The Mines of Potosi, Bolivia

The city of Potosi, Bolivia, may not have much going for it these days, but it was once the silver mining capital of the world.

At 4,090 meters above sea level, Potosi is known as one of the highest cities in the world. When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived, they soon found out huge deposits of silver and tin in Cerro Rico (Rich Hill), which towers above town, and set about putting the local population to work extracting it. The death toll among the Quechua workers was so high, Cerro Rico became known as “the mountain that eats men.”

The hill contained the richest veins of silver in the world, and sales of the precious mineral were hugely valuable to the Spanish Empire. Although the heyday of the mines are long gone, many of Potosi’s male population continue to work underground, in increasingly dangerous conditions for decreasing rewards.

Now that tourism has come to Potosi, visitors are offered tours of the mines to see the frankly terrifying working conditions. Miners take you down the tiny shafts, some of which are still supported by colonial-era wooden beams.

On the way down you will be invited to make an offering to El Tio, a deity which supposedly offers protection in return for alcohol, coca leaves or cigarettes. Visitors do not enter the darkest depths of the mine, but even being down here in the oppressive atmosphere for an hour is enough for most people.

The majority of people resurface vowing never to return, and with a new respect and concern for those who risks their lives day in, day out looking for the scraps of precious metals still left. In a city that has precious few sources of employment, locals are forced back to a mountain which provides for their lives, but can also take it away.