Newspath Feature: Tourists find dynamite adventure at Mount Rico

Tourists in search of an explosive adventure are finding their way to the silver mines of Potosi, Bolivia's Mount Rico where they don't only get the chance to tour through 400-year-old silver mines but can also blow out part of the mountainside with a stick of dynamite.

Mount Rico, or Rich Mountain, at 4,702 meters (15,400 feet) above sea level towers over the highest city in the world as a constant reminder of the Potosi's historical significance as one of the Spanish Empire's most important silver suppliers.

In the 1990s the state operated Comibo, which controlled the mine, stopped the use of dynamite to extract silver, but foreign-owned companies control much of the mountain and tour companies are allowing visitors to try their hand at the practice which some say puts the very structure of the mountain at risk of collapsing.

"Yeah, it is just very strange that we can go in to a shop in town and buy dynamite and blow it up later on. It is really cool." said one tourist, Barry Larson.

Potosi has come to depend heavily on the revenue generated from tourists.

Some 20 tour companies welcomed more than 50,000 tourists this year to the city.

The guides on Mount Rico are mostly ex-miners who explain the history of the mountain, telling of the many natives, called mitayos, who were forced to work under harsh conditions here resulting in the deaths of thousands.

Tourists revel in the mountain's history and stories of the danger as they pose for pictures with dynamite sticks.

"The removal of minerals is done with dynamite and it shocks the tourists that it is legal and that anyone can buy it. This is something that the tourists like," explained tour guide, Helen Rios.

The tour goes through the nearly 400-year-old Mina Rosario where visitors pass colonial artifacts and structures, some of which are still in use today.

Today's miners still work under extremely harsh and dangerous conditions and 18 miners died here this year.

"It was an incredible experience going down into the mines into the tight holes. It was quite claustrophobic at times. But it was really good to experience the whole experience. And the guide telling you everything the miners go through," said one tourist Pary Boyd.

Guide Helen Rios says she enjoys giving tours and told Reuters visitors often leave with an appreciation for the work that was done here in the past and that which continues today.

"There are lots of museums, but here the most important thing is that it shows how other people live and work [the miners]. A lot leave valuing their work, their life. They say, 'I complain about my life, but these people are satisfied with what they have and are happy'," said Rios.

The climax of the tour is when the tourists actually get to light up their explosives.

Dynamite use is already restricted at levels of more then 4,400 meters (14,435 feet) above sea level where the peak is more vulnerable to collapse, but further down the hill tourists line up to take photos of the tremendous explosion of the dynamite they bought just hours earlier.

Geotechnical experts are studying the sturdiness of the mountain to determine how much more exploitation it can take.

The blast provides the promised excitement for tourists, but many wonder at what cost.