the main plaza at night, travel by day with a tourist bus company, and treat the altitude and a mine tour as real physical risks rather than sights. Emergency ambulance 118, police 110.
Takeaways
Come to Potosi for the mint, the colonial centre and the mountain that paid for it, and give yourself time to adjust to around 4,000 metres before doing anything strenuous. Pack for cold nights and strong sun together, decide about the mines before you arrive, and plan the roads around the FCDO's warnings on roadblocks, fuel and buses.
Reading On
The nearest neighbour in this library is the colonial capital in the Sucre packing list, a few hours away by bus, and the salt flats in the Uyuni packing list are five to seven hours away by bus. For other Bolivian cities, read the La Paz packing list, the Oruro packing list, the Tarija packing list, the Cochabamba packing list and the Santa Cruz packing list. The Bolivia packing list and the Bolivia travel guide for women cover the whole country. For why one wool layer works from a cold bus to a sunny plaza, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women, and every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women. The base layers themselves are in the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
