Bolivia travel health
Required is not recommended: the first is what the border asks about, the second is what a clinic would suggest. Both, for Bolivia, then the number to dial and what care costs a visitor. Applies to every guide in Bolivia: Salar de Uyuni, La Paz.
Required to enter
- Yellow fever certificate for the lowlands, and required by some neighbouring countries on the way out
Recommended
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Yellow fever for the Amazon and the Yungas
- Rabies for a long stay
Emergency number
118 for an ambulance, 110 for police
Care for visitors
Evacuation likely
Limited. La Paz and Santa Cruz have private clinics that can stabilise; outside them there is very little, and Uyuni has a small hospital and nothing more. Altitude complicates everything, including recovery. Evacuation cover matters here.
Altitude is the dominant health issue: La Paz is 3,600m, El Alto airport 4,061m, the Uyuni lagoons 4,900m. Acute mountain sickness is common and pulmonary oedema happens. Ascend slowly, drink water, and treat coca tea as a help rather than a cure. Do not drink the tap water.
The general rules — clinic timing, water, mosquitoes, insurance — are in travel health tips.
