Last updated 12 June 2026. Bolivia’s situation is changing by the day. Use this as orientation, then reconfirm current conditions through official sources before you book or travel.
If you are watching the news about Bolivia and wondering whether your trip is still possible, here’s the straight answer. Bolivia is going through its most serious political and economic crisis in decades. Since early May 2026, nationwide protests and road blockades have disrupted travel across the western highlands, the exact region that holds La Paz, Lake Titicaca, and the road to the Salar de Uyuni.
But disruption is not the same as danger, and a blocked road is not the same as a closed country. Flights are still operating. Large parts of the east, including Santa Cruz and Sucre, have stayed calm. For travelers who keep their plans flexible, fly between cities instead of driving the blockaded corridors, and steer clear of the worst-affected areas, a Bolivia trip is still feasible right now. For others, the smarter move is to wait or reshape the itinerary.
For a more general picture of crime, altitude, and general safety in Bolivia, our separate guide on whether it is safe to travel to Bolivia covers that ground.
Journeys behind this story
The short version
The cause. A deep economic crisis, made acute by the removal of fuel subsidies, fed into protests that grew from sector grievances into a nationwide movement demanding the president resign.
The disruption. Between roughly 80 and 100 road blockades at a time across the western highlands, with La Paz department as the epicenter, plus fuel shortages and some stranded travelers.
The calm parts. Flights are operating, and Santa Cruz, Sucre, and the eastern lowlands have been far less affected.
The advice. Defer non-essential travel to La Paz department, fly between cities rather than driving, stay flexible and well insured, and for many travelers consider a later trip.
The outlook. No clean resolution yet. La Paz began easing in mid-June, but the national picture remains unresolved and tense.
What is causing the protests?
The roots of the protests are economic and political. Bolivia spent years selling natural gas and subsidizing cheap fuel, but gas production fell, exports shrank, and the country burned through its foreign currency reserves. By 2026 it was importing far more fuel than it could comfortably pay for, the US dollar had become scarce, and inflation was biting.
In December 2025, the government of President Rodrigo Paz, who took office in November 2025 after nearly two decades of rule by Bolivia’s Socialist party, ended national fuel subsidies. Gasoline and diesel prices jumped sharply. A batch of poor-quality imported gasoline then damaged vehicles, angering the transport sector, and a new land law raised fears among farming and Indigenous communities. Each grievance brought a different group onto the streets.
By early May 2026, the country’s main labor federation had called an indefinite general strike, and protests hardened into a single demand: that President Paz resign, barely six months into his term. Former president Evo Morales, who is in hiding and faces an arrest warrant, has thrown his supporters behind the unrest, and the president is openly at odds with his own vice president. The result is a fragmented standoff with no easy way out.
What is happening right now?
As of June 2026, Bolivia’s road authority was reporting around 86 blockade points across six departments, down from a peak above 90. The blockades move and shift daily. In mid-June, La Paz department began to ease, with several provinces lifting blockades and fuel returning, while Cochabamba became the most heavily affected city.
The unrest has been serious. Bolivia’s human rights watch reported that 10 people have died, 37 were injured, and 365 were arrested between May and June, with several of the deaths linked to patients unable to reach hospitals because of blocked roads, and others to operations to clear blockades. In early June the government declared a 90-day health emergency in La Paz department and passed a law making it easier to deploy the military against blockades. Talks between the government and protest groups have repeatedly stalled.
For travelers, the most important thing to consider is this: the danger is concentrated in specific places and specific activities, mainly crossing blockades and being caught in clashes in central La Paz, rather than spread evenly across the country. The bigger day-to-day problem for most visitors is simply movement.
Which areas are affected, and which are calm?
Bolivia is large and the crisis is regional. Knowing which areas are most affected is the single most useful thing for planning.
La Paz department and El Alto (most affected). The epicenter. Protesters have blocked the main corridors out of the city, including the roads to the Peru border, to Copacabana and Lake Titicaca, and toward Oruro. Central La Paz has seen the most serious clashes, and ground access to El Alto airport has been cut at times.
Cochabamba (heavily affected). By mid-June the worst-hit department for blockades. Note that the Chapare region of Cochabamba is a long-standing high-risk area that governments advise avoiding regardless of the current unrest.
Oruro and Potosi (significantly affected). Both sit on key highland routes and have seen substantial blockades, which matters because the overland approach to Uyuni runs through this corridor.
Santa Cruz and the eastern lowlands (much calmer). Bolivia’s largest city and economic hub, with the country’s busiest airport, has functioned relatively normally, with only a couple of blockade points in the wider department. Nearby Samaipata and the Chiquitania have stayed accessible.
Sucre (calm, but sometimes cut off). The constitutional capital has been peaceful in the city itself, though surrounding roads and its airport have been blocked at times, stranding some visitors in a pleasant place to be stranded.
Beni and Tarija (least affected). Among the quietest departments, although Beni felt the knock-on effect of blocked supply routes.
How are the protests affecting travel?
Flights: operating, but airport access is the weak link. Domestic and international flights have kept running, and air travel is the way to move around the country right now. The vulnerability is the drive to and from the airport, especially El Alto in La Paz, which blockades have reached. Scattered cancellations and delays have hit El Alto, Santa Cruz, and Cochabamba on bad days, so confirm your flight the day before.
Buses and roads: severely disrupted. Intercity buses often cannot guarantee arrival, and some sell tickets on the condition that the route may be blocked. Avoid any bus or driver offering to take an alternative back route around a blockade, as those poor roads raise the risk of accidents.
Fuel: scarce. The subsidy cut and the blockades together have produced long fuel queues nationwide. This affects tour vehicles as much as private cars, and it is one reason flights beat road travel right now.
Stranded travelers. Some tourists have been stranded by sudden blockades, and in mid-May the air force airlifted groups stuck on the Uyuni to La Paz route. These were resolved, but they show why buffer days matter.
Attractions. The Salar de Uyuni and Lake Titicaca are calm in themselves, but the roads to them are the problem. La Paz city sightseeing is disrupted during protests. The Amazon gateways and Madidi are reachable by air when roads out of La Paz are blocked. Santa Cruz, Samaipata, and the eastern circuits remain largely open.
How to plan a trip to Bolivia right now
If you still want to go, the trip is very plannable with the right approach. The whole game is avoiding blockades and building in flexibility.
Fly between cities, do not drive the highland corridors. This is the single most important rule. Domestic flights bypass the blockades that strangle the roads.
Defer non-essential travel to La Paz for now. Until blockades clear and the emergency is lifted, treat the La Paz, Titicaca, and overland Uyuni corridor as the part to postpone or reshape.
Consider entering through Santa Cruz or Sucre. The calmer east makes a more reliable arrival point than La Paz at the moment, and Santa Cruz has the busiest airport.
Build slack into the itinerary. Leave one or two buffer days before any international departure, and book refundable or flexible flights and hotels so a blockade does not cost you the whole trip.
Carry cash, medication, water, and a power bank. The dollar shortage and blockades strain card systems and ATMs, and once a blockade goes up, supplies cannot get in. Bring a full supply of any prescription you need.
Insure for civil unrest. Make sure your policy explicitly covers civil unrest, trip interruption, missed connections, and medical evacuation, and check whether traveling against your government’s advisory voids it.
Monitor the right sources daily. Watch Bolivia’s road authority passability map, register with your embassy’s traveler alert program, and follow Bolivian news. If bus companies stop selling tickets to a place, that route is blocked.
A simple rule of thumb: if blockade counts keep falling for a couple of weeks, the La Paz emergency lifts, and advisories ease, conditions are improving. If a state of emergency brings troops onto the roads, blockade counts climb, or airport access is repeatedly cut, hold off.
So, should you still travel to Bolivia?
For a flexible, well-insured traveler who flies between cities, enters through the calmer east, and is willing to skip or postpone the La Paz corridor, yes, a trip is still feasible. Plenty of visitors are moving around the country successfully right now by working with the situation rather than against it.
If your heart is set on the classic La Paz, Lake Titicaca, and overland Uyuni route, or if your dates are fixed and your plans cannot bend, the honest answer is that this is a better trip to take a few months from now. Bolivia has weathered cycles of unrest before and its tourism regions tend to recover quickly once roads reopen. The dry season from June to August is the best window for Uyuni, and the country has every incentive to get the sector moving again.
How EcoVoyager is handling Bolivia trips right now
Bolivia is one of our destinations, and we run it through vetted local operators rather than a fixed program, which lets us adapt quickly when conditions shift. In practice that means routing travelers between cities by air rather than road, keeping itineraries flexible, reshaping plans around the calmer east, and watching the same official sources we have pointed to here. We would rather move or postpone a trip than send anyone into a blocked corridor. If you are considering Bolivia, talk to us first and we will build the trip around current conditions, or tell you plainly if waiting is the better call. You can see our Bolivia trips or get in touch to plan around the current situation.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to travel to Bolivia right now? It depends heavily on where and how. The eastern lowlands and air travel are largely functioning, while La Paz department and the highland road corridors are disrupted and at times unsafe near clashes. Following official advice, flying between cities, and avoiding blockades dramatically lowers the risk.
Are flights still operating? Yes. Domestic and international flights have kept running, and air travel is the recommended way to move around. The main issue is reaching the airport, especially in La Paz, where road access has been cut at times, plus occasional cancellations. Confirm your flight the day before.
Can I still visit the Salar de Uyuni? Often yes, if you fly in. The salt flats themselves have stayed calm, and tours have continued in many cases. The problem is the overland route through the highlands, so flying into Uyuni rather than driving is the reliable approach.
Should I cancel my trip? Not necessarily. If you can fly between cities, stay flexible, and skip or postpone the La Paz corridor, the trip is often still workable. If your plans are fixed around La Paz and Titicaca and cannot bend, postponing is the more sensible option.
What about fuel and cash? Both are constrained. Fuel shortages mean long queues and affect tour vehicles, which is another reason to fly. Carry enough cash, as the dollar shortage and blockades strain ATMs and card systems, and once a blockade goes up, resupply stops.
How long do road blockades last? It varies from a day to several weeks. They end through negotiated agreements, when a sector runs out of energy, or when they are cleared. This unpredictability is exactly why buffer days and flexible bookings matter.
About EcoVoyager Adventures
EcoVoyager Adventures is a Seattle-based eco-tourism company running small-group and private custom expeditions to remote destinations, built on access, expertise, and cultural connection rather than luxury. We work through vetted local operators in every destination we travel, including Bolivia, which lets us adapt itineraries quickly when conditions change. Explore our Bolivia destination page to plan a trip.
This article is general travel information, not security, medical, or legal advice. Conditions in Bolivia are changing rapidly. Before booking or traveling, check your government’s official travel advisory and current local sources, and confirm details with your airline, operator, and insurer.