What animals live in Bolivia?

Bolivia is packed with wild creatures! In the Amazon rainforest lowlands, you can find jaguars, giant river otters, and bright macaws. The high mountain grasslands called the altiplano are home to llamas, alpacas, and the vicuña — a smaller wild relative that moves in herds across the hills. Bolivia also has some real rarities. The giant anteater shuffles through the eastern plains searching for termite mounds, and the spectacled bear — the only bear in South America — climbs cloud forests on the mountain slopes. God made an enormous variety of creatures, and Bolivia is one of those places where you really see how much variety that is. When missionaries travel through these regions to share the gospel with remote villages, they pass through some of the wildest landscapes on earth.

What do kids eat in Bolivia?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! Kids in Bolivia often eat a dish called salteñas — baked pastry pockets filled with meat, potatoes, and a little broth inside. They are juicy and a bit tricky to eat without dripping, which makes lunchtime an adventure. Rusty wants to add that another favorite is rice and chicken cooked with spices, often served with a spicy sauce called llajwa made from tomatoes and peppers. In the high mountain regions near Lake Titicaca, kids also eat a lot of a special potato called chuño — it is freeze-dried using the cold mountain nights and then cooked into soups and stews. Bolivia has hundreds of kinds of potatoes, so there is always something hearty on the table.

How do people say hello in Bolivia?

In Bolivia, most people speak Spanish, so the most common greeting is '¡Hola!' — which just means 'Hello!' People also say 'Buenos días' in the morning, which means 'Good morning.' It sounds like 'BWAY-nos DEE-as.' But here's something interesting — Bolivia has many indigenous peoples, like the Quechua and Aymara, who have their own languages that go back thousands of years. In Aymara, you can greet someone with 'Kamisaraki,' which means something like 'How are you?' Missionaries have worked hard to learn these languages so they can share the gospel with people in the words closest to their hearts.

What sports or games do kids play in Bolivia?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! Kids in Bolivia love fútbol — that's soccer — more than just about anything. You'll find kids playing it on dusty streets, open fields, and even on the steep hillsides of cities like La Paz, sometimes at altitudes so high that visitors get out of breath just walking around. Rusty wants to add that kids in Bolivia also play a traditional game called sapo, where you toss metal coins or discs at a bronze frog statue, trying to land them in its mouth — the frog's name actually means 'toad' in Spanish. In the highlands, kids also play with spinning tops and enjoy basketball, which has grown really popular. It's a good reminder that kids everywhere love to play and laugh, and that God made joy to be shared across every culture.

What's the weather like in Bolivia?

Bolivia has some of the most varied weather of any country on Earth — and that is because the land itself changes so dramatically from place to place. The high Andes mountains in the west can be freezing cold, even snowy, while the Amazon lowlands in the north and east stay hot and humid all year round. In the capital city of La Paz, which sits high up in the mountains, temperatures stay mild during the day but drop sharply at night — people wear warm coats even in summer. Down in cities like Santa Cruz, closer to the jungle, it feels more like a hot, sticky summer almost every single day. Bolivia also has a rainy season from November to March, when the lowlands get soaked with heavy afternoon downpours. God made a remarkable variety of land packed into one country!

Tell me a fun fact about Bolivia.

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! Bolivia is one of the only countries in the world with two capital cities. Sucre is the official constitutional capital, and La Paz is where the government actually meets and works every day. That's a pretty unusual setup you won't find in many places on the map. Here's something that might surprise you: La Paz sits so high up in the Andes Mountains that it's one of the highest capital cities on Earth — over 11,000 feet above sea level. That's higher than many mountain peaks in other parts of the world! The air is thin up there, and visitors sometimes feel dizzy just from walking around. Bolivia is a land of wild landscapes, from snowy peaks to the Amazon jungle, all packed into one country.

What is school like for kids in Bolivia?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding right along! In Bolivia, most kids go to school five days a week, just like many of you reading this. But school often runs in shifts — some kids go in the morning, others in the afternoon — because there aren't always enough buildings for everyone. Classes are taught in Spanish, which is Bolivia's main language. Rusty wants to add something important: Bolivia has many indigenous groups, like the Quechua and Aymara peoples, who have their own languages spoken at home. For those kids, learning in Spanish can be really hard — imagine if your whole school day was in a language different from the one your grandparents speak! Some rural villages are far from any school at all, which means education is a real challenge. That's one reason missionaries working in Bolivia care so much about reaching children — they want every kid there to not only learn to read, but to one day be able to read God's Word for themselves.

Who are the unreached people in Bolivia?

Great question! Bolivia has many people who have never heard the good news about Jesus. Some of the least-reached groups are the Quechua and Aymara peoples — large groups who live in the highlands and valleys. Even though there are churches in Bolivia's cities, many villages in the mountains and the Amazon rainforest region still have very few Christians sharing the gospel. Deep in Bolivia's lowland forests, smaller groups like the Ayoreo and some Amazonian tribes have had very little chance to hear about Jesus at all. Some don't even have the Bible in their own language yet. That means missionaries, Bible translators, and Bolivian Christians are doing very important work — going to hard-to-reach places so that every person can hear that Jesus came to save them.

How can I pray for the people of Bolivia?

Bolivia is a land of high mountains and deep jungles, and millions of people there need to hear about Jesus. You can pray that God opens the hearts of Bolivian people — in busy markets, in small villages, in cities like La Paz — to trust Jesus as their Savior and Lord. You can also pray for the Bolivian Christians who are sharing that good news with their neighbors and family members. Some people groups in the Amazon lowlands still do not have the whole Bible in their own language, so pray that Bible translators finish that work. And pray that God raises up brave Bolivian church leaders who will keep teaching the truth about Jesus for generations to come.

What is a holiday or celebration in Bolivia?

One of the biggest celebrations in Bolivia is called Carnaval de Oruro. It happens every year before Lent — that's the forty days before Easter — and the city of Oruro fills with colorful costumes, music, and dancing in the streets. Thousands of people travel there just to see it. Here's something interesting: the dances and costumes in Carnaval de Oruro mix old traditions from Bolivia's indigenous people with Catholic religious ideas that Spanish settlers brought centuries ago. Many of the dancers wear wild masks meant to represent good and evil. It's a reminder that Bolivia has a long and layered history — and that people everywhere are searching for meaning. The good news is that real hope and truth are found in Jesus, and many Bolivian Christians share that message even during festival time.

What language do people speak in Bolivia?

Bolivia is one of the most interesting countries in the world when it comes to languages! Spanish is the official language and most people use it in schools, stores, and government. But here is the remarkable part — Bolivia also has 36 other officially recognized languages. Many of those languages belong to indigenous peoples who have lived in Bolivia for thousands of years. Quechua and Aymara are the two biggest ones, spoken by millions of people in the highlands and mountains. Some smaller groups, deep in the lowland forests, speak languages that only a few hundred people know — and some of those languages don't even have a Bible yet. That is one reason missionaries work hard in Bolivia, so that everyone can hear about Jesus in the language of their own heart.

What's a famous place to visit in Bolivia?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding right beside me! One of the most striking places in all of Bolivia is the Salar de Uyuni — the world's largest salt flat. It stretches across more than 4,000 square miles of southwestern Bolivia, and it looks like a giant mirror when a thin layer of water covers it after the rains. Rusty wants to add that the salt flat sits high up in the Andes mountains, over 11,000 feet above sea level — so the sky feels enormous and close. Nearby you can spot pink flamingos wading in shallow lagoons and see volcanoes rising in the distance. It is a place that makes you think about how creative and powerful the God who made it all really is.

Bolivia — Kids Missions Explorer

Llama

Llamas have been used by Andean peoples for thousands of years to carry heavy loads across mountain trails and to provide warm wool for clothing.

Blue-throated Macaw

This rare parrot with vivid turquoise and yellow feathers is found only in a small region of Bolivia's tropical grasslands, making it one of the rarest birds on Earth.

Giant River Otter

Living in Bolivia's Amazon basin rivers, these otters can grow longer than most adults are tall and hunt fish together in tight family groups.

Salteña

A salteña is a baked pastry filled with spiced meat, potatoes, and a slightly sweet broth that Bolivians typically eat as a mid-morning snack.

Quinoa Soup

Quinoa, a grain that has been grown in the Andes for thousands of years, is cooked into a warm, hearty soup that families across Bolivia eat on cold highland days.

Api

Api is a thick, purple warm drink made from purple corn, cinnamon, and cloves that street vendors sell on chilly mornings in Bolivian markets.

Bolivia

Things you should know about Bolivia

Wildlife you might meet

What’s on the table

Did you know?

Life in Bolivia

Missions in Bolivia

Pray for Bolivia