Things to do in La Paz
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit La Paz
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months: clearest Illimani views, dry trails and best Death Road and Huayna Potosi conditions.
Shoulder: fewer crowds, mostly dry, occasional storms and good value and light.
Worst months: peak rain, muddy trails, clouded views and hazardous Death Road conditions.
What's on
- Alasitas from 24 January
Festival of Ekeko, god of abundance, with miniatures blessed for the year.
- Carnaval de Oruro February/March, before Lent
The great UNESCO listed spectacle in Oruro, about 3.5 hours away, with diablada dancers and brass bands.
- Virgen de la Candelaria, Copacabana early February
Lake Titicaca's great festival in Copacabana, including the blessing of vehicles.
- Gran Poder late May / early June
The city's biggest festival, with tens of thousands of costumed dancers parading through La Paz.
- Aymara New Year / Willkakuti 21 June
Dawn winter solstice ceremonies at Tiwanaku greeting the returning sun.
- Fiestas Julias 16 July and through July
La Paz founding celebrations with parades, concerts and fireworks over the canyon.
- Todos Santos 1-2 November
Families honour the dead with offering tables. Observe only where visitors are clearly welcome.
Best things to do in La Paz
Mi Teleférico
Ride the whole cable car network for the best views and the easiest way to understand the canyon city.
Mercado de las Brujas
A living Aymara market for remedies and offerings where you ask before photos and buy small if you linger.
Plaza Murillo
The political heart of La Paz with the Cathedral, former palace and Congress in one slow loop.
Catedral Basílica de Nuestra Señora de La Paz
The cathedral on Plaza Murillo anchors the colonial and political core of the historic centre.
Iglesia de San Francisco
The finest mestizo baroque facade in La Paz, with Andean motifs carved into colonial stone.
Calle Jaén
The best preserved colonial street in La Paz, with cobbles, coloured facades and a calm cafe stop.
Museo de Instrumentos Musicales
A hands on museum of instruments made from wood, bone and shell on the Calle Jaén museum ticket.
Mirador Killi Killi
A 360 degree lookout that maps the whole canyon bowl and Illimani on a clear early morning.
Where to stay in La Paz
Sopocachi
first trip, all-round base
Mid altitude and leafy, with cafes, good restaurants, bars and cable car access near the sights.
Zona Sur
luxury, lowest altitude
The wealthy southern zone at lower altitude with warmer air, big hotels and a car oriented feel.
Casco Viejo / Centro
short, sightseeing-dense, budget trips
Everything historic is walkable, with the cheapest hotels, but higher altitude and noise.
Miraflores
repeat visitors and longer stays
Residential and calmer east of the centre, with good local restaurants and solid mid range value.
Think twice about
- El Alto
Visit by day with a guide. Do not base there: highest and coldest altitude and highest street crime rates.
- Terminal de Buses and Villa Fátima fringe
A transit zone with bag snatching and scams around arrivals and poorly lit streets at night.
- San Pedro and the immediate Plaza Sucre blocks
The centre's rougher edge at night, where fake prison tour scams cluster and streets empty out.
- Western laderas hillside barrios
Spectacular views but informal poorly served streets, difficult taxi access at night and top altitude.
Best restaurants in La Paz
Gustu
Bolivia's flagship tasting menu built only on Bolivian ingredients, from river fish to llama.
Arami
Marsia Taha's Amazonian Bolivian fine dining in a vegetation filled house in Achumani.
Ancestral
Wood fire Bolivian cooking with rib eye, smoked trout and a strong Tarija wine list.
Ali Pacha
Bolivia's first vegan fine dining room, plating Andean plant biodiversity as tasting menus.
Popular Cocina Boliviana
A lunch only prix fixe of Bolivian classics with fine dining technique, worth the queue.
Manq'a
A restaurant school serving a creative Bolivian set menu with good sauces and desserts.
Paceña La Salteña
The locals' salteña pick, a juicy spicy beef pastry to eat mid morning before they sell out.
Mercado Lanza
The central food court labyrinth for chairo, fricase and full local almuerzos at local prices.
Best bars in La Paz
Hay Pan
A narrow packed wine and tapas bar playing turntables, pouring Bolivian wines by the glass.
Best coffee in La Paz
Typica Café
The city's default specialty coffee spot, pouring proper Yungas coffee for work and recovery.
Outdoor things to do in La Paz
North Yungas Road
A 64km mostly downhill bike ride from a high pass through cloud forest to subtropical Yungas.
Huayna Potosí
An accessible 6000m glacier summit for acclimatised climbers, best on the three day guided version.
Chacaltaya
A drive up former ski mountain and short walk above 5400m, usually paired with Moon Valley.
Nevado Charquini
A remote feeling high hike to a glacier above the turquoise green Laguna Esmeralda.
Laguna Esmeralda
A startling turquoise green lake below the Charquini glacier on a high altiplano walk.
Pico Austria
A non technical trekking summit with the whole Cordillera Real laid out on a clear day.
Tiwanaku
A major pre Inca ceremonial centre with temples, carved heads and the Gateway of the Sun.
Puma Punku
Precision cut stones at the Tiwanaku complex that reward a good guide to explain them.
Best hotels in La Paz
Atix Hotel
The design flagship luxury hotel in low altitude Calacoto, built around Bolivian art and stone.
MET Hotel
A polished newer luxury hotel in Calacoto with spa and pool and strong couples reviews.
Casa Grande Hotel
The established full service five star default in Calacoto for business and family stays.
Casa Grande Suites
The spacious suite pair to Casa Grande Hotel in Calacoto, in the southern luxury zone.
Suites Camino Real
An apartment style luxury alternative on Avenida Ballivian with indoor pool and spa.
Stannum Boutique Hotel & Spa
A tower boutique with spa on the Sopocachi edge for luxury without sleeping in Zona Sur.
Hotel Rosario
A beloved colonial courtyard hotel by the Witches' Market with textiles, art and a tour desk.
La Casona Hotel Boutique
A restored colonial mansion turned boutique, the romantic mid range sleep in the old town.
Is La Paz expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | BOB 250 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | BOB 650 a person |
| Splurge | BOB 1,600 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Cholitas Wrestling: a few days ahead
- Cholets of El Alto: a few days ahead
- Feria 16 de Julio: a few days ahead
- Red Cap Walking Tours: a few days ahead
- North Yungas Road: weeks ahead
- Huayna Potosí: weeks ahead
- Chacaltaya: a few days ahead
- Nevado Charquini: a few days ahead
- Book Arami and Gustu days to a week ahead, and Ancestral's tasting menu too.
- Book Huayna Potosi and reputable Death Road operators ahead in June to August and December to January.
- Book Atix and MET in festival weeks and Isla del Sol lodging in dry season.
Is La Paz safe?
- Pickpockets work markets, the bus terminal and crowded cable car stations. Keep phones away and bags cross body.
- Taxi door to door at night outside Sopocachi and Zona Sur.
- Rest on arrival, eat light, skip alcohol night one and treat severe altitude symptoms as a medical problem.
- Protests and blockades can close roads including the airport road. Keep a buffer day before an international flight.
La Paz travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Fake police scam: never hand over your passport or get in an unmarked vehicle. Insist on a uniformed officer or your hotel.
- San Pedro prison tours do not exist. Anyone offering one is setting up a scam.
- The cheapest Death Road tour is the dangerous one. Buy Gravity or Barracuda class or do not ride.
- Sagarnaga markups: browse the tourist strip, buy souvenirs and tours in side streets instead.
Getting around La Paz: public transport and more
- Use Mi Teleférico first, taxis second and minibuses last. The cable cars are clean, safe and cheap.
- Use radio taxis or hotel dispatched cars with the price agreed before you move, and never hail unmarked cars.
- Build the city downhill: cable car up, walk down, with water, sun protection and layers.
- Pre-book the airport transfer through your hotel. El Alto airport sits at 4061m and the descent takes 30 to 60 minutes.
Who La Paz suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make La Paz your trip
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