BOLIVIAN WINE COUNTRY AT TARIJA

February 9, 2025 SouthAmerica

Tarija is known in Bolivia for its nascent wine growing industry, providing the country with varieties of red and Tannat, and in addition the Bolivian variant of pisco liquor that is called “Singani.” At an elevation of 1,700-1,850 meters, this semi-arid sub-Andean foothill valley makes the farthest north significant wine growing region on the Atlantic side of the Andes. The next wine growing area to the south is in Argentina at the desert town of Cafayate (1,600 m elevation), which is about 520 km south of Tarija. Here they specialize more in reds and malbecs. The Tarija wineries do have some white wines and malbecs, but to date these are generally lacking in quality.

Tarija is a smaller town for Bolivia with a population of about 250,000, but rapidly growing. It is located about 73 km north of the border with Argentina, along the paved Route highway 1 and to the north routes 11 and 9 continue to the larger city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Tarija has a small regional airport with limited flights on the state national airline BOA (Boliviana De Aviación) going to Cochabamba, La Paz, and Santa Cruz. Expect flight delays on this national carrier, such that planning at least an extra day between flight connections may be prudent, otherwise, Bolivia may make things difficult. Alternatively, access overland using the drive from Santa Cruz takes about 11 hours (longer by bus; passes through the city of Villamontes) or 5 hours to the west to the smaller town of Tupiza.

Staying

The city has many economic hostels, too many to list, and most of these do not have websites. We stayed in the slightly more expensive Resort Hotel Los Ciebos (~520Bs a night), which features a large swimming pool, but is fairly crowded with party groups and foot traffic for the adjoining gymnasium. This hotel is walking distance from the city center. The more upscale Hotel Los Parrales (~724Bs a night), located out of town to the northwest, overlooks the alluvial river Guadalquivar, but requires taxis to and from town. Hotel rates in Bolivia vary by season- the summer months run from December through February. Many smaller hostels are scattered about the valley out of town if you are looking for a quitter rural experience.

Dining

The two higher quality restaurant options right at the plaza de armas along the NE side of the square are side by side, being Gatopardo and El Marques. Both served excellent steaks. A hacienda style steakhouse located out of the center and near the Hotel Los Ciebos and the San Juan overlook, is Casona del Molino; it looks great, but we did not have time to try it. There are probably more good restaurants to be found.

Doing

Most city wandering will be around the central plaza, and the twin plaza two blocks to the southeast called Pazuela Sucre. There are plenty of cafes and ice cream shops, a walk by the Casa Dorada is interesting for architecture, and there are many restaurants to try (we list what we consider the top three above). From the main plaza, a short walk uphill to the northwest one can visit the overlook at Mirador de la Loma San Juan.

Make sure to visit the Museo Nacional Paleontológico Arqueológico, located one block southwest from the la plaza de armas at the intersection of the streets Virginio and Gral. Trigo. They charge a modest entrance fee and open at 9 am (weekdays it is closed for lunch from 12:30 to 3 pm). The two floors of displays in a historic building feature mainly local fossils from Pliocene-Pleistocene conglomerate and sandstone formations found around Tarija. The local fossils that are remarkably abundant are mastodons, Glyptodonts (mega-fauna giant armadillos), Megatherium (giant sloths), and Smilodon (saber-tooted cat). Downstairs and upstairs has fossils, upstairs also has Bolivian minerals and archaeological relicts.

Museo Nacional Paleontológico Arqueológico in Tarija, Bolivia

Wine tours: several agencies run half-day tours through the wine vineyards and the main singani distillery. A private tour may cost around 450 Bolivianos; the cost per person will be less in a group. The higher quality wineries include Campos de Solana (-21.584838°, -64.660097°N) and Vinos Aranjuez (-21.584507°S, -64.611971°W), both about 11 km southeast of Tarija. Nearby is the top singani distillery called Casa Real (-21.577608°S, -64.595294°W; and same owners as Campos de Solana). Both Aranjuez and Casa Real is located east of route 1 on a side road made of paver stones. Another popular stop on these tours is the lesser-known winery of Casa Viejo (-21.698721°S, -64.654870°N), located in the small town of Uriondo along route 45. Easily a dozen lesser quality and small wine bodegas are in the region; many of these make overly sweet and cheap wines for national consumption. Pay special attention to the wine variety of tannat, which is little seen in North America since it was largely forgotten but preserved in the country of Uruguay (originally it came from southwest France). Campos de Solana’s “dark tannat” warrants special mention.