Tupiza and its environs are characterized by dramatic red escarpments which jut ruggedly skyward from the coarse, gray terrain; green agricultural land adjacent to the nearby Tupiza River provides welcome respite from the otherwise arid, thorny surroundings.

The area quebradas are susceptible to flash flood runoff from sudden cloudbursts.

It is accessible via bus from Villazón to the south (and thereby both Argentina and Tarija) and Potosí to the north, as well as via the north-south train which served the mining settlements and runs the same route.

From Tupiza, various towns in the local mining districts are accessible, as is the Salar de Uyuni.

[1] Legend has it that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their end at the hands of the Bolivian army near Tupiza,[2] concluding their notorious string of bank robbery raids.