The Chacaltaya ski resort opened in the 1930s, according to Atlas Obscura.
In its prime, Chacaltaya earned Bolivia numerous titles. It was the country's only ski resort, as well as the world's highest ski resort and restaurant, according to Atlas Obscura.
Built on the Chacaltaya glacier, the resort sat 17,519 feet above sea level, which was higher than the North Base Camp at Mount Everest, Atlas Obscura reported.
The resort's restaurant was also the highest restaurant in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
According to Atlas Obscura, Chacaltaya attracted middle- and upper-class residents of La Paz, which is a major city an hour and a half from the resort.
In the 20th century, the resort was open almost year-round with plenty of snow for skiers to enjoy.
In the 1990s, scientists began studying the Chacaltaya glacier. In 2005, they predicted the glacier would survive one more decade into 2015, according to the BBC.
But their prediction was sadly optimistic. In 2009, the glacier — which was an estimated 18,000 years old — was gone, the BBC reported.
Skiers stopped trekking to the mountain, and the resort and its lift shut down.
Today, Chacaltaya is a ghost town.
According to Atlas Obscura, two brothers, Adolfo and Samuel Mendoza, still look after the resort, although it's largely abandoned. They continue to operate the refugio, or shelter, where occasional visitors can grab a hot meal, which means the once-bustling resort still has its title as the world's highest restaurant, according to Atlas Obscura.
Today, only a handful of adventurous tourists still visit the abandoned ski resort, according to Atlas Obscura.
Snow can still be spotted in the heart of winter, but for the majority of the year, the Chacaltaya mountain is brown and dry.
Aleah Taboclaon spent two and a half months in Bolivia in 2015. During that time, she took a day trip to Chacaltaya ski resort from La Paz.
The traveler, who runs the blog The Solitary Wanderer, said that for about $15, she joined a tour group that drove her about an hour and a half to the mountain, Taboclaon wrote in a blog post.
The trip is often paired with Valle de la Luna or Valley of the Moon, which is an area of unusual rock formations outside of La Paz, she told Insider.
With its high elevation, the Chacaltaya mountain offers one of the best views in the country, Taboclaon told Insider.
She said her tour guide spoke about the resort's downfall due to the melted glacier.
"So much in our world is changing," Taboclaon said. "All the glory of the ski resort is now gone and will never return."
Taboclaon told Insider that during her 2015 visit, her tour bus dropped her off at the base of the mountain, where the abandoned ski resort stands today.
Taboclaon said visitors could step inside the resort. The only thing left inside is a toilet, she said.
She said there was an "abandoned ambiance."
When Taboclaon visited the ghost town, it was September, and although it was warm in La Paz, the mountain's high altitudes made her cold, she said. She added that there were some patches of snow but not nearly enough to ski.
Taboclaon said the high altitudes drastically affected her hiking abilities, so she made it to the shorter summit, which was still hundreds of feet above sea level.
Other tourists made it to the top, where they could see views of the nearby cities of La Paz and El Alto, and the Huayna Potosi mountain, Taboclaon said.
As Taboclaon climbed up the mountain, she said she ran into a few pieces of equipment scientists had left behind.
Taboclaon said she saw one device that created an eerie whistling sound when a gust of wind blew.
There's also a glass pyramid that was once used to track weather on the mountain in the resort's heyday, according to the High Altitude Pathology Institute.
Taboclaon said she expected a fun day. But after learning about the resort's past, she felt reflective and sentimental. She added that seeing the abandoned destination made the climate crisis feel very real to her.