The 7 Best Things to do in Cochabamba: Bolivia’s Underrated City

I think that Cochabamba is one of Bolivia’s most underrated cities. We found that there are actually a lot of great things to do in Cochabamba, yet we barely met any other travelers in the city.

And to be honest, Cochabamba wasn’t my first choice either.

If I hadn’t gotten altitude sickness in Uyuni, I’m pretty sure we would have made our way to high altitude places in Bolivia such as La Paz and Lake Titicaca. But the altitude had gotten me good, which limited me to visit cities with lower altitudes, and luckily for me, Cochabamba just made the cut!

So, we’ve dedicated a full blog post to all the attractions and things to do in Cochabamba in Bolivia. Our aim is to inspire more people to spend just a few days exploring this lovely place on earth – let’s see how we do.

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Things to know before visiting Cochabamba

Before diving into our favorite things to do in Cochabamba, we’d like to share some information about the city. So here is some general information about Cochabamba, including how to get there and where to stay.

How to get to Cochabamba?

Cochabamba is the 4th largest city in Bolivia and it’s situated in the center of the country, which makes it a pretty easy travel destination to reach from most cities in the country.

We believe the easiest way to get to Cochabamba is by bus. You can either go to your local bus station and buy tickets or you can get them online on busbud.com. The cheapest option is to get the tickets directly at the bus station.

We learned that you need to plan a little bit ahead when taking buses in Bolivia. The bus tickets do tend to sell out, so don’t get them at the last minute. Instead, go to the bus station one day before you intend to leave and buy them.

Where to stay in Cochabamba?

During our time in Cochabamba, we stayed in a hostel named Running Chaski, which we can only recommend. It was a super good place, it was clean, had common areas including a kitchen, located in the middle of the city center, and it had an amazing staff.

If the hostel scene isn’t for you, then check out Residencial Moroni, which is a guesthouse with super high ratings. We didn’t stay here, but after doing some research, it’s probably the place we would choose if we want to stay in a private room next time.

Want something else? Then check out all the accommodation options on Booking.com. We always use this accommodation platform, and it’s also where we found and booked the hostel we stayed in.

What is the altitude in Cochabamba?

Cochabamba has an altitude of 2570 meters or 8430 feet above sea level.

And for those of you who don’t know, Bolivia is one of the countries in the world with the highest altitude cities. In fact, the highest big city in the world is “El Alto”, which is the big city bordering La Paz in Bolivia.

Therefore, it’s always a good idea to check the altitude before going anywhere in Bolivia! That way you can prepare yourself for the possibility of getting altitude sickness.

• Related blog post: Getting altitude sickness in Uyuni.

Luckily, Cochabamba is located at an altitude around 2500 meters, which is the limit for when altitude sickness becomes a possibility. Therefore, people visiting Cochabamba often don’t experience any symptoms of altitude sickness.

What is Cochabamba known for?

Cochabamba is also called, “The City of Eternal Spring” because of its good climate. Doesn’t that just sound appealing?

Apart from that, Cochabamba is mostly known for having one of the biggest Jesus Christ statues in the world. We’ll talk about how you can visit Cristo de la Concordia later in this blog post.

If you ask me what I personally think Cochabamba is known for, I would say that it’s an interesting city that combines the old with the new.

You can experience the old colonial buildings in the plazas, learn about Bolivia’s history, and read the newspaper while having your shoes polished. But you can also easily spot the modern world in Cochabamba. There are several international restaurants and cool graffiti-art all around the city.

We loved this mix between new and old! And we think that Cochabamba has the potential of becoming a popular backpacking destination in the future. Cochabamba is a cheap travel destination with many things to do, and it ought to get some more attention from travelers going to Bolivia.

The 7 best attractions & things to do in Cochabamba

Now we’ve finally reached the more exciting part about this blog post from Bolivia – all the attractions and great things to do in Cochabamba. So let’s start exploring!

1. See amazing views at Cristo de la Concordia

Cristo de la Concordia on San Pedro Hill is a must visit on your trip to Cochabamba.

Cristo de la Concordia means “Christ of Peace”, and it’s a massive statue of Jesus Christ that overlooks the entire city of Cochabamba. With its 34 meters height, it’s actually the second largest Jesus statue in the whole world!

Even if you’re not religious, you should still go visit Cristo de la Concordia because it’s one of the greatest attractions in Cochabamba. Plus, you get the most amazing views over the city from here. Also, there is no entrance fee or opening hours at Cristo de la Concordia.

Here are 3 easy ways to get there:

• Walk: You can climb up the many steps to Cristo de la Concordia. However… Both locals, our hostel staff, and the cable car workers told us not to do this because there is sadly a high chance of getting mugged on the steps.
• Cable car: You can take a cable car to Cristo de la Concordia for the price of 13 BOB for a round trip (2020 price, it should be a bit higher today). With this option you also get great views over the city.
• Taxi: You can also take a taxi to the top of Cristo de la Concordia. A taxi will set you back between 10-12 BOB.

Since we carry a big camera around, we obviously didn’t want to walk up the steps with all the warnings we’d gotten. Even though Glenn and I always love a good hike, it just wasn’t worth the risk.

So instead we took the cable car to Cristo de la Concordia, which leaves from the Autonomia Park. We don’t know the opening hours for the cable car, but we went on a Wednesday morning and there was no line.

2. Feed pigeons at Plaza de Armas 14 de Septiembre

I absolutely hate city pigeons…

However, I’d still recommend everyone who visits Cochabamba to go and do some people-pigeon-watching at Plaza 14 de Septiembre. It’s a historical plaza in the city center of Cochabamba and it’s surrounded by many beautiful buildings.

So just sit down on one of the many benches and enjoy the life of the city.

For a few Bolivianos, you can buy some bird seed and feed the pigeons. However, keep in mind that there are hundreds of pigeons, and they will all flock to you if you start to feed them.

I must admit that it was good fun to sit here and watch pigeons attack all the humans with bird seed.

Another great thing you can do on Plaza de Armas is to get your shoes polished in an old-fashioned style. Glenn had his muddy travel shoes polished, and they truly looked a year younger afterwards. You just sit down in a chair, they hand you a newspaper to read, and then someone just starts to polish your shoes.

It was like going back in time – so cool!

3. Visit the beautiful Saint Sebastian Cathedral

While you’re spending some time feeding pigeons and getting your shoes polished at Plaza 14 de Septiembre, you might as well visit the beautiful Saint Sebastian Cathedral. The cathedral is one of the beautiful buildings surrounding the plaza.

Since it’s a cathedral, there is no entrance fee.

We were actually lucky to visit Saint Sebastian Cathedral during a ceremony. Around 100 women had just finished their education within the health care sector (we think), and apparently it’s a tradition to have a graduation ceremony in the church.

It was so nice to experience this! However, it meant that we didn’t really get to see much of the church.

We think that the Saint Sebastian Cathedral is open from around 8 AM to 8 PM. However, we’re not completely sure, so you’ll have to go check it out for yourself.

4. Visit Convento Museo Santa Teresa

There is only a small handful of museums in Cochabamba. We unfortunately never visited any.

However, when we go back, we want to visit the Convento Museo Santa Teresa.

This museum is an old, historical convent. The convent was designed by architect Pedro Nogales and engineer Martinez Caceres in the baroque style in 1760. Today, you can tour the convent, and it’s said that you even get to walk up on the roof for a beautiful view.

You can read more about the convent here: Convento Museo Santa Teresa

5. Go hiking in Tunari National Park

One of the best things to do in Cochabamba, is to go hike in Tunari National Park!

However, due to my recent altitude sickness incident and general exhaust from being sick, we never did this… But we heard many great things about this national park. So, if you’re a keen hiker then you should definitely go to Tunari National Park!

The Tunari National Park lies on a much higher altitude than Cochabamba’s 2570 meters. In fact, the Tunari Peak has an altitude of 5023 meters. So be aware that you’ll experience less oxygen in the air, which can affect your hiking abilities.

Please take it slow unless you’re used to hiking in high altitudes.

Contact your hotel or hostel to get more information about how to go on a hike in Tunari National Park. It’s too far away from Cochabamba to just wander into Tunari on foot. You’ll need some kind of ride to take you there.

6. Visit La Cancha Market

Did you know that one of the biggest open-air markets in South America is actually located in Cochabamba?

Well we sadly didn’t learn about this until after we actually left Cochabamba. That’s why we’re including it in this blog post, so you don’t miss out like us.

At the La Cancha market, you’ll find fresh fruits and vegetables, colourful fabrics and clothing, tourist souvenirs, Bolivian handicrafts, the latest gadgets, and much more! Enjoy a walk in this bustling market, but get ready to bargain if you want to take something home. Also, expect it to be crowded, so watch out for pickpockets.

7. Drink a coffee at Westeros Café

This is one of the attractions in Cochabamba that’s only really interesting for those who’ve watched Game of Thrones.

If you want to dress up like Jon Snow and sit on the Iron Throne while drinking a delicious Café Latte, then you’ve made it to the right place on earth!

Compared to other cafés in Cochabamba, it’s pretty expensive. However the coffee is delicious, and I guess you also pay for the experience of sitting on the Iron Throne. Westeros Café is open every day from 8 AM – 9 PM (except for Sunday when it’s closed).

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We really hope you enjoyed this guide to all the attractions and best things to do in Bolivia’s amazing Cochabamba. Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment with any questions about Cochabamba or Bolivia in general.

We actually visited Cochabamba back in March 2020 and witnessed how the world went into full lockdown. This meant that I suffered from a lot of anxiety during my time in Cochabamba… The fear of getting sick or getting stuck in South America made me very scared. Hopefully we can return to Bolivia and Cochabamba in the future, so that we can appreciate it properly next time.

If you’re preparing a trip to Bolivia or South America and you want to know more about the overall safety, you can read our blog post: Is it safe to travel in South America? We also wrote a blog post about another amazing city in Bolivia that you can check out: Things to do in Sucre.

Thanks for reading and happy travels!