La Paz

A guide to a wild city

By Thomas Feng

October 25^th, 2017

A city awakens

After 35 hours of travel from Melbourne, I arrived at 3.30am in the pitch dark of El Alto La Paz Airport, 4,061 metres above sea level. Waiting until sunrise, I waved a taxi to drive me to my hostel: Green House La Paz, a laidback and social place to rest my head.

As we drove along, what became increasingly apparent was my horrifically incompetent Spanish, and the city of La Paz was unlike anything I'd ever seen.

The road circled down the mountain, with a sea of lights greeting you, guiding you, enchanting you. Behind them were the old, white snow-capped giants of the Andes.

I had never seen snow before. This was blowing my mind.

After a nap and some coca tea, I met some Danish (Dorthi) and Australian (Meags and Renee) travellers to venture out to see the city.

The hostel host Sergio recommended the cable car system, a network of lines which can take you through the entire city for 3 bolivianos each ride ($0.45 AUD). There are the green, yellow, blue, orange, red and soon-to-be grey lines. I think the goal is to make a rainbow.

As I rode the cable cars, it struck me how sparse yet dense the city was and how clever this system was for La Paz. Rather than drive round and round down bends, you could cut through the city over the air.

The colours of the city were enchanting and I couldn't help but be a little voyeuristic, looking into people's daily lives which were so different to mine.

home away from home

After catching a couple of cable car lines, Dorthi and I caught a public minivan, an eclectic experience to say the least. There are no formal stops, outside of two or three big landmarks on a designated route. You can hail a mini-bus or stop the mini-bus at any point along the way. For 2.50 bolivianos, it is a cost-effective way to get around to particular areas, but beware the wild traffic.

I was hungry from the morning spent riding, and we found a tiny cafe with an outdoor courtyard in a laneway near Plaza San Francisco. It truly felt like a Melbourne cafe: dim lights, relaxed tunes, hipster baristas and overpriced food.

It was a warm, homely way to wind down.

vegan food

The other food recommendation I have in La Paz is Armonia. Located above an alternative bookstore with the same name (Librero Armonia), this is a vegan Bolivian buffet for 34 bolivianos ($6 AUD).

In a country where Coca Cola is cheaper than water, and streets are lined with chicken stores, finding this restaurant was a welcome change.

I was able to stuff myself with traditional Bolivian vegan food: fried bananas, quinoa stew, roasted potatos, chickpea salads, wholegrain breads, salty vegetable soup.

This was my favourite restaurant and meal in La Paz.

Calle Jaen

A final spot in the city I loved was Calle Jaen (Jaen Street), a colourful, narrow, colonial, cobblestone laneway which is home to four small museums and a couple of art stores.

I arrived during siesta time unfortunately, but it was a lovely location for people-watching.

final thoughts

Despite pollution, traffic and the lack of rules, La Paz is an incredible city worth spending a couple of days in. If La Paz is your first stop, three days is a good amount of time to allow you to relax and acclimatise to altitude while also seeing what you want.

It has a reputation for being unsafe at times, but common sense during the day and being out in a group at night will counter this. The people are incredibly friendly and are always looking to make a joke with you during a conversation.

Dog-lovers will rejoice as Bolivia is a dog-obsessed city.

Finally, I loved learning about the culture, customs and traditions deep-rooted in the city and beyond in Bolivia which were alive and thriving in La Paz.