San Antonio de Lípez

San Antonio de Lípez is a community surrounded by mineral wealth and a great mining history, which is reflected in the nearby ruins of the once prosperous town of San Antonio del Nuevo Mundo.

Mining has driven Bolivia's economic development throughout its modern history and the area around San Antonio de Lípez still preserves traces of mining settlements dating back to colonial times. Many are the stories of the locals, which have survived from the olden days, tell of the greed for silver and contain a tragic memory of the violence practised to dominate the spirits of men, in this harsh and hostile environment, dominated by the dry cold climate of the highlands.

Against this backdrop, the miners’ life could be very complicated indeed. Extracting the silver from the mercury ore was a painstaking and lengthy artisanal process, which required long days of hard work. This led to the relocation of homes to the area where the mines were and the development of an urban settlement, called San Antonio del Nuevo Mundo, which today is a ruined ghost town and the main attraction of the area.

Many of the current inhabitants of San Antonio de Lípez are members of the local solidarity tourism association and benefit from the income from the tickets to San Antonio de Nuevo Mundo. They are organised on a rotating basis so that all the members can share in the association’s revenues. Alongside this activity, many still engage in the traditional quinoa farming.