Discover Abandoned Chacaltaya Ski Resort in La Paz, Bolivia: The world’s highest ski resort was deserted after an 18,000-year-old glacier melted away.
Chacaltaya Ski Resort opened in the 1930’s, attracting nearby citizens of La Paz to enjoy the snowy mountain.
Chacaltaya ski resort was originally created to allow good winter snow skiing from November to March every year. The lift was only open on weekends due to the extreme cold of the area. Summer glacier skiing on the 18,000-year-old Chacaltaya glacier was possible before the glacier completely melted away in 2009 (6 years before its estimated demise). Big, snowy winters are the only thing that can get Chacaltaya ski lift spinning nowadays.
Located nearby, Mount Chacaltaya Laboratory, started to see the glacier disappearing due to increases temparatures, and predicted the glacier would be gone by 2015. Unfortunately they were wrong, by 2009 almost all the snow was gone, and with it skiers and eventually the resort. With ski lifts shut down and the town abandoned, only one building remain active, The Refugio, run by two brothers who still serve a hot meal at the highest restaurant in the world. Snow falls occasionally and sometime enough to ski, but most visitor now are there only for the view.
Mount Chacaltaya is about 10 miles north of La Paz, Bolivia. Tour companies in La Paz offer trips to Chacaltaya Ski Resort, which cost about Bs. 150 (about $22 USD). You can also take a taxi from La Paz, which typically costs between Bs. 200 and 240 ($29 to $35), depending on how well you haggle. The drivers will normally wait for three hours at the ski resort while you look around. The trip from La Paz to the resort takes about 1.5 hours.
