Sam and Dylan of The Lifestyle Travelers tackle one of the world’s most physically demanding and visually extraordinary urban walks: the La Paz Bolivia walking tour. Sitting in a canyon gouged into the Altiplano at 3,600 metres above sea level, La Paz is a vertical city where cholita women in pollera skirts sell dried llama foetuses at the Witches’ Market, cable-car gondolas cross between neighbourhoods in the thin mountain air, and the colonial Plaza Murillo sits at an altitude that leaves lowland visitors gasping. No city on earth offers quite this combination of indigenous culture, altitude drama, and urban intensity.
About This Walking Tour
Sam and Dylan structure their La Paz tour around three unmissable urban landmarks: the Witches’ Market (Mercado de las Brujas), the vivid street murals of artist Mamani Mamani, and the infamous San Pedro Prison, whose exterior dominates an entire city block. The Witches’ Market on Calle Linares is one of South America’s most singular shopping experiences: stalls selling dried herbs, minerals, amulets, and the ritual objects of Aymara spiritual practice, presided over by Aymara cholita vendors in traditional dress. From there the tour navigates the precipitous lanes of the historic centre toward the colonial Plaza Murillo, where the Presidential Palace, National Congress, and Metropolitan Cathedral crowd together on a square that has witnessed centuries of Bolivian political drama. Sam and Dylan bring infectious energy to their presentation, acknowledging the altitude challenge while making the city’s layers of indigenous and colonial culture accessible to a broad audience. The tour also touches on the Mi Teleférico cable-car system, the world’s highest urban cable network, which offers a remarkable aerial perspective on the city’s canyon geography.
Highlights of La Paz Bolivia
The Mercado de las Brujas (Witches’ Market) on Calle Linares is the city’s most distinctive attraction: a dense cluster of market stalls selling ritual Aymara objects ranging from dried herbs and incense to llama foetuses used in Pachamama (Earth Mother) offerings. The adjacent Mercado de Hechicería area extends this cultural experience. Plaza Murillo, the civic heart of La Paz, is ringed by the Presidential Palace (Palacio Quemado — “Burnt Palace,” named for an 1875 fire), the National Congress, and the neo-gothic Cathedral. The street art of indigenous Bolivian artist Mamani Mamani — bold geometric designs in vivid primaries — appears across building facades in the city centre and is instantly recognisable. The Mi Teleférico cable-car network, opened in 2014, links La Paz with the neighbouring city of El Alto at 4,100 metres and delivers the most dramatic urban panoramas on the continent. The Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley), a landscape of eroded clay spires, is a short taxi ride from the city centre.
A Brief History of La Paz Bolivia
La Paz was founded in 1548 by Spanish conquistador Alonso de Mendoza on the banks of the Choqueyapu River, primarily as a staging post on the silver route between the Potosí mines and the Pacific coast. Its altitude made it uncomfortable for Spanish settlers, and the indigenous Aymara population of the surrounding Altiplano vastly outnumbered the colonial administrators. The city grew despite this, and the canyon location — sheltered from Altiplano winds — eventually made it the preferred administrative centre over the official constitutional capital of Sucre. Bolivia’s executive government and Congress have sat in La Paz since the 19th century, though Sucre retains constitutional capital status — a dual-capital arrangement unique in South America. The Mi Teleférico urban cable-car system, inaugurated in 2014, is one of the most significant public-transport innovations in Latin America, with multiple colour-coded lines linking the canyon-bottom historic centre to the high-plateau city of El Alto.
Practical Tips
La Paz is best visited during the dry season (May to October), when skies are clear and the high-altitude sun is strong but manageable. Acclimatisation is essential: El Alto International Airport sits at 4,061 metres, and even a short walk in the historic centre will leave unacclimatised visitors breathless. Spend your first day resting, drinking coca tea, and moving slowly. The Mi Teleférico cable cars are cheap, efficient, and offer extraordinary views — take at least one line to see the city from the air. Taxis are abundant and inexpensive for longer distances. Walking the historic centre, the Witches’ Market, and Plaza Murillo comfortably covers the essential La Paz experience in a single active day once you have adjusted to the altitude.
Watch & Explore More
Continue your Bolivian journey with our Sucre walking tour, or follow the Inca trail to our Cusco walking tour. For the full Latin America collection and more walking tours worldwide, subscribe to @walkingtoursvideoscom on YouTube.