Geographical location
According to COUNTRYAAH, the South American landlocked state of Bolivia borders Peru and Chile in the west, and Argentina and Paraguay in the south of the country. Brazil lies east of Bolivia.
In the west of Bolivia there are mountain ranges of the Andes, two mountains exceed the limit of 6400 meters. The Sajama is the highest mountain in Bolivia with 6542 meters, the Illimani follows it closely behind with 6439 meters. Around 10.6 million people live in Bolivia, which is just 10 people per square kilometer.
The central highlands of Bolivia are home to around 60 percent of the population. In the valleys of the Andes there are partly wet forests at an altitude between 1200 and 1800 meters. The capital of the country is Sucre with around 238,000 inhabitants.
Sucre is quite central inland at the foot of the Andes. Santa Cruz is northeast of the capital. Outside of this big city, the region is only very sparsely populated, here you can find tropical, hot lowlands. 3372 of 8,288 square kilometers of Lake Titicaca lie in the west of Bolivia. The other part of the lake is in Peru.
- Abbreviation Finder: Check to see national geography, brief history, society description, domestic politics, economy overview, and a list of widely used acronyms about Bolivia.
Climate in Bolivia
The enormous differences in altitude shape the different climates of Bolivia. In the area of Lake Titicaca there is a moderate altitude climate. This manifests itself in small temperature fluctuations between summer and winter and a rather large difference between day and night temperatures.
The Altiplano area has a cool, temperate climate. Great differences between the day and night temperatures and mean seasonal temperature fluctuations can be found here.
In the eastern Andes region, a subtropical climate shapes the temperatures and precipitation. Average day and night temperatures of over 20 ° C can be found here. The eastern and northern lowlands of Bolivia are determined by the savannah climate. A low humidity and temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius can be found here.
When is the best time to visit Bolivia?
Due to the different climate zones, the best travel time for Bolivia cannot be completely generalized. Nevertheless, there is a strong tendency across most of the country that the dry season falls mainly between May and October. Meanwhile, November to April are considered to be more humid months (“rainy season”).
The salt lake of Uyuni is a real visitor magnet and is also recommended at this time of travel, at the Salar de Uyuni the peripheral areas from mid-April to the end of May and from early October to December are particularly pleasant. The intervening South American winter months June to August often brings extremely cold temperatures with it, so that the lagoons freeze over and only a few animals can be found.
Optimal travel time for the regions
In the following overview you can see the best travel time depending on the region (Bolivia).
| Place | Best travel time |
| La Paz | May, June, July, August, September, October and November |
| Trinidad | May, June, July, August, September and October |
| Sucre | May, June, July, August, September and October |
Temperatures, precipitation, sunshine in La Paz (Bolivia)
| Jan | Feb | March | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Daytime temperature | 13 ° C | 13 ° C | 13 ° C | 14 ° C | 14 ° C | 13 ° C | 13 ° C | 13 ° C | 14 ° C | 15 ° C | 15 ° C | 14 ° C |
| Night temperature | 4 ° C | 4 ° C | 4 ° C | 2 ° C | -0 ° C | -2 ° C | -3 ° C | -2 ° C | 0 ° C | 2 ° C | 3 ° C | 4 ° C |
| Precipitation in mm | 141 | 110 | 72 | 37 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 18 | 34 | 40 | 54 | 96 |
| Hours of sunshine | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Sunrise | 6:10 | 6:30 | 6:35 | 6:40 | 6:50 | 7:00 | 7:00 | 6:50 | 6:30 | 6:05 | 5:50 | 5:55 |
| Sunset | 19:10 | 19:05 | 18:50 | 18:25 | 18:10 | 18:10 | 18:15 | 18:25 | 18:30 | 18:30 | 18:45 | 19:00 |
Temperatures
The annual average temperature in La Paz is 8.8 ° C. For comparison: Munich reaches an average of 8.6 ° C, in Berlin it is 9.6 ° C. The warmest month is November (10.4 ° C), coldest month of July, with mean values of 7.2 ° C.
Precipitation
The annual precipitation is 630 mm. For comparison: In Munich, 967 mm, in Berlin 570 mm, precipitation is measured annually. There is no rainy season, i.e. months with more than 175 mm of precipitation. Snowfall is possible in all but June.
Sunshine
As our climate table shows, June is the sunniest month with an average of 8 hours of sunshine per day. On average over the year the sun shines for 6.3 hours per day. For comparison: In Munich and Berlin, the sun shines an average of 4.7 hours per day throughout the year.
Cities nearby
The following larger towns are nearby and have a similar climate: El Alto.
Highlights and attractions
The so-called Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt pan in the world, is located in southern Bolivia. Of the estimated 10 billion tons of salt, around 25,000 tons are mined annually. Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America and is located in the west of Bolivia. The Madidi National Park is located about 200 kilometers north of the La Paz government seat. The largest number of protected animals worldwide live here – an absolute highlight of any trip to Bolivia.
