VICE host Zach Shucklin goes in search of Route 36, the world’s only known ‘cocaine bar.’ Located in the mountains outside of the Bolivian capital La Paz, the notorious lounge bar promises high purity coke by the gram—served up on a silver platter, along with a delicious cocktail of the patron’s choice.
Along the way, Shucklin learns about the rich history of coca farming in Bolivia, and meets a local witch doctor—or ‘yatiri’—to explore the leaf’s cultural uses.
Route 36, which is open only to tourists, moves premises regularly to evade the local authorities. That said, its existence seems to be an open secret in La Paz, which leads you to suspect that, for it to remain in business, there may be an element of corruption at play.