7) Salar de Uyuni

The stunning, white-crystalline salt desert is one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, covering an area of 10,000 square kilometres at an altitude of 3,653m in Bolivia’s remote southwest. Three-day tours start from the hub town of Uyuni to visit the Salar, but don’t go expecting too many home comforts along the way. In terms of natural highlights, however, it can’t be beaten. The southwest circuit takes in the mineral-rich Laguna Colorada and Laguna Verde, where the landscape changes colour with the time of day and a population of rare James's Flamingos makes it home.

8) Sucre

The colonial, white-walled city is not only Bolivia’s most livable, but also a burgeoning hub for language schools to brush up your Spanish. Simon Bolivar founded the newly independent Bolivia here in 1825 and it remains a colonial gem, listed by Unesco as a World Heritage Site for its compact, whitewashed centre. After exploring the excellent local museums, it’s just a short, 90-minute hop by taxi to the colourful, Sunday-morning market at Tarabuco, famed for its artisan weaving tradition and a must for ethnic souvenir hunters.

9) The Che Guevara Trail

One of the more interesting new tourist trails to be developed in recent years follows in the footsteps of Latin American hero Che Guevara, who met his end at the hands of Bolivian troops in 1969.

The NGO-backed trail comprises two main sections, north and south, covering an area of 300 kilometres in the central plains. The northern route is better developed and leads from Santa Cruz, via the colonial town of Vallegrande, to the tiny pueblo of La Higuera, where a shrine marks the spot where Che was killed and an annual festival keeps his memory alive.

10) Tupiza

Tupiza is indelibly linked to the legend of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, who allegedly met their end close by. The town itself is a small and sleepy, but strike out into the nearby badlands on a horseback, or as part of a jeep tour, and you will marvel at the wild landscape with its collection of cacti. You can even hire a jeep and retrace the final footsteps of the outlaws to the cemetery at San Vicente, where they are said to have made their dramatic last stand as depicted in the 1969 film.

Bolivia: The Bradt Travel Guide is out now (£14.99, Bradt). You can read more Bolivia stories on David Atkinson's website

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