A beautiful natural formation that resembles a petrified city, eight kilometers from the Hacienda. Ideal for walks, climbing, hiking and enjoying nature with its unique landscapes.
Nestled at the foot of the stone city is a small 17th century colonial chapel which has as its main characteristic an altar carved in the living stone, unfortunately it is in a state of neglect and almost destroyed.
A few meters from the house the Dairy Cayara can be found with all its industrial and livestock installations which constitute a modern dairy industry.
“Hostein” and “Pardo Suizo”, large producers of milk, are samples of breeds that can be appreciate it in the site, at the same time visitors can enjoy the wide range of dairy products Cayara.
The fields are exclusively dedicated to the production of fodder. Barley, oats, beans and alfalfa are grown for the production and use of forage that is preserved as hay and silage. No form of grazing is used, because cows are reared in a stable state.
Just a few minutes away from the Hacienda Cayara, the 100-year-old Hydroelectric Power Plant, built by the engineer Louis Soux, is solidly built in stone and steel beams, equipped with “Pelton” generators and turbines of Swiss, German origin “siemmens” and North American “General Electric”, that currently generate energy for the communities of Cayara, Santa Lucia and La Palca.
For the provision of water to the Plant, a fall that forms a waterfall of two hundred meters high was built. It is one of the beautiful attractions for visitors to the Cayara Valley.
Solar de Marqueses and families of the colonial nobility, as well as pioneers of industry and culture in the republican era are the living history of more than four centuries recorded in every corner of the oldest hacienda in the entire continent, Cayara. The huge house, its furniture and paintings, as well as its two notable libraries, full of old books and documents of high historical value, are an invitation to go back in time.
Eight Museum Rooms and the Great Jack Aitken Soux Hall, show a large collection of works of art of great value, objects of daily use, armor used in the Conquest of Peru, muskets and sabers that go back to the War of Independence and old rifles and swords used in the War of the Pacific and the Chaco.
In addition to chivalry instruments from all eras, collections of Pre-Columbian pottery, a chapel, as well as gardens and walks that added to its history and legend, make the now called Hostel Museo Cayara, a unique place in the world.
* (Except Sunday afternoons and Mondays) *
* (The tour lasts two hours) *
It was the second coin minting factory, now converted into a museum of colonial, republican and contemporary painting; oploteca, silverware, archeology, and customs. An important part of the tour is the set of machinery of the minting factory of the three epochs, machines moved by force of animal blood, steam and electricity. As a souvenir of the visit you can get a coin with designs of your choice.
* (Monday to Friday and Saturday in the mornings) *
* (The tour lasts one hour) *
Religious museum, you can visit the cloister, the temple of basilical plant, the crypts under the temple and you can climb to the roof, from where you have a wonderful panoramic view of the city and the hill.
* (Except Sunday morning) *
* (The tour lasts from one hour and a half to two hours) *
The visit runs through the former convent of the Carmelite nuns, now a beautiful museum. It allows to know the religious life of centuries ago that established that the second daughters of the noble families entered the convent of cloister. The rooms preserve their furniture and works of religious painting and sculpture. In the store can buy the traditional sweets made by the religious.
* (The tour lasts three hours) *
To visit the mine is to understand the origin of the birth of this city, to get to know the “uncle of the mine” and the work of the miners. In the tour you can see the mining work, the “Tio” and the “Tata Kajchu”.
* (Two-hour walk) *
A night stroll through the streets, visiting the streets and illuminated facades of some temples, with tales of legends and traditions from Potosi.