🇧🇴 Bolivia · Altiplano and the Andean west
At the far western edge of the Bolivian altiplano, near the Chilean border, Bolivia's highest mountain rises alone and majestic: Nevado Sajama, a dormant volcano of 6,542 meters whose snowy summit presides over an immense, silent expanse of high moorland. Seeing it cut against the deep blue altiplano sky, its icy flanks glinting in the sun, is one of the most imposing sights in the country.
Sajama is the heart of Sajama National Park, Bolivia's oldest, created in 1939. Beyond the summit, the park protects a world of wonders: the highest woodlands on the planet, made up of gnarled queñua trees that grow almost to 5,000 meters; hot springs to thaw out in; steaming geyser fields; lagoons with flamingos; and a fauna of vicuñas, viscachas and Andean birds. And on the horizon, the twin Payachata volcanoes (Parinacota and Pomerape) standing guard over the border.
This guide covers Nevado Sajama and its park in practical terms: how to get there from La Paz or Oruro, what to see and do without climbing anything, what attempting the summit involves, how to prepare for extreme altitude and cold, and how to get around in a remote area with basic services. It's a destination for anyone who loves grand landscapes, silence and real mountains.
Nevado Sajama is a dormant volcano (a stratovolcano) and the highest summit in Bolivia, at some 6,542 meters. For the Aymara peoples of the altiplano, Sajama has been a sacred mountain for centuries, an 'Apu' or protective deity honored with offerings, as is traditional with the great Andean peaks. Its flanks and the wider region also hold remains of considerable archaeological interest: near the park are the famous Sajama Lines, a vast network of straight paths traced across the altiplano over centuries by Indigenous populations, considered by some the largest work of linear geoglyphs in the world by sheer extent, though far less known than the Nazca lines. There are also 'chullpas' (pre-Hispanic funerary towers) in the surrounding area. The first documented ascent of Sajama was made by the Austrians Josef Prem and Wilfrid Kühm in 1939 (Prem had already attempted it in 1927, reaching around 6,200 meters), the same year Sajama National Park was created, Bolivia's first, precisely to protect this mountain and its singular queñua woodlands (Polylepis tarapacana), considered the highest forests in the world. Since then, Sajama has become one of the great mountaineering objectives in Bolivia and a natural symbol of the country, while the Aymara communities of the area, such as the village of Sajama, maintain their traditional way of life and today take part in tourism and in the park's conservation. The full history is on our history page.
Read the full history ↓The mining department of the central altiplano: land of Urus and Aymaras, cradle of silver and tin mining and of the miners' unions, home of the Carnival of Oruro —a World Heritage listing— and of the Nevado Sajama, the highest mountain in Bolivia.
Read the history of Oruro →No exact prices: a scale from $ (budget) to $$$$$ (luxury), with 2-3 options per category.
Origins, formation and what the sources say.
From a hundred kilometers away, on clear altiplano days, you can make out a white silhouette that seems to float above the horizon: Nevado Sajama, Bolivia's highest mountain, a dormant stratovolcano rising to some 6,542 meters above sea level. It stands alone, with no range around it, above the western altiplano, in the department of Oruro, near the Chilean border, presiding over a high-altitude moorland that stretches away in every direction.
As a stratovolcano, Sajama built up over millennia through successive eruptions of lava and volcanic material, in an Andean region of intense geological activity produced by colliding tectonic plates. Although it's considered dormant today, the geothermal activity underground still shows itself nearby as hot springs, geysers and fumaroles, reminders of the forces that created the mountain.
Sajama isn't alone in this landscape of giants: to the west, on the border line with Chile, rise the twin Payachata volcanoes, Parinacota and Pomerape, forming a cluster of very high snowy summits that make this one of the most spectacular mountain settings in the Andes. The extreme altitude, the transparent altiplano air and the permanent snow on the peaks create surroundings of overwhelming beauty and very demanding conditions for life.
For the Aymara peoples of the western altiplano, Sajama was never just a mountain: it was, and remains, a sacred being. In the Andean worldview, the great mountains are 'Apus' or 'Achachilas', protective spirits, ancestors and tutelary deities that watch over communities, govern the weather and fertility, and are owed respect and offerings. Sajama, as the highest and most dominant summit in the region, holds an especially venerated place in that sacred geography.
That sacredness shows in the rites and offerings (the 'wajt'as' or 'mesas') communities dedicate to the mountain and to Pachamama (Mother Earth), asking for protection, good harvests and wellbeing. It's a spiritual relationship with the landscape that is still alive today, interwoven with Catholic elements in the characteristic Andean syncretism.
The Sajama region has been inhabited by Aymara populations since pre-Hispanic times, and it also preserves important archaeological remains. Chief among them are the 'chullpas', funerary towers of stone or adobe where important figures were buried in pre-Inca and Inca times, which dot the altiplano in this area. Human presence and veneration of the mountain thus go back far earlier than any sporting or tourist interest: Sajama is first and foremost a mountain belonging to the peoples who live at its feet.
One of the most fascinating and least known archaeological puzzles in the region is the so-called Sajama Lines. They're an immense network of straight paths traced across the altiplano, spreading over an enormous area around the volcano. The lines were made by scraping away the dark surface layer of soil to expose the lighter ground beneath, forming straight tracks that link points in the landscape across kilometer after kilometer.
What's astonishing is their extent. By total area covered, some researchers have described them as one of the largest works of their kind in the world, comparable to or even bigger in scale than Peru's famous Nazca lines, though far less known. Unlike Nazca, the Sajama Lines don't form animal figures but a dense mesh of straight paths.
Their origin and purpose are attributed to the Indigenous populations of the region, who traced and maintained them over many centuries. The most accepted interpretation links them to ritual and pilgrimage routes: paths connecting sacred places, villages, chullpas and shrines, walked in processions and pilgrimages. The precision with which they held a straight line across broken terrain, over such long distances, is still impressive. They're evidence of the deep bond between these cultures, the landscape and the sacred.
In 1939 the Bolivian authorities created Sajama National Park, which holds the distinction of being the first national park in Bolivian history. The decision aimed to protect not only the imposing volcano but also a singular botanical treasure: the queñua woodlands of the species Polylepis tarapacana, considered the highest tree forests in the world, since they grow on the volcano's flanks to nearly 5,000 meters.
Queñua is a tree extraordinarily adapted to the extreme conditions of the altiplano: it tolerates intense cold, solar radiation and thin oxygen, with a twisted trunk and reddish bark that peels away in sheets to protect it from frost. Tree forests at such an altitude are a botanical phenomenon unique on the planet, and conserving them was one of the park's founding reasons.
Beyond the woodlands, Sajama National Park protects a complete altiplano ecosystem: lagoons and bofedales (high-altitude wetlands), geothermal fields with geysers and hot springs, and a fauna that includes vicuñas, viscachas, Andean foxes, flamingos and various high-altitude birds. Its creation, so early on, reflects the value already recognized in this corner of the altiplano. Today the park combines environmental protection with tourism and the participation of the local Aymara communities, who live inside it and take part in running it.
Sporting interest in Sajama as a mountaineering objective developed over the 20th century. The first documented ascent was made in 1939 by the Austrian climbers Josef Prem and Wilfrid Kühm, by the demanding southeast ridge; Prem himself had already attempted it in 1927 by the northwest ridge, stopping at around 6,200 meters. The ascent coincided, tellingly, with the year the park was created. From then on, reaching the top of Bolivia's highest mountain became a coveted goal for climbers around the world.
Climbing Sajama is a serious high-mountain undertaking: it involves snow and ice, extreme altitude, severe cold and considerable physical effort. It requires experience, careful acclimatization over several days, proper technical gear and, normally, the support of specialized guides and high camps. This isn't an outing but a climb that demands preparation and respect for the mountain.
Today Nevado Sajama is at once a natural symbol of Bolivia, a first-rate mountaineering destination and a protected area of great ecological and cultural value. The Aymara communities living in the park, such as the village of Sajama, combine their traditional way of life, tied to herding and high-altitude farming, with a role in tourism and conservation: they guide visitors, run lodgings and hot springs and look after the heritage. So the story of Sajama keeps being written at the crossroads of the ancients' sacred mountain, the climbers' challenge and the effort to preserve one of the most extraordinary landscapes in the Andes. The story goes on, like the snow on its summit, at the very top of Bolivia.