Bolivia is situated in the heart of South America bordered by Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru and it covers 1,098,581 Km2 (428,446 square miles).
Climate: Bolivia has an extreme range of climates depending on the altitude. Summer / rainy season falls between November-April and winter/dry seasonfrom May to October.
Capitals: Sucre (constitutional), La Paz (administrative). Bolivia is a democratic Pluri National State.
Population: Approximately 11.633.371, with 7 inhabitants per km2 (11 per square mile).
Language: Spanish followed by Quechua, Aymara, plus many other indigenous languages.
Religion: 95% Roman Catholic but many people also hold traditional Inca and Aymara beliefs.
Currency: The Boliviano rate of exchange; 7 Bolivianos = 1 U.S. Dollar
Time: 4 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Bolivian time is constant throughout the year and throughout the country.
Electricity: La Paz runs on both 220v and 110v. The rest of the country is 220v.
Business hours: From 9:00 to 12:00 in the morning and 14:30 to 18:30 in the afternoon.
Tipping: A 10% tip is expected
Getting to Bolivia: By air, there are direct nonstop flights from Spain, the United States, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Panama. By land, the most common and suitable entry point is Peru, crossing Lake Titicaca. The Catamaran Cruise ships offer daily connections between Puno (Peru) and La Paz (Bolivia). The two other land entryways used by tourists are from San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) to the Uyuni Salt Flats and from La Quiaca (Argentina) to the city of Potosi.
Public Holidays:
New Years Day: January 1st
Creation of the Pluri National State: January 22nd
Carnival: February/March
Good Friday: Friday before Eastern
Labor Day: May 1st
Corpus Christi: May
Aymara New Year: June 21st
La Paz Anniversary: July 16th
Independence Day: August 6th
Santa Cruz Anniversary: September 24th
All Saints Day: November 2nd Christmas Day: December 25th