La Paz
La Paz sits in a canyon between 3,200 and 4,100 metres, and the geography sets the sociology — the wealthy live low where the air is thicker, and El Alto, an Aymara city of a million, occupies the rim above. Ten lines of urban cable car, the largest such network anywhere, have since 2014 turned an hour's commute into minutes and given the city its best view.
Why go
The highest seat of government in the world — a city in a canyon between 3,200 and 4,100 metres. Cable cars as public transport — ten lines, the world's largest urban network, built since 2014. The Witches' Market — Aymara ritual goods, herbs and offerings, in daily use. El Alto — the Aymara city on the rim above, with Latin America's largest market on Thursdays and Sundays.
The character
La Paz was founded in 1548 in a canyon that shelters it from the altiplano wind, and the geography now determines the sociology: the wealthy live low, where the air is thicker, and the poorer neighbourhoods climb the walls to the rim at 4,100 metres, where El Alto — a separate city of a million, overwhelmingly Aymara — sits on the plateau. Illimani, at 6,438 metres, closes the view to the south-east.
The cable cars changed it. Since 2014 Bolivia has built ten lines of urban gondola — Mi Teleférico, the largest such network anywhere — connecting the canyon floor to the rim in minutes rather than an hour by road, and turning a commute into the best sightseeing in the city for the price of a bus ticket. The other current is Aymara wealth and confidence, visible in El Alto's cholet architecture: brightly coloured party halls with apartments above, designed by Freddy Mamani, which have become the most distinctive new architecture in South America.
Places of character
Mi Teleférico — ride the red, yellow and green lines end to end; the whole city becomes legible. Mercado de las Brujas — dried llama foetuses, herbs and amulets, sold for Pachamama offerings. El Alto Thursday and Sunday market — sixteen de Julio; enormous, chaotic and the real Bolivia. Cholets of El Alto — Mamani's buildings, best seen on a guided walk that explains the symbolism. Valle de la Luna — eroded clay spires twenty minutes south of the centre. Death Road — the Yungas road, cycled downhill 3,500 metres from the pass to the jungle.
The way to do it
Arrive and rest — 3,600 metres is serious and El Alto is higher. Use the cable cars as your transport and your sightseeing. Take a guided walk in El Alto ahead of wandering. And do the Yungas descent with a reputable operator if you cycle at all; it is spectacular and the operator matters.
One perfect day
Coca tea, then the red line up to El Alto at eight with the canyon opening beneath and Illimani white to the south. An hour at the market with a guide, and the cholets on the way back. Down by cable car, changing lines to see the city from three angles. Lunch of salteñas. Afternoon in the Witches' Market and the Museo Nacional de Etnografía for the textiles. Late day at Valle de la Luna. Sunset from a terrace with Illimani going pink, and dinner at Gustu, where Bolivian ingredients are treated seriously.
Grand hotels
Atix Hotel — a contemporary hotel in Calacoto with Bolivian art throughout. Casa Grande — the reliable business address in the lower, thicker-aired south.
When to go
Best expression: May to September, the dry season, with clear views of Illimani. Consider: February for the Oruro Carnival, three hours away and extraordinary. Avoid if possible: December to March, when rain and mudslides affect the roads.
The frame
Ideal stay 3 nights · Minimum 2 nights · Best arrival by air into El Alto, at 4,061 metres · Airport LPB, 12 km · Walkability steep and breathless; use the cable cars · Best without a car yes