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Watch Our New Documentary About Route 36: The World’s Only Known ‘Cocaine Bar’

In the mountains outside of the Bolivian capital La Paz, this notorious lounge bar serves up coke on a silver platter.

VICE's Zach Shucklin soaks up the atmosphere at Route 36

In a new VICE documentary, 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.

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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.

This film premiered at the new Members Only section of VICE.com—click this link to subscribe now and get exclusive early access to our documentaries, as well as 4 issues of the recently revived VICE magazine each year.

Watch the film in the player below, or over at the VICE YouTube channel.

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