Bolivia · Altiplano
La Paz
The world's highest seat of government, where cable cars glide over a canyon city and the Altiplano begins at the rim.
Bolivia's seat of government fills a deep canyon cut into the Altiplano, its brick suburbs climbing the slopes to El Alto on the rim while the snow peaks of the Cordillera Real stand behind. It is a city of Aymara markets, cholitas in bowler hats and a colonial core around Plaza Murillo, stitched together by Mi Teleferico, the world's biggest urban cable-car network. It is also the starting point for the Death Road, the most famous mountain-bike descent in South America.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
Spanish
Currency
BOB
Timezone
UTC-4
Why you'll love La Paz
The setting A city poured into a canyon below the Altiplano, with the triple summit of Illimani filling the skyline on clear days
Cable cars Mi Teleferico's colour-coded lines float over rooftops and up to El Alto, so an ordinary commuter ride gives the best views in town
Aymara culture Cholitas in bowler hats and layered skirts, offerings to Pachamama in the Witches' Market and a vast street market in El Alto
Adventure base The Death Road, the 6,000-metre Huayna Potosi and the Cordillera Real all start within a couple of hours of the city
Best time to visit
Feb-Dec
Wet, mirror · 17-20° days
16.495° S, 68.134° W
UTC-4 · America/La Paz
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Weather & when to go to La Paz
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Feb-Dec
Climbing prime May-Sep
Activity seasons none fair good prime
Conditions Jan Wet, salt mirror · Feb Wet, mirror · Mar Wet easing · Apr Drying · May Dry, cold nights · Jun Dry, cold · Jul Coldest nights · Aug-Oct Dry · Nov Warming, showers · Dec Wet season
Watch for all year altitude risk
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid La Paz
No month is one to avoid; the real quirk is altitude, not season. The centre sits around 3,600 metres and the airport above 4,000, so plan slow first days. January is the wettest month. The dry winter brings the clearest mountain views and the climbing season, with nights that drop below freezing.
Top things to do in La Paz
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Mi Teleferico - ride the cable cars over the city
scenic culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedA network of colour-named cable-car lines links the canyon floor, Zona Sur and El Alto. Ride the Red or Yellow lines up to the rim for views over the whole bowl of the city to Illimani; it doubles as everyday transport for pacenos.
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Mercado de las Brujas - the Witches' Market
culture arts shopping 👍 PopularStalls on Calle Linares and the streets around it sell dried llama foetuses, herbs, potions and amulets used in offerings to Pachamama, alongside alpaca knitwear and souvenirs, a few blocks above the San Francisco church.
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Death Road - cycle the Yungas road
adventure scenic 👍 PopularGuided groups ride the old North Yungas road from the snow line at La Cumbre pass down into subtropical cloud forest, a descent of several thousand metres on a gravel ledge above sheer drops. Most of the motor traffic now uses a newer road.
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Basilica de San Francisco - mestizo baroque at the heart of the city
history culture artsThe stone church on Plaza San Francisco has a facade carved with indigenous motifs alongside Christian imagery, a classic of the Andean mestizo baroque. The attached museum leads through the cloisters and up onto the roof.
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Plaza Murillo and Calle Jaen - the colonial core
history culture artsThe main square holds the cathedral, Congress and the Palacio Quemado, the presidential palace. A short walk away, Calle Jaen is the best-preserved colonial street in the city, lined with small museums including one devoted to Bolivian musical instruments.
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El Alto - the 16 de Julio market and the cholets
culture arts shopping ⭐ Highly recommendedOn Thursdays and Sundays one of South America's largest street markets sprawls across El Alto, selling everything from car parts to clothes. The city is also known for cholets, brightly coloured Aymara mansions by architect Freddy Mamani.
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Cholita wrestling - lucha libre in El Alto
culture arts 👍 PopularWomen wrestlers in full pollera skirts and braids take on male and female opponents in a theatrical, crowd-pleasing show held in El Alto on Sundays. It is touristy, loud and genuinely fun.
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Valle de la Luna - eroded clay pinnacles
nature wildlife scenicA maze of clay and sandstone spires and gullies in Mallasa, just beyond Zona Sur, with short marked paths through the formations. It pairs easily with a trip up Chacaltaya.
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Huayna Potosi - climb a 6,000-metre peak
adventureOften called one of the most accessible 6,000-metre summits in the world, this glaciated peak is climbed on guided trips of two to three days run from La Paz, with crampons, ropes and an ice-axe. Good acclimatisation first is essential.
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MUSEF - the national ethnography museum
culture arts historyThe Museo Nacional de Etnografia y Folklore, in a colonial mansion near Plaza Murillo, holds superb collections of festival masks and Andean textiles that make sense of what you see in the streets.
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Saltenas and the Mercado Lanza - eat like a paceno
foodMid-morning is saltena time, when the juicy baked pastries sell out across the city. The Mercado Lanza near San Francisco serves fruit juices, soups and set lunches, and evening street stalls grill anticuchos of beef heart.
Best areas to stay in La Paz
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Rosario and Calle Sagarnaga
Backpackers $Backpacker streets above Plaza San Francisco
Explore hotels in Rosario and Calle Sagarnaga →
Centro Historico
Sightseeing on foot $$Colonial plazas, ministries and museums
Explore hotels in Centro Historico →
Sopocachi
Food and longer stays $$Leafy, residential, cafes and restaurants
Explore hotels in Sopocachi →
Zona Sur
Comfort and altitude relief $$$Lower, milder and upscale
Explore hotels in Zona Sur →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on La Paz
Getting to & around La Paz
Getting there
Fly into El Alto International Airport (LPB) on the Altiplano rim, or arrive by coach from Peru, Uyuni and the rest of Bolivia
Flight
El Alto International Airport (LPB)
The airport sits above 4,000 metres in El Alto; taxis take around 30-45 minutes down the highway into the canyon and the centre, and shared minibuses run the same route. Many international arrivals connect through Lima, Bogota or Santa Cruz.
Coach
Terminal de Buses La Paz
Long-distance coaches arrive from Uyuni, Sucre, Potosi, Cochabamba and Oruro, and from Cusco and Puno in Peru via Copacabana
Coach
Cementerio district
Minibuses and buses from Copacabana and Lake Titicaca terminate around the General Cemetery, above the centre
Getting around
Mi Teleferico
Cable-car lines connect the centre, Sopocachi, Zona Sur and El Alto; the quickest and most scenic way across the city
TBC
Minibus and micro
Cheap and everywhere, with destinations shouted from the door; slow in the steep, congested centre
TBC
Radio taxi
Call or book a radio taxi rather than flagging unmarked cars, especially at night
TBC
Walking
The centre is walkable but steep; at this altitude, uphill blocks take far more effort than they look
Free
Day trips from La Paz
Tiwanaku
Full dayPre-Inca ruins
The ceremonial centre of a civilisation that dominated the Titicaca basin centuries before the Incas, with the Gateway of the Sun, the Kalasasaya temple, the Akapana pyramid and the precisely cut stones of Puma Punku.
Getting there
bus | tour
About 1.5-2 hours by bus or tour across the Altiplano
Death Road
Full dayMountain-bike descent
The guided ride down the old Yungas road from icy highland pass to warm cloud forest, finishing near Coroico before the van ride back up to La Paz.
Getting there
tour
About 1 hour by tour van to La Cumbre, then the ride down
Chacaltaya
Full dayHigh-altitude summit
Once the site of the world's highest ski run, now a short walk from a road-end lodge to a summit above 5,000 metres with views of Huayna Potosi, Illimani and Lake Titicaca. Acclimatise first.
Getting there
tour | car
About 1.5 hours by tour vehicle, often combined with Valle de la Luna
Copacabana and Lake Titicaca
1-2 daysSacred lake town
A pilgrimage town on the shore of Lake Titicaca with a Moorish-style basilica, and boats out to Isla del Sol, the legendary birthplace of the Inca sun god.
Getting there
bus | ferry
About 3.5-4 hours by bus, crossing the Strait of Tiquina by boat
Coroico
1-2 daysYungas hill town
A warm, green escape perched above coca and coffee terraces in the Yungas valleys, with waterfalls, walks and the end of the Death Road below.
Getting there
bus
About 3 hours by minibus on the newer Yungas highway
A little history of La Paz
Long before the Spanish arrived, the shores of nearby Lake Titicaca were the heartland of Tiwanaku, and later of Aymara kingdoms absorbed by the Incas. The Spanish founded Nuestra Senora de La Paz in 1548 in the sheltered valley of Chuquiago, where gold was panned from the river, and it grew as a trading stop on the silver route between Potosi and Lima. In 1781 the Aymara leader Tupac Katari besieged the city for months, and in 1809 it was the scene of one of the first uprisings for independence in Spanish America.
After independence, Sucre remained the constitutional capital, but the Federal War of 1898-99 moved the government to La Paz, where it has stayed. The 1952 revolution brought land reform and universal suffrage. Migration from the countryside filled the Altiplano rim, and El Alto, once a suburb, became a separate city that now rivals La Paz in size.
Tiwanaku flourishes as the dominant power of the Titicaca basin
Alonso de Mendoza founds Nuestra Senora de La Paz
Tupac Katari leads a months-long Aymara siege of the city
The July uprising led by Pedro Domingo Murillo calls for self-government
Bolivia declares independence from Spain
The Federal War ends with the seat of government moved to La Paz
The National Revolution brings land reform and universal suffrage
El Alto becomes a city in its own right
The first Mi Teleferico cable-car line opens
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Limited
Wifi
Workable
Power
Type A / B / C
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+591
Altitude risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
Mobile network & SIM card
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FAQs about La Paz
▸ When is the best time to visit La Paz?
Every month except January scores well. The dry winter brings blue skies, the clearest mountain views and the climbing season, with freezing nights. Summer is greener, with afternoon showers that are heaviest in January. Whatever the month, pack warm layers: the altitude keeps evenings cold all year.
▸ How bad is the altitude in La Paz?
The centre sits around 3,600 metres and El Alto above 4,000, so most visitors feel short of breath and some get headaches at first. Take the first day or two slowly, drink plenty of water, go easy on alcohol, and see a doctor about prevention before you travel. Arriving overland from lower Bolivia or Peru can help.
▸ Is La Paz the capital of Bolivia?
La Paz is the seat of government, home to the presidency and Congress, while Sucre remains the constitutional capital and seat of the judiciary. Most people treat La Paz as the capital in practice.
▸ Is La Paz safe for travellers?
Petty theft is the main risk, especially in crowded markets and around the bus terminal, and fake-police scams are a known trick. Use radio taxis at night. Demonstrations and road blockades are a recurring feature of Bolivian life and can close roads, including the route to the airport, so check your own government's current advice and allow slack.
▸ Is cycling the Death Road safe?
It is far safer than its reputation now that most traffic uses the newer road, but it is still a gravel track above big drops and accidents happen. Choose an established operator with well-maintained bikes, good brakes and experienced guides, and ride within your ability.