On top of the world in La Paz

We didn’t know what to expect when we landed in La Paz from Uyuni, one hours flying time to the South, only that it would be a lot busier than our time out in the salt flats in the south of Bolivia. The Airport is in neighbouring El Alto, a city perched on the Altiplano highlands at 4100m amsl. We tipped into a taxi winding down the valley to the bustling city of La Paz (Official name Nuestra Señora de La Paz). Bolivia has two capitals, with the pretty whitewashed colonial city of Sucre in the south as the constitutional capital. Therefore, on a technicality, La Paz is the ‘highest administrative capital in the world’. In reality, it’s the most important city culturally, politically and financially in the country. It averages 3625m amsl, but clings steeply to the edges of the valley as it tumbles down towards the Choqueyapu River from the high plains. Everywhere is steep in La Paz, and the thin air makes walking anywhere a real effort. We were accustomed to the altitude, having already spent two weeks in Bolivia, but the streets of La Paz are quite another experience.

The city itself is a jostling cavalcade of people, traffic, protests and roadblocks. It’s noisy, smelly and hectic, and a lot of fun. One morning, Jim bravely attempted to go out for a run, but found himself trapped in a large crowd of people and an impromptu street market and was unable to move faster than a slow shuffle (at least that’s his excuse).

Mi Teleferico

The longest, and highest cable car in the world, Mi Teleferico is an epic public transport system with 26 stations across ten different coloured lines. First opened in 2014, it is the result of a visionary plan to transport commuters between La Paz and El Alto, reducing pressure on the winding, narrow and congested roads. The system is clean, safe, modern, reliable and affordable – a single ticket on one line costs 3bob, 34p or a ticket for two connecting lines is 5bob, 58p. There’s also a circular ticket where you can ride certain lines in a continuous loop for 11bob, £1.28. It’s an easy and interesting way to see La Paz, and provides a whole new perspective with fantastic views across the tightly packed buildings of the city and out to the snow capped peak of Illimani in the distance. Our favourite lines were the vertiginous yellow line up to El Alto, and the green line out to the affluent suburbs of Zona Sur. We took this line one afternoon when we headed out to the Cine Center to watch Antman Quantumania in English in the ‘VIP cinema’. A fun, air-conditioned diversion, thoroughly deserving of its 47% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Witches Market

Clustered around a few streets in the El Centro part of town, the witches market can supply all your dead llama foetus needs, along with other witchy ingredients such as snakes, dried frogs, armadillos and strangely shaped candles. (Traditionally, all houses built in Bolivia have a llama buried in the foundations for good luck, a sacrifice to Pachamama, the Mother Earth). These days, the market has fewer visitors looking for amulets and spell ingredients from the Yatiri (witch doctors) and is more of a tourist trap selling mass produced llama jumpers and brightly coloured tat of all types, but is a vibrant and bustling place, worth a wander about.

Food Tour

The best way to see any city is on foot, and the best way to keep kids happy is with food, so we were excited to sign up for the Red Cap food tour one evening. The flyer stated ‘Bolivia is not known for its culinary delicacies’ in its opening sentence. Undeterred, we met our guide outside the Basilica of San Francisco, and headed off into the market to sample the local flavours, starting with some impressive fruit juices. We then moved on to llauchas, similar to a huge cheese filled empanadas served with api morado which is a thick, sweet drink made from purple maize, cinnamon and sugar, tasting faintly of Christmas.

In a traditional Bolivian restaurant we sampled pork cooked in a number of ways and served with chuños, curious potatoes which come in black and white varieties and are are naturally freeze dried before being rehydrated and cooked. At our last stop we sampled vegetable soup and Rafe’s favourite pique macho. There’s nothing not to love in a dish which contains sausage, beef, chios and vegetables. Along the way we learnt about the ingredients and the customs and traditions of the country as a whole. Red Cap offer a number of different tours of the city, including a popular free walking tour.

Out and about

We stayed in the Sopocachi neighbourhood of La Paz. Popular with Bohemians and the youth, it has a mix of old colonial and modern buildings interspersed with shady plazas. It’s also known for having some of the best restaurants in the city and is a little more relaxed than the crowded and chaotic central zone. We spent a bit of our time wandering the streets having a look about and experiencing the ambience of the city. At one point, we came across a large and noisy protest which we discovered was the teachers’ union protesting about working conditions. At the same time, teachers were on strike back at home, although with considerably fewer firecrackers and roadblocks. One afternoon, we tried to visit the steep Parque Urbano Central, a large green patch in the centre of the city which has a playpark and great views, but we were thwarted by it not being open on a Monday. Instead, we tried our hand playing one of the claw machines which are inexplicably found on most street corners in Bolivia and managed to snag ourselves a stuffed kiwi on only the third attempt -cost 3bob, 34p. Everyone was delighted apart from packing guru Jim who felt it was unnecessary extra bulk in the hand luggage…