ORURO: located  at 3 706 m.a.s.l., it is not only the city of the carnival. This corner of the highland -home of the miners who worship the Virgin of El Socavón and El Tío (The Uncle), the mythical absolute owner of the wealth of the underground- offers a series of discreet charms that make it attractive and welcoming, in spite of the freezing cold.

*SANCTUARY OF EL SOCAVÓN, The place in which it is located was an old Uru ritual center, a pre-colombinan town that reached a remarkable development in the elaboration of ceramic. The temple -built in 1781- was initially named as Church of Nuestra Señora de Copacabana. The faithful people worshipped the Virgin of La Candelaria -patron saint of the miners- image that, in Oruro, is known as the VIRGIN OF EL SOCAVÓN.

*THE MINERALOGICAL - GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, which has approximately 5.450 mineralogical samples; they are sorted out into Petrography, Mineralogy and Paleontology sections.

*THE ETHNOGRAPHIC AND MINING MUSEUM, this novelty museum is underground the Cock Paw mountain, next to the Virgin of Socavon Sanctuary.

*THE CULTURE HOUSE, this building belonged to Simon I. Patiño. It has a colonial art painteque, Louis XV and XVI style furniture

*ORURO´S CARNIVAL, Oruro´s carnival is the biggest annual cultural events in Bolivia. It was declared one of Mankind's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO in 2001, based on the myth and leyend, sometimes getting to a limit of fantasy,  
the carnival marks the Ito festival for the Uru people. Its ceremonies stem from Andean customs, the ancient invocations centring around Pachamama (Mother Earth, transformed into the Virgin Mary due to Christian syncretism) and Tio Supay (Uncle God of the Mountains, transformed into the Devil). The native Ito ceremonies were stopped in the 17th century by the Spanish, who were ruling the territory of Upper Peru at the time. However, the Uru continued to observe the festival in the form of a Catholic ritual on Candlemas. Christian icons were used to conceal portrayals of Andean gods, and the Christian saints represented other Andean minor divinities.

Legend also has it that in 1789, a mural of the Virgin Mary miraculously appeared in a mineshaft of the richest silver mine in Oruro. Ever since, the Carnival has been observed in honour of the Virgen de la Candelaria (Virgin of the Candle Mass) or Virgen del Socavon (Virgin of the Mineshaft). The most important elements of the Carnival now occur in and around the Sanctuaria del Socavon (The Church of the Mineshaft).
The highlight of the Carnival is conducted over three days and nights, with fifty groups parading through the city over a route of four kilometres. The groups represent various indigenous dance forms, and are accompanied by several bands. Over 28000 dancers and 10000 musicians participate in the procession that lasts 20 hours. The dances include Caporales, Diablada, Kantus, Kullawada, Llamerada, Morenada, Potolo, Pujllay, Suri Sikuris, Tinku, Tobas and Waca Waca.
The procession culminates in the enactment of two plays, reminiscent of medieval mystery plays. One is about the Spanish conquest. The other revolves around the classical battle between good and evil, with the Archangel Michael ultimately triumphing over the Devil and the Seven Deadly Sins. The enactment of the latter was introduced by Catholic clergy in 1818.

*SPAS OF CAPACHOS AND OBRAJES, Their waters, hotly medicinal, are a temptation for the tourists that arrive to Oruro. Capachos, located at 12 kilometers from the city, have covered single pools; Obrajes -at 25 kilometers- is an important recreational center, in which there is a comfortable Lodging.

*SANDBANKS OF SAN PEDRO,  The impressive dunes of sand that seem to be extracted of a gigantic desert, give a special panorama to the skirts of the San Pedro hill, that is at to two kilometers from the city.