Friday, 12 July 2013


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Cochabamba Flag Coat of arms Nickname(s): "City of Eternal Spring" "The Garden City" "La Llajta" Cochabamba Location in Bolivia Coordinates: 17°23′S 66°10′W﻿ / ﻿17.383°S 66.167°W﻿ / -17.383; -66.167 Country  Bolivia Department Cochabamba Province Cercado Province Municipality Cochabamba Municipality Founded August 15, 1571 Government  • Type Municipal Autonomous Government  • Mayor Edwin Castellanos Area  • City 170 km2 (70 sq mi)  • Land 169 km2 (65 sq mi)  • Water 1 km2 (0.4 sq mi)  • Urban 111 km2 (43 sq mi) Elevation 2,558 m (8,392 ft) Population (2008)  • Urban 608,276 Website Official website

Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban approximate population of 700,000 (2010) and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people. The name derives from a compound of the Quechua words qucha, meaning "lake", and pampa, "open plain". Residents of the city and surrounding areas are commonly referred to as Cochalas. Cochabamba is known as the "City of Eternal Spring" and "The Garden City" due to its spring-like temperatures year round. It is also known as "La Llaqta", "town" in Quechua.

The city is host to the first World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth.


Palacio Portales built for mining magnate Simon Patiño Sarco Templo la Merced

The Cochabamba valley was inhabited for over a thousand years due to its fertile productive soils and climate. Archaeological evidence suggests that the initial inhabitants were of indigenous ethnic groups: Inca, Tupuraya, Mojocoya, Omereque, and Tiwanaku inhabited the valley at times before the Spanish arrived.





In 1900, the population was 21,886.




In July 2007, a monument erected by veterans of January's protest movement in honour of those killed and injured by government supporters was destroyed in the middle of the night, reigniting racial conflicts in the city.




Climate data for Cochabamba Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 35.0 (95) 30.0 (86) 30.6 (87.1) 30.0 (86) 28.9 (84) 30.0 (86) 28.3 (82.9) 30.6 (87.1) 30.6 (87.1) 32.8 (91) 31.7 (89.1) 32.8 (91) 35 (95) Average high °C (°F) 23.9 (75) 23.3 (73.9) 24.4 (75.9) 25.0 (77) 24.4 (75.9) 23.3 (73.9) 23.3 (73.9) 23.9 (75) 25.6 (78.1) 26.1 (79) 25.6 (78.1) 25.0 (77) 24.5 (76.1) Daily mean °C (°F) 18.1 (64.6) 17.5 (63.5) 17.5 (63.5) 16.4 (61.5) 14.2 (57.6) 12.2 (54) 12.5 (54.5) 13.9 (57) 16.7 (62.1) 18.1 (64.6) 18.3 (64.9) 18.3 (64.9) 16.1 (61) Average low °C (°F) 12.2 (54) 11.7 (53.1) 10.6 (51.1) 7.8 (46) 3.9 (39) 1.1 (34) 1.7 (35.1) 3.9 (39) 7.8 (46) 10.0 (50) 11.1 (52) 11.7 (53.1) 7.8 (46) Record low °C (°F) 7.2 (45) 3.3 (37.9) 2.2 (36) −1.1 (30) −4.4 (24.1) −6.7 (19.9) −5.0 (23) −5.6 (21.9) −3.3 (26.1) 0.0 (32) 5.0 (41) 5.6 (42.1) −6.7 (19.9) Precipitation mm (inches) 94.0 (3.701) 68.8 (2.709) 38.4 (1.512) 12.7 (0.5) 2.3 (0.091) 1.3 (0.051) 2.5 (0.098) 7.6 (0.299) 6.1 (0.24) 20.8 (0.819) 38.1 (1.5) 70.1 (2.76) 362.7 (14.28) Source: Sistema de Clasificación Bioclimática Mundial

People and culture

Distant view of Cochabamba's El Prado district


The most widely spoken language in Cochabamba is Spanish. Although the Spanish that is spoken in the Cochabamba region is generally regarded as rather conservative in its phonetics and vocabulary, a few Quechua and Aymara terminology (guagua , papa ) have been incorporated into its standardized form.


The city's racial demographics consist of the following visible groups in order of prevalence: Western Hemispheric indigenous (mostly of Quechua ethnicity), Mestizo or mixed Indigenous, and a minority of white Caucasoid and mixed white (Criollos).



The current mayor is Edwin Castellanos of the Movement Towards Socialism.






Urban transport



The busiest bus lines are:

Line "Q" (CBBA-QLLO) Line "W" (CBBA-QLLO) Line "3V" Line "B" (Airport) Line "X-10" Line "36" Line "1" Line "30" Line "13" Line "Z-12" (CBBA-TIQUIPAYA)

And the busiest taxi trufi lines are:

Taxi Trufi "110" Taxi Trufi "260" (Cochabamba-Quillacollo Line) Taxi Trufi "270" (Cochabamba-Quillacollo Line) Taxi Trufi "103" (Green line and White Line) Taxi Trufi "106" (Tiquipaya Line) Taxi Trufi "130" (Circular) Taxi Trufi "209" (Circular) (Cochabamba-Quillacollo Line) Taxi Trufi "123" Taxi Trufi "224" (Sacaba Line) Taxi Trufi "240" (Sacaba Line) Taxi Trufi "244" (Sacaba Line) Taxi Trufi "115"