Tupiza

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tupiza is a town in Potosí Department, Bolivia. It is located at around 21°26′15″S, 65°42′57″W at an elevation of about 3160 m. The population is 23,100 (2006 official estimate). Tupiza and its environs are characterized by dramatic red escarpments which jut ruggedly skyward from the coarse, gray terrain; green agricultural land adjacent to the Río Tupiza provides welcome respite from the otherwise arid, thorny surroundings. The area quebradas are susceptible to flash flood runoff from sudden cloudbursts.

Tupiza is the capital of the Sud Chichas Province within the Potosí Department. It is accessible via bus from Villazón to the south (and thereby both Argentina and Tarija) and Potosí to the north, as well as via the north-south train which served the mining settlements and runs the same route. From Tupiza, various towns in the local mining districts are accessible, as is the Salar de Uyuni. Bus accidents with few survivors are not uncommon in this region, due to precipitous dropoffs as the mountainous routes ascend and descend between towns.

Legend has it that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their end at the hands of the Bolivian army near Tupiza, concluding their notorious string of bank robbery raids. Various local outfitters provide horseback or jeep tours to the rumored site.