Legend tells that the rich silver deposits of the Cerro Rico were first discovered by Diego Gualpa, an indigenous Andean prospector, who stumbled across them in 1545. “The secret got out.

Potosí, a city in the Bolivian Andes, was once one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Today, it grapples with the consequences of centuries of mining while offering tourists a unique glimpse into ...

In the 16th century, this area was regarded as the world’s largest industrial complex. The extraction of silver ore relied on a series of hydraulic mills. The site consists of the industrial monuments ...

Much of the mining takes place in the nearby red "Cerro Rico" (literally, "Rich Mountain" in English), which was given its ...