South America is a big continent and has a lot of tourists come from all over the world, but i’ve been told Bolivia is the place where people from South America go for vacation. La Paz is a great place to start.
La Paz is a city unlike any other i’ve been to. I fell in love with La Paz. It sits at 3,650 m (11,975 ft.) making it the capital city with the highest elevation in the world. You feel the elevation the moment you step off the plane. It took me a couple days to get over the elevation sickness, although it wasn’t that extreme, probably because I was coming from Cusco and Machu Picchu and was already somewhat acclimated. The city is situated in a giant bowl-like depression with the adjacent city of El Alto at the top, surrounded by the Altiplano highlands. La Paz combined with El Alto make up the most populous area in Bolivia. Founded in 1548 the city is full of history and bustling with life.
The first thing you should do is ride Mi Teleferico, the cable car from La Paz to El Alto. I highly recommend this activity. It is extremely inexpensive, about 3.5 Boliviano (0.5 USD) each way, and gives you the best view of La Paz that you will be able to find.
The next place you should go is La Paz Cemetery. I always find it interesting to visit cemeteries when traveling, as they are often very peaceful and if you’re interested in a countries culture, seeing how they bury and honor their dead is a great place to start. La Paz Cemetery is gorgeous and definitely worth checking out.
The next place you should go is Plaza Murillo. This is the center of La Paz’s old town, and center for political life. It was built in 1558 and has some beautiful old buildings designed in the colonial style. This was the place in La Paz where people have congregated to fight battles, celebrate victories, and celebrate faith for hundreds of years. Some of the buildings definitely worth seeing are the Cathedral and the Government Palace.
The plaza is full of vendors selling various souvenir’s if that is something you are looking for. They also have a variety of coca items to take care of your altitude sickness.
The next place you should go is El Mercado de las Brujas, also known as the Witches’ Market. This is a great market to find everything from dried llama fetuses, dried frogs for rituals, owl feathers, herbs, potions for folk remedies, musical instruments to clothing and just about anything else you can imagine. There will be witch doctors walking around that offer fortune telling services. This place was interesting and a lot of fun.
Make sure to try the Saltenas while in Bolivia as well. They are basically an empanada. Every country has a slightly different take on the way they do empanadas but the Saltenas in Bolivia were my favorite.
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