Food and Drink
Bolivian cuisine is distinctive and good quality. Dishes are dominated by meat and often slightly spicy. International and local-style restaurants are available in all main towns. Bottled water and other drinks are widely available.
Things to know: Local bars are increasing in number and are unrestricted with no licensing hours.
National specialities:
• Salteña (a mixture of diced meat, chicken, chives, raisins, diced potatoes, hot sauce and pepper baked in dough).
• Lomo montado (fried tender loin steak with two fried eggs on top, rice and fried banana).
• Picante de pollo (southern fried chicken, fried potatoes, rice, tossed salad with hot peppers).
• Chuño (naturally freeze-dried potato used in soup called chairo).
• Lechón al horno (roast suckling pig served with sweet potato and fried plantains). |
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National drinks:
• Bolivian beer, especially the Huari brand from the Paceña brewery.
• Chicha (made from fermented cereals and corn).
• Singani, fermented from grapes, is a popular brandy to mix in cocktails.
• Bolivia has a fledgling wine-making industry with its 'wines at altitude' from La Concepción label garnering international plaudits. |
Legal drinking age: 18.
Tipping: It is customary to add 10% as a tip to the 13% service charge added to hotel and restaurant bills. Porters also expect tips for each piece of luggage.
Nightlife
La Paz has many nightclubs, which generally get going around midnight. There are also numerous bars, while other major cities boast a growing number of discos and bars. A popular night out is a visit to a peña, a folk music and dancing shows, often accompanied by a late dinner.
In La Paz, Peña Restaurant Huari and Peña Restaurant Marka Tambo both serve traditional Andean food and attract performances by well known local musicians. International visitors may also be interested in events, shows and performances arranged by local cultural centres.
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Shopping
Bolivia offers a wealth of artisan goods with special purchases including llama and alpaca-wool products, Indian handicrafts, woodcarvings and gold and silver costume jewellery. The streets around the market area, notably Sagarnaga, Linares and Illampu, are full of small vendors offering goods at lower prices but quality can be variable.
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There are, however, a few places around La Paz where you can buy good-quality goods and be sure that a percentage of your money is directly going back into the hands of artisans. For example, the craft shop Ayni Bolivia in the Hotel Rosario supports over 300 artisans from poor, rural communities, and stocks over 300 items across a range of designs and styles.
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Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0930-1230 and 1500-1830; Sat 1000-1700.
Go back to Learn Spanish in Bolivia
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