Top 8 Things to do in La Paz

La Paz is a visitors dream and a feast for the eyes. Here are my top picks of things to do, but nothing beats a day in the streets simply watching and listening.

1. Take the Red Cap walking tour. This will give you an introduction to significant central sites and landmarks, including Las Brujas, or the Witches Market – which you MUST visit if you don’t take the tour.

Calle Linares - the main street of Mercado de las Brujas

Have you even been to South America if you don't have one of these jumpers?

2. Take yourself on a teleférico tour. I would suggest going up the yellow, across the silver and if it is a Thursday or a Sunday do a return trip on the blue line so you can see the sprawling El Alto market from above. Then go down the red line (or brave the steps!) and admire La Paz’s most colourful neighbourhood - barrio de Alto Chullahuma (Alto Tejar).

Taken from the blue teleferico above El Alto market

Barrio de Alto Chullahuma (Alto Tejar) has only recently been painted to become the most colourful neighbourhood in La Paz

3. Go to a viewpoint or three – day or night. La Paz and El Alto are extremely photogenic and going to the miradors will leave you marvelling - at the beauty but also at the pure practicalities of how these cities were built on on such unwelcoming terrain. Great viewpoints: Tupac Katari, Mirador Autopista (my favourite and easy to access at the top of the red teleférico) and Mirador Killi Killi.

The view from Mirador Autopista featuring the beautiful Mount Illimani

4. Get some local food in you! Anyone that says Bolivian food is rubbish clearly hasn’t got lost down a salteña rabbit hole. The food here gets its own blog post because there is so much to try! But if you want to eat like the locals you need to eat their beautiful crunchy on the outside, doughy in the inside marraqueta bread for breakfast, salteñas or tucumanas with the famous Bolivian spicy sauce, llajua, for morning tea, the typical plate from La Paz, plato paceño, for lunch (main meal) with a glass of mocochinchi (dried peach deliciousness) and for dinner sopa de mani (peanut soup) or papas a la huancaina.

Salteñas for the win

5. Check out some traditional Bolivian folk music at a peña. Friday and Saturday nights are the best. Peña Marka Tambo and Peña Pan de Oro are great and have dance performances (entry fees apply).

6. See the Wrestling Cholitas – a night of entertainment you won’t forget in a hurry! The shows are on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 5pm. See a previous post of mine for all the details.

7. El Alto Market, mentioned above. It’s uncomprehendingly enormous and it may be the only place you can find car parts being sold next to mandarins, next to canine accessories, next to herbal medicine next to fried chicken.

This is only a tiny fraction of El Alto market.

8. Cocinar Popular’s modern Bolivian set lunch menu is incredible if you want a nice meal out. It is fine dining but without the price tag. There are two sittings and the restaurant opens at 12.30pm but be there from 11.30am to guarantee yourself a table. The menu changes weekly and is 65bs per person.

You won’t be disappointed with a trip to Cocinar Popular

Enjoy!