Cochabamba

Cochabamba is a city and municipality in central Bolivia, in a valley of the Andes mountain range, and capital of the Cochabamba Department. It is Bolivia's fourth largest city, with a population of 661,484 according to the 2024 census. Its name comes from the Quechua words qucha, meaning lake, and pampa, meaning open plain, recalling the numerous lakes that once dotted the area before urban development, though Cona Cona and Alalay lakes survive. Known as the City of Eternal Spring for its mild year-round temperatures, it has been continuously settled since the Pre-Inca period and sits between the higher capital of La Paz and the tropical lowland city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, making it the largest urban center along that corridor and an important cultural, educational, political and commercial hub.