Top 10 Glaciers in Bolivia
Bolivia's glaciers are small, high and disappearing fast. Chacaltaya, once the world's highest ski resort, was gone by 2009. The country's remaining ice clings to the Cordillera Real, the Cordillera Apolobamba and the volcanoes of the southern Altiplano. For visitors, La Paz is within driving distance of most of them — but the window for seeing them is narrowing every decade.
Illimani
The triple-summited giant on La Paz's southeastern horizon (6,438 m). Its west face carries a substantial glacier complex; the standard climb starts from the village of Pinaya and finishes on a steep ice ridge.
Huayna Potosí
The classic "easy 6,000 m" climb, two hours from La Paz. The summit ridge is pure ice; the high camp sits on a moraine beside the glacier's edge.
Sajama
The country's highest peak (6,542 m) and a perfectly conical volcano near the Chilean border. The summit ice cap has lost most of its thickness in twenty years but the upper slopes still hold winter snow.
Condoriri
Not a single mountain but a cluster — the "Condor and Wings" group in the Cordillera Real. A favourite of trekkers, with several small glaciers feeding into Laguna Chiar Khota.
Ancohuma
The 6,427 m neighbour of Illampu in the Cordillera Real. Its west flank holds one of the largest remaining ice masses in Bolivia and is still serious mountaineering terrain.
Illampu
Steep, complex and unstable — Illampu is rarely climbed compared to Huayna Potosí, but its glaciers sit above the town of Sorata and are clearly visible from the road. The east face shows obvious recent retreat.
Mururata
Flat-topped neighbour of Illimani; its summit plateau used to hold a glacier large enough to ski. Today it is patchy ice and exposed rock, but the south side still has crevassed sections.
Janq'u Uma
A 6,000 m peak in the Cordillera Real with a long, gentle glacier on its northwest flank — popular for ski mountaineering when conditions allow.
Mount Hampaturi
The pyramidal peak just east of La Paz with a small pocket glacier on its north side. Useful as an acclimatization objective for parties heading higher.
Acotango
A volcano in the Sajama complex, near the Chilean border, with a shrunken summit glacier. The drive in from Sajama village is one of the most scenic in the country.
Where will you go first?
The interactive map shows access roads, refuges, and a "last-confirmed-extent" overlay for several Bolivian glaciers — a sober reminder of how fast the picture is changing.