Potosí and the Cerro Rico de Potosí

During Colonial times, in the 16th and 17th centuries, Potosí was larger than London or Paris, due to the incalculable extraction of silver from the Cerro Rico de Potosí.

Its winding streets are the mute witness of the improvised constructions which took place as a result of the rapid and disorderly growth due to the arrival of the greedy adventurers and Conquistadores who arrived in this famous New World city, well known for its Cerro Rico and the promise of riches.

The National Museum of the Casa de la Moneda (Mint House) exhibits samples of the “macuquinas potosinas” (macuquina derives from the Quechua “makayquna” which means forged), which are the first coins minted during the Colonia.

The visit is completed by a tour through one of the many galleries of the Cerro Rico de Potosí, where silver and other minerals are still extracted to this day. Going into the darkness of the mine gives us a vague idea of ​​how the first years of silver extraction were like during the Colonia, the foundation of the Bolivian history.

30 minutes from the city is the Hacienda Cayara, the first hacienda built in what was then La Nueva Toledo (present-day Bolivia) in 1557. Today, it is a cozy hotel-museum, an excellent option to spend the night in this historic city.