Flavors of Bolivia

The cuisine

Traditional food of Bolivia

Bolivian cuisine changes with altitude. On the high plateau, above 3,500 meters, the staples are potato in many varieties, chuño (potato dehydrated by freezing), corn, and llama meat. In the valleys, roughly between 1,800 and 2,800 meters, there is more pork and beef, fruits, and ají, the chili that gives color and heat to stews. In the Lowlands (Oriente), in the lowlands, rice, cassava, and plantain appear.

This selection brings together specialties linked to cities and departments by cultural ties, heritage laws, or official choices of flag dishes. In La Paz, the plato paceño and fricasé are part of the traditional gastronomy declared a municipal heritage. In Potosí, k'alapurka is served boiling with a hot stone, and the salteña, the broth-filled empanada eaten mid-morning, has there one of the oldest versions of its history, a claim contested with La Paz.

In Sucre, mondongo chuquisaqueño uses the red ají from the valleys. Cochabamba, known for hearty food, is the city of origin of pique macho and silpancho. In Tarija, saice tarijeño is the city’s flag dish, and the department’s valleys produce singani, the grape spirit with Bolivian denomination of origin. In Oruro, charquekan brings together llama charque, corn, and potato from the altiplano. In the Oriente, majadito is the rice-and-charque dish of cruceña cuisine.

Many dishes are served with llajwa, a spicy sauce of tomato and locoto, an Andean pepper. The association of each specialty with a place is an editorial choice: most are eaten throughout the country, and some have disputed origins between cities.