Cercado: Cultural insights in the broader travel destination of Oruro

When planning a trip to Cercado, it is worth looking at the broader travel destination of Oruro. There, cultural and historical themes come together: pre-Columbian ceremonial history, the Ito festival, the Carnaval de Oruro, and regional culture and cuisine. These perspectives offer different ways to focus on an interest in history, festival traditions, or culinary culture.

Oruro’s history and the Ito festival

Oruro was an important pre-Columbian ceremonial center before becoming a major mining center in the 19th and 20th centuries. Oruro was refounded by the Spanish in 1606. The place remained sacred to the Uru people, who traveled from far away to take part in rituals, especially the great Ito festival. The contrast between its ceremonial history and its later development into a mining center offers a glimpse into different historical periods. Uru traditions and the Ito festival add a religious context to this timeline.

The Carnaval de Oruro

The Carnaval de Oruro takes place every year and lasts six days. Recurring festival traditions include folk art forms such as masks, textiles, and embroidery. A UNESCO description states that the procession features more than 28,000 dancers and 10,000 musicians in around fifty groups.

In the broader travel destination of Oruro, the Carnaval de Oruro has been included on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2008; the original proclamation took place in 2001. The two years refer to different stages in its recognition, while the six days indicate the duration of the annual festival tradition. This makes it possible to consider international cultural recognition and the recurring festival cycle as two distinct aspects of the Carnaval.

The design of the Santuario station on the Línea Turística Virgen del Socavón also draws on folkloric dance traditions: it is decorated with 18 sculptures on a blue background, symbolizing the country’s most important folkloric dances. This motif offers another cultural point of reference alongside the annual festival and its folk art.

Culture, cuisine, and regional connections

In the Department of Oruro, the Chipaya culture is one of the living cultures. Its name is derived from the Aymara word Ch’ipa, meaning “woven straw.” The name connects a cultural identity with a specific linguistic interpretation and adds a different regional perspective to the festival history.

The cuisine of the Department of Oruro includes lamb, which is the basis of many dishes, and potatoes. Another local specialty is Api, a typical drink made with yellow and purple corn, cinnamon, cloves, and orange peel. Its ingredients make Api a distinct culinary topic alongside regional dishes made with lamb and potatoes.

Other regional points of reference offer different perspectives: Nevado Sajama, also called “Tata Sajama,” is located in Parque Nacional Sajama. The Chullpares de Macaya are in the southeast of the Department of Oruro. They are adobe-built burial complexes associated with the Aymara lordships. A named mountain within a national park and historic burial complexes thus represent different facets of the broader travel destination of Oruro.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Aranjuez, Omasuyos, Larecaja, Franz Tamayo, Nor Yungas, Caranavi Province, Pacajes

Back to the broader travel overview: La Paz.