Cochabamba

Overview

Introduction

Cochabamba, one of the nation's largest cities, is noted for its shopping, pleasant climate, a good archaeological museum and the Inca ruins at nearby Incallajta. The cancha, or market, in Cochabamba is one of the largest in the country and is a good place to buy handicrafts. If you are there on Sunday, try to find a chicharron—a cookout where pork is deep fried in huge vats over open fires and served with potatoes and chicha (pronounced CHEE-cha), a traditional alcoholic beverage made from fermented corn. Any building with a small triangular white pennant flying outside means there's chicha inside. If you have time, you may want to hike up Cerro de San Pedro, which is topped not by a statue of St. Peter as one might think, but by a huge statue of Christ. The statue, as the locals will be glad to tell you, is taller than the one in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 150 mi/240 km southeast of La Paz.

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