Cerro Rico Mine Tour
Cerro Rico (Sumaq Urqu)
Once the 'rich mountain' that supplied the Spanish Empire with vast quantities of silver, it is still mined by cooperative miners today, and you can descend into its tunnels on a guided tour.
Cerro Rico rises to about 4,800 meters. After silver was discovered here in 1545, it supplied the Spanish Empire with countless tons of silver over several centuries, and it also claimed the lives of huge numbers of Indigenous laborers, earning it the nickname 'the mountain that eats men.' Today more than a thousand cooperative miners still work inside the mountain under primitive conditions, extracting tin, silver, and zinc. Half-day tours (about 150–200 Bolivianos) stop first at the miners' market to buy gifts such as soft drinks and coca leaves. You then change into protective clothing and headlamps and descend into the mine, crawling through narrow, low tunnels and visiting El Tío, the underground deity the miners worship. The tunnels are dusty and low on oxygen, so people with claustrophobia or heart and lung conditions should not go. Be sure to choose a licensed tour operator.
Opening hours
Group departures approx. 08:30 and 13:30; about 4 hours
Nearby sights
- Ingenio San Marcos Museum
- Church and Convent of San Francisco
- Arco de Cobija
- Plaza 10 de Noviembre
- Church of San Martín
- Potosí Cathedral
- Convent of Santa Teresa
- Casa Nacional de Moneda