Chicha is a fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post-Spanish conquest periods, corn beer made from a variety of maize landraces has been the most common form of chicha. However, chicha is also made from a variety of other cultigens and wild plants, including, among others, quinoa, kañiwa, peanut, manioc, palm fruit, rice, potato, oca, and chañar. There are many regional variations of chicha. In the Inca Empire, chicha had ceremonial and ritual uses.
The Inca road system was the most extensive and advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America. It was about 40,000 kilometres (25,000 mi) long. The construction of the roads required a large expenditure of time and effort.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz department.
Inkallaqta is a monumental Inca site in central Bolivia. It is located in the Cochabamba Department, Carrasco Province, Pocona Municipality, approximately 130 kilometers east of Cochabamba. It was most recently excavated by Larry Coben. He believes that the site was used to perform rites for the ceremonial calendar. The site has several important structures such as the Kallanka. It was the largest single roofed room in the western hemisphere when it was built, and measures 78 by 25 meters. There's also an ushnu or a ritual platform on the site. The Torreon of Inkallaqta is also located on this site. Located at the western side of the site this six sided structure supposedly had calendrical or astronomical significance. There is a zigzag wall immediately north of the site which is meant to mark and protect it.
Samaipata or Samaypata is a small town in the Florida Province of the Santa Cruz Department in Bolivia. It has a subtropical climate and an altitude of 1600–1800 m. It lies about 120 kilometers to the southwest of the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in the foothills of the Andes on the way to Sucre. It is a popular resort for inhabitants of Santa Cruz due to its much cooler climate. As such, there is regular bus and taxi service to Santa Cruz. The town is small with numerous colonial buildings and narrow cobbled streets. It is located near several tourist attractions such as El Fuerte de Samaipata, the Amboro National Park, El Codo de los Andes, Cuevas waterfalls, vineyards, rapids and lagoons, as well as well-preserved colonial towns such as Vallegrande, Pampagrande, Postrervalle, Santiago del Valle, Pucará, and others. It is also the first stop in the several tourist trails to Sucre, Potosi, and the Che Guevara route.
Florida is a province in the Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. Its capital is Samaipata. The province was created by law on December 15, 1924.
Johan Reinhard is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. He is also a senior research fellow at The Mountain Institute, a visiting professor at Catholic University, Salta, Argentina, an honorary professor of Catholic University, Arequipa, Peru, and a research professor at Future Generations University.
Chané is the collective name for the southernmost Arawakan-speaking peoples. They lived in the plains of the northern Gran Chaco and in the foothills of the Andes in Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina. The historical Chané are divided into two principal groups. The Chané proper who lived in eastern Bolivia and the Guaná who lived in Paraguay and adjacent Brazil. Twenty-first century survivors of the Chané are the Izoceno people of Bolivia and 3,034 descendants reported in Argentina by the 2010 census. Survivors of the Guaná are the Tereno and the Kinikinao both of Mato Grosso do Sul province in Brazil.
Bolivia is a country with great tourism potential, with many attractions, due to its diverse culture, geographic regions, rich history and food. In particular, the salt flats at Uyuni are a major attraction.
The Children of Llullaillaco, also known as the Mummies of Llullaillaco, are three Inca child mummies discovered on 16 March 1999 by Johan Reinhard and his archaeological team near the summit of Llullaillaco, a 6,739 m (22,110 ft) stratovolcano on the Argentina–Chile border. The children were sacrificed in an Inca religious ritual that took place around the year 1500. In this ritual, the three children were drugged with coca and alcohol then placed inside a small chamber 1.5 metres (5 ft) beneath the ground, where they were left to die. Archaeologists consider them as being among the best-preserved mummies in the world.
Huánuco Pampa, Huánuco Marka or Huánuco Viejo, or Wanuku Pampa is a large archaeological site in Peru in the Huánuco Region, Dos de Mayo Province, La Unión District. The ruins of the city lie on a plateau above the Urqumayu or Vizcarra River in the central Andes. The Incas administered their large empire through a small number of administrative centers, such as Huánuco Pampa. The administrative centers were linked by the extensive Inca road system. The most important of the roads, the Qhapaq Ñan, which ran from Cusco to Quito, passed through Huánuco Pampa. The Inca authorities in Huánuco ruled at least five, and perhaps more, ethnic groups. The city is situated on an important commercial trade route and sits on top of a plateau with ravines on all sides in order to allow easy defense of the city. During the Spanish conquest of the Incas, Huánuco Pampa was briefly occupied by Gomez de Alvarado, who founded a Spanish city there but it was quickly moved because of the harsh climate and Inca raids of Illa Tupac, one of the captains of Manco Inca.
Indigenous peoples in Bolivia, or Native Bolivians, are Bolivian people who are of indigenous ancestry. They constitute anywhere from 40 to 70% of Bolivia's population of 11,306,341, depending on different estimates, and belong to 36 recognized ethnic groups. Aymara and Quechua are the largest groups. The geography of Bolivia includes the Andes, the Gran Chaco, and the Amazon Rainforest.
T'uqu T'uquyuq or Machu Machuyuq is an archaeological site with rock paintings in Peru. It is situated in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Yucay District. The site lies at a height of about 3,150 metres (10,335 ft) on the slopes of the mountain Saywa (Sayhua).
Oroncota or Huruncuta was an Inca provincial center or capital on the border of Chuquisaca and Potosí Departments of Bolivia. Oroncota was captured by the Incas during the reign of Topa Inca Yupanqui (1471-1493) and served as a defensive outpost protecting the eastern frontiers of the Inca empire. The primary residents of the Oroncota area for more than 1,500 years have been the Yampara people. In the 16th century, during the last years of the Inca Empire and the early Spanish Empire, Oroncota and its region were under heavy attack by the Ava Guarani people (Chiriguanos) ethnic group who eventually gained control of the area.
The Ava Guaraní are an Indigenous peoples formerly known as Chiriguanos or Chiriguano Indians who speak the Ava Guarani and Eastern Bolivian Guaraní languages. Noted for their warlike character, the Chiriguanos retained their lands in the Andes foothills of southeastern Bolivia from the 16th to the 19th centuries by fending off, first, the Inca Empire, later, the Spanish Empire, and, still later, independent Bolivia. The Chiriguanos were finally subjugated in 1892.
The Battle of Kuruyuki or Battle of Curuyuqui was fought near the town of Cuevo, Bolivia on January 28, 1892. The combatants were the Eastern Bolivian Guarani Indians and a force made up of Bolivian military, militia, and Chiriguano Indians friendly to the government and Christianity. Often described as a massacre, the battle resulted in an overwhelming victory by the government forces. In the aftermath of the battle the government forces executed the Chiriguano leader, Apiaguaiki Tumpa or Hapiaoeki Tumpa, and many captives.
The Inca-Caranqui archaeological site is located in the village of Caranqui on the southern outskirts of the city of Ibarra, Ecuador. The ruin is located in a fertile valley at an elevation of 2,299 metres (7,543 ft). The region around Caranqui, extending into the present day country of Colombia, was the northernmost outpost of the Inca Empire and the last to be added to the empire before the Spanish conquest of 1533. The archaeological region is also called the Pais Caranqui.
The architecture of Bolivia is closely related to its history, culture and religion. Bolivian architecture has been constantly changing and progressing over time. Subject to terrain and high altitudes, most of Bolivia's Pre-Columbian buildings were built for housing, mainly influenced by Bolivian indigenous culture. The arrival of Spanish settlers brought many European-style buildings, and the Spaniards began planning to build big cities. After Independence, the architectural style became Neoclassical and many churches and government buildings were built. In modern Bolivia, like many countries, skyscrapers and post-modern buildings dominate, and of course there are special styles of architecture to attract tourists and build.
