Things to Do in La Paz (Bolivia)

I will be honest with you. La Paz hit me harder than I expected. Most cities I land in ease me in slowly. La Paz grabs you on the first breath, because the air is thin at 3,650 meters and the city itself is a kind of vertigo you walk through. I spent six days there and came away convinced it is one of the most underrated cities in South America. Here is what I actually loved doing, in the order I would do it again.

Ride the Mi Teleferico cable cars

If you do one thing in La Paz, ride the teleferico. I bought a card, swiped it, and stepped into a gondola that floated me straight up the canyon wall. The Red and Yellow lines lift you from the center up to El Alto, and from the top the whole city spreads below you like a spilled bowl of red brick. I rode at sunset and again at night, when the lights make the bowl glow. A single ride costs a few bolivianos and it is the best view in town, full stop. I suggest riding it in both directions and changing lines once, just to feel how the network threads the whole metro area together.

Wander the Mercado de las Brujas

Down near the Sagarnaga area sits the Witches’ Market. I walked the stalls and watched women in bowler hats sell dried llama fetuses, bundles of herbs, and little carved amulets meant to bring luck to new houses. It is easy to treat this as a tourist photo stop, but I found it more interesting than that. Ask a vendor about the offerings and you will hear about Aymara ritual, not theater. I bought a tiny bundle of coca leaves for luck (it is legal here), and I made sure to ask before taking any pictures. Keep your camera ready, but respect the people who actually work here.

Climb the Mirador Killi Killi

For a free panorama with almost no tourists, I walked up to the Mirador Killi Killi. It sits on a small hill above the old city and gives you a full sweep of the bowl, with snowcapped Illimani looming behind it on clear days. I went in the late afternoon, when the light turned the brick warm. Bring water and go slow, because the stairs will remind you that you are at altitude. Some vendors sell juice near the top, and I grabbed a cup and just sat for a while.

Walk the Mercado Rodriguez

Skip the more polished food stalls and go where the locals actually eat. I wandered through Mercado Rodriguez and ate a saltena fresh out of the oven, the juice running down my arm. I washed it down with an api, the warm purple corn drink, and watched pensioners argue over produce. Prices are low and nobody rushes you. It is loud, it is busy, and it is the closest I came to real everyday La Paz. Go on a weekday morning when the selection is biggest.

Take the day trip to Tiwanaku

An hour out of the city, the ruins at Tiwanaku belong to a civilization older than the Inca. I took a shared minibus there and walked the Gate of the Sun and the Akapana platform with a guide who explained how the site was aligned to the stars. It is a quieter site than places like Machu Picchu, and that worked in its favor for me. Book in the morning, because the afternoon winds up there are cold and strong.

Spend a day on Lake Titicaca

La Paz is the launch point for Copacabana and the lake. I took a bus to Copacabana, caught a boat out to Isla del Sol, and hiked along the spine of the island to the ruins at its northern end. The blue is the real thing, deeper than any photo. If you have a single free day, spend it here. The altitude will tire you, so plan a slow pace and carry water.

Practical notes

Ease in at altitude before you do anything demanding, and coca tea at your hotel helps the first headache. Take cash, since small stalls and minibuses do not take cards. Dress in layers, because mornings are cold and afternoons warm. And above all, give the city more than one day. La Paz rewards slow travelers, and most of my best memories happened on ordinary streets, not at famous viewpoints. Go, walk, get lost, and let the city do its work.