Atocha

Atocha is a mining town of about 10,000 people in Potosí, Bolivia.

Get in

Atocha

Either by train from Uyuni/Oruro, or from Tupiza/Villazon, or by bus from Uyuni or Tupiza. The latter options offers much more scenery, well above 4000 m.

Get around

All walkable.

See

Just suck in the atmosphere of a genuine Bolivian mining gulch. No tourists here.

Atocha Vieja

• Atocha Vieja (Old Atocha) is 3 km away. From the current town following the road to Quechisla on the banks of the Atocha River, it is surrounded by the Calvario Punta, Chaupi Añawi, and Panteón Punta hills; at whose summit ancestral customs are carried out. Its origin dates from the colonial era. The old community has a square in the center. There is a stone and adobe pedestal 8 m high. In the colonial period it was considered as a symbol of justice; at its peak the heads of the executed were displayed on it. The square is surrounded by old lots, rustic stone and adobe houses roofed with straw. There is a church in the colonial style.
• San Vicente: The well-known American gunmen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, who came to the community of San Vicente seeking refuge, were executed in this town.
• Ancient mines: The different galleries and offices that used to belong to the Bolivian Mining Corporation are preserved, there are winches appearing level after level. Later, you will have to climb 14 flights of stairs, each measuring 7 meters long, making a total of 84 meters high. Following the route you can see generatira, which were the twins used in the Titanic, which distributed energy to the Aramayo minesas. You can see the technological advances of the colonial era that are part of the Telamayu Mining Museum.

Eat

Many small eateries.

Sleep

Several simple inns.