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Cochabamba
City and municipality in Bolivia

Cochabamba

Cochabamba is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range.

Plan a trip to Cochabamba→From Oruro

It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 661,484 according to the 2024 Bolivian census. Its name is from a compound of the Quechua words qucha "lake" and pampa, "open plain." Residents of the city and the surrounding areas are commonly referred to as cochalas or, more formally, cochabambinos.

Get in

Getting to Cochabamba

The terminal is some 10 blocks south of the center, just north of the market called La Cancha. From the north, you can catch several trufi lines to get to the bus terminal. For example, the green 101, the 102, the 103, the 109, all travel along Av. Ayacucho, passing the bus terminal. At the north end of the terminal, there are radio taxis associated with the terminal.

  1. 01
    Jorge Wilstermann International Airport

    Connects well to other large cities in the country.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Cristo de la Concordia

    The statue is just a bit higher and larger than the one in Rio de Janeiro, making it the world's largest statue of Jesus until 2010, when a larger one was completed in Poland.

  2. 02
    Martín Cárdenas Botanical Garden

    Mon-Sat 09:00-16:30, closed Sun.

  3. 03
    Medical Museum

    The main hospital in Cochabamba, Hospital Viedma, has a cute little medical museum attached, with some amazing old x-ray machines.

  4. 04
    Museo Archeologico

    Awesome archeological museum with mummies, deformed skulls, amazing pottery and other artifacts.

  5. 05
    Museo Convento Santa Teresa
  6. 06
    Natural History Museum "Alcide

    Calle Potosi, Recoleta (Next door to Palacio Portales),.

Eat

Where to eat

Lunchtime usually consists of a fixed menu at a number of restaurants or pensiones around time. The "almuerzo completo" consists of soup + main dish and often an appetizer and dessert. There are many options to find the menu displayed outside the door, usually consisting of your choice of two soups or 2-3 main dishes. This fixed menu varies in price depending on the part of town, and could run between Bs. 15-25.

  1. 01
    Bufalo's Rodizio

    0654 (The entrance is through the elevator found on the right as you enter the shopping mall).

  2. 02
    Casa de Campo

    One of the upscale restaurants in Recoleta.

  3. 03
    Dumbo

    The main joint on Heroinas is always packed, with four dining floors and enough dancers in animal suits to keep the entire juvenile population of Cochabamba entertained.

  4. 04
    Heladeria Cristal
  5. 05
    Jacaranda

    Not near the city center at all, but it has the reputation of best charque joint in town.

How locals move

Getting around Cochabamba the local way

  • Go nextTarata – Nice picturesque town that can make an easy day trip.

From Wikivoyage: Cochabamba, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.