The country is divided into two main regions: the highlands and the lowlands. Towering above the Andean highlands are two peaks: the Illimani (22,572 ft.) in the east and the Cerro de Tocorpuri (22,162 ft.) in the west. In between is the Altiplano at an altitude of approximately 12,400 ft. At the foot of the Altiplano lies La Paz, Bolivia's unofficial capital city, the upper part of which (El Alto) is on the plateau.

In the Andean part of the country, the landscape is dominated by a barren, partly snow-covered steppe with rather infertile soil.

 

Lake Titicaca straddles the border between Bolivia and Peru. One third of it is on Bolivian territory. According to legend, its Isla del Sol is the cradle of the Inca Empire. Due to the vast amount of water and huge surface area of the highest navigable lake in the world, the climate is rather mild. Therefore many farms can be found in this region, most of them specialized in the growing of grain.

In the southern part of the Andean highlands there are many impressive salt flats, among them the biggest in the world, the Salar de Uyuni. That's why the main source of income in this region is salt mining.

The lowlands (between 1300 and 5600 feet) can be divided into three zones. In the north there are the tropical lowlands with impenetrable, mainly unexplored rain forests. The middle zone is called the Beni lowlands with mostly wet savannahs. Further in the south there are various types of forests such as rain forests, cloud forests and European forests. In the very south-east, an extremely dry (arid) thorn bush savannah predominates.