Half-Day Potosí Active Mine Trip to Cerro Rico

Half-Day Potosí Active Mine Trip to Cerro Rico

Take a 3-hour tour to visit the local workers in the active mine of Cerro Rico (at 4,400m) and learn the history of Potosi. Discover the different galleries and interior levels of the mines and get a feel for the harsh working conditions. Experience the Potosi mines just like the local workers.

Your trip will begin with a short sightseeing tour around Potosi and a stop at the Mining Market on your way up to "Cerro Rico". At the market you will be able to observe a wide range of materials and tools used by the miners in their daily jobs at the mine. Buy dynamite, alcohol and coca leaves to give as a present to the miners you will meet on your tour. 

Shortly before arriving to the mines, you will make a stop at a small storage room where you will put on work pants, jacket, boots, helmet and lamp to go into the mine as a security measure.

The mines that are visited all are located in the heart of Potosi's historical Cerro Rico and they are concessions that the state carries out to the legally established mining cooperatives.  

Inside them you can appreciate the system of miners’ work that has not suffered great changes after so much time of exploitation. The use of dynamite, air compressors and mechanical perforators have all been used in the mining process. 

Your tour will take you through the different galleries and interior levels of the mines where you can see statues that the miners have built to represent their gods, such as the Uncle of the Mine. You will be able to view the mineral veins that are a group of rocks and chemical formations of minerals in the mine and other formations unique to Cerro Rico. Interact with the local workers, give them a small present as a token of your appreciation for their hard work and observe the humbling work they do here through different methods that are carried out numerous times a day.