At the Museo de la Coca (Coca Museum) visitors canlearn about the importance of the coca leaf in Bolivian and Andean cultures.This small museum has hundreds of informative displays about the uses of cocaand the social history of the plant.
Enter the museum and pick up an information pamphletat the reception. Learn through the thought-provoking displays about the Incasand the pre-Colombian societies in the Andes Mountains who believed the cocaleaf was sacred. Due to its religious and cultural significance, Bolivia nowhas a law protecting the plant as “cultural patrimony” and “a renewable naturalresource of Bolivia’s biodiversity.”
Discover how coca is used to alleviate altitudesickness, how South American labourers used the leaf as a stimulant andappetite suppressant to manage their long working days, and its use inreligious ceremonies and traditional rituals.
Find out about the use of the leaf in modern culturesand industries, including soft drink corporations, the pharmaceutical industryand the narcotic industry. Learn about the difference between the plant itselfand the production of the drug, cocaine. While the leaf is not naturally anarcotic, when it is combined with cocaine hydrochloride it becomes the illegalsubstance.
Ask museum staff to show you how to chew the cocaleaves and feel the numbing sensation spread on your tongue. After seeing allthe exhibits, relax in the café and try some of the products that have cocaleaves in them. Taste the popular local coca coffee, juices and alcoholicdrinks. Take home some coca-distilled alcohol, coca candy, cake or tea, and usethe steeped leaves in boiling water to create a “mate de coca” to alleviatealtitude sickness.
The Museo de Coca is located in the city centre in LaPaz and is an easy walk from the Plaza Murillo and Plaza San Francisco. Theopening hours are irregular and can be found on the museum’s website. Allow atleast an hour to see the exhibits and taste the leaves. There is a smalladmission charge.
