(Lee abajo información en Español)
Big Deal Tours is the only company in Potosí that is run and owned by the town´s miners.
It is the best tour to the mines of the Cerro Rico of Potosí because it is run completely by ex-miners.
Our company offers a professional, safe and unforgettable tour to one of the co-operative mines of the Cerro Rico in Potosi.
The tours leave every day at 08:30 AM and at 13:30 PM from our central office, Big Deal Tours. They last approximately 5 hours.
The groups are a maxium of 8 people per guide.
The Tour:
Our first stop will be to pick up the Saftey Clothing and Equipment (impermeable jacket and trousers/pants, rubber boots, healmet and an electric lamp). Later we stop at the Miner´s Market where you can buy a few presents for the miners, such as coca leaves, soda, cigarettes and dynamite.
Continuing on, we next visit a refinery plant known as "The Engines", the place where minerals from the mines are purified using different machinery and chemical reactions. Later we stop briefly at a location with great views of the city and of the majestic Cerro Rico.
We then arrive at the highlight of the visit, which consists of going inside the mines ´Rosario Bajo` and ´Candelaria Baja`, both belonging to the Cooperativa Unificada. Inside the mine we visit different workplaces with more than 100 miners operating on different activities. We also visit the image of Tio, the god of the miners who owns all the wealth that exists within the mountain, a place deep inside the mines where the miners gather every Friday to make offerings and perform sacred rituals.
If you like, there is the possibility of a dynamite explosion.
Please bear in mind that these are not a tourist mines, but mines dating from the colonial era that are still in working use.
Please bear in mind that these are not a tourist mines, but mines dating from the colonial era that are still in working use.
Our company is formed by credited guides that have been miners that thus guarantee total saftey, accurate information and professionalism (with 20 years of experience). We, the guides, are also recommended in most travel guides as we used to work for another company (Koala Tours).
Big Deal Tours is a self-managed tour agency run by ex-miners that started to work in the tourism sector as a new alternative way of life.
Don´t forget to bring: small water bottle, camera and sense of humor.
