Settling In 113and New Zealand are not required to have a tourist visa for
stays of 90 days or less, and are granted between 30 and
90 days upon arrival. If they give you 30 days and you want
more, they will tell you at that moment where to go prior
to the end of the 30 days in order to extend your stay, for
no charge. Travellers from any other country should consult
their local Bolivian consulate.
HEALTH
Whether you plan to stay in the lowlands, valleys or highlands,
the abrupt change in climate, environment and altitude is
bound to affect you physically in one way or another. The
best defence is an offence: get yourself into good physical
condition prior to your trip, with procedures that work best
for you on the advice of your physician.
If all the things that might go wrong were listed here,
no one would ever travel anywhere beyond one’s native
borders. The most likely occurrence is a case of what is
known in Mexico as Moctezuma’s Revenge. To treat this,
diarrhoea, kaolin and pectin products are available in Bolivian
pharmacies. If some other product has worked wonders for
you in the past, take it with you.
With the usual case of turista, unless you are on the road
and need immediate relief, the best tactic is to let your
natural defences learn to adapt to this new territory. Prevent
dehydration by following standard medical practices. The best
liquid to prevent dehydration and soothe the stomach is mate
de manzanilla (camomile tea). Mate (pronounced ‘mahtey,’
is the word for herb tea, as opposed to black tea which is té.
Mate de anis (anise tea) is also a popular stomach remedy,
especially for altitude-related gas problems. Trimate, often
served in restaurants after lunch, combines coca, manzanilla
and anise teas, has an appealing taste and many Bolivians
swear by it as a digestion aid. If the problem does not go
away within two days, consult a physician.
Cholera is an exotic disease that pops up often in
newspapers, but even when the disease was on the danger
list in South America way back in 1991, Bolivia was less
affected than neighbouring Peru. Cholera is generally a poor