Bolivia to promote tourism along Dakar Rally route

La Paz, Sep 12 (IANS): Bolivia plans to launch a tourism promotion campaign in the southwest part of the country, which will host part of the 2014 Dakar Rally off-road endurance race, Culture and Tourism Minister Pablo Groux said.

The ministry Wednesday said the campaign will really take off starting Sep 25, with a second Dakar Routes promotional caravan, reports Xinhua.

Groux said each of the towns along the route will host tourism promotion events in the coming months.

The next edition of the legendary race will take place from Jan 5 to 18, with a route that traverses parts of Argentina, Chile and the Bolivian departments of Potosi and Oruro.

One of the biggest highlights of the Bolivian route will be the Uyuni salt fields, an ancient and dried up seabed that covers an area of 10,000 square kilometres. In addition to salt, it is home to the world’s largest reserve of lithium, a component of batteries.

A second highlight is Salinas de Garci Mendoza, in Oruro, a site situated between Uyuni and another salt field, Coipasa, at the foot of the Tunupa Volcano.

Salinas de Garci Mendoza has been declared the capital crop of quinoa, the increasingly popular grain.

Goux additionally presented a document to certify that the race will not have a negative impact on the regional environment or sites of interest.