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Blackthorn Film Locations

By Karen

(16/04/2012)What really did happen to Butch Cassidy? In the final scenes of the legendary 1969 film, the two outlaws are seen fighting off the Bolivian Army after robbing a local mine. In new film Blackthorn, Sam Shepherd does a grizzly performance of Butch Cassidy 20 years on, still lost in the wild west style outback of Bolivia.

Bolivia is aperfect location for a wild west movie. With deserted mines, steam trains, huge dramatic landscapes and lush forests; it is the ideal home for a runaway bank robber. Here we look at where Blackthorn was filmed, plus some ideas for what to do there on a Bolivia tour.

Yungas

Bolivia is a land famous for high mountains, but amazingly, half of the country is lowland jungle. In just one day, you can travel The most dangerous road´ bike ride, from the high snow-capped mountains of La Paz to the lush coud foresets of Coroico in the Yungas region. In Coroico and around are abundant waterfalls and plantations growing coffee, coca and all kinds of fruit. From there, the bumpy road continues to the Amazon jungle. Amazon Jungle Tour

Potosi

One of the highest city in the world at 4, 090m, Potosi was once the center of Spanish colonial power. Tin and silver from the mines here traveled all over the world and Potosi became rich. It was the rich mines of Bolivia which first brought Butch and Sundance to Bolivia, and legend has it, were also the cause of their downfall.

During filming for Blackthorn in Potosi in 2010, the city authorities were so delighted, they declared a days´ holiday for workers around the main square where the filming was taking place. It is no wonder that Potosi was chosen as a film location, this UNESCO World Heritage city has a wealth of colonial architecture and evokes the feeling that you have stepped back in time.

Visit Potosi on our Colonial Towns Tour

Pulacayo

When the silver mine here closed in 1959, the population of this town outside of Uyuni was 20, 000, now just 600 people struggle on in this ghost town. Pulacayo looks like a ghost town. The first trains in Bolivia arrived at the end of the 19th Century and the steam trains still stand here in the Andean desert. One is the steam train robbed by the real Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Pulacayo is a fascinating museum town giving an incredible insight into the endurance of the Bolivian people.

Uyuni

Those scenes of a white desert in Blackthorn? That is the Uyuni Salt Flats. Uyuni is an incredible high altitude desert in Bolivia that was once an inland sea. All that remains is miles and miles of salt covering the landscape. In the distance are dramatic volcanoes and bright blue lakes – an unmissable spot on any Bolivia tour.

Discover the wild wonders of Bolivia with Into Latin America.

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