The road to La Quiaca, on the northern frontier of Argentina, passes through a scenic and barren landscape high on the Altiplano complete with llamas and mud-brick houses. The town, sitting at more than 3400 meters of altitude looks more like neighbouring Bolivia than Argentina. The border crossing closes early in the evening, therefore if you plan on arriving late book accommodation ahead as choices are limited and can fill up quickly. We stayed at the Copacabana Hostel, which was fine for a night and was within walking distance of the border.
Crossing between Argentina and Bolivia is virtually unrestricted, for short visits you can walk across freely to either side. There are no money exchanges on the Argentinian side so going over to Bolivia is necessary to exchange money.
However, when officially crossing the border passport stamps and all, it's a long and unpleasant process. After quickly getting the Argentinian exit stamp people line up and wait on the bridge separating the two countries, overlooking the murky river and pigs roaming the banks on the Bolivian side. Obtaining the Bolivian entry stamp requires hours of patience and involves standing in the hot sun breathing in the fumes from nearby buses and trucks that are also waiting to enter. Bring water and be prepared to confront people attempting to cut in line!
There is only one desk for entry and one for exit stamps and officials staffing them are not the most efficient. Most Bolivians don't own passports but carry large folders of photocopied ID documents that must be reviewed and verified, making the process painfully slow. After three long hours of waiting, we were finally through.
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