Travel to La Paz

missing the grand architecture of earlier centuries

Set high in the Andes Mountains of western Bolivia, La Paz is the high altitude capital of the country.

The town was established by the Spanish conquistadors in 1548, on the site of an Inca settlement called Laja, which lay on the main ancient trading route through the high Andes.

Although the town grew and prospered under Spanish rule, it was always a focus of discontent amongst local people, who laid siege to the city repeatedly in the late 1700s. These insurrections are regarded as the spark that ignited the independence movements across South America, with Bolivia being declared an independent state in 1825.

The modern city of La Paz is set in a bowl of mountains at an elevation of 3640 metres (12000’), which makes it the highest capital in the world. The climate here is therefore pretty chilly year round, with nights regularly dropping below freezing throughout the Apr-Sep dry season.

La Paz has a population of around 1,600,000 people (including the adjacent sprawling suburbs of El Alto), which puts it just ahead of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (1,440,000) and much larger than the previous capital of Sucre (240,000). It remains the most important centre, both politically and economically.

Although most travellers tend to pass through La Paz quite quickly, it’s a reasonably interesting place to spend a little more time exploring, with a modest historic centre, an extensive cable car network and some interesting mountain scenery in the vicinity.

The best time to visit La Paz is generally considered to be during the Apr-Sep dry season.

La Paz has a subtropical highland climate, which is generally dry and temperate, with two clearly defined seasons.

During the Apr-Sep period the conditions are usually cool and clear, with lots of sunshine. Peak daytime temperatures are usually around 14C/57F, with nighttime lows plunging to -4C/25F, with regular frosts. Average sunshine is up around 7-8 hours per day, peaking in June (at around 75% of daylight hours). Rainfall during this period is very low.

During the Oct-Mar period the conditions are also largely cool and with a good deal more cloud cover. Peak daytime temperatures usually reach around 16C/61F, with nighttime lows holding up around 4C/39F. Average sunshine drops to around 5-6 hours per day in February (at around 40% of daylight hours). Rainfall increases to around 100mm (4”) per month, peaking in Dec-Feb.

La Paz lies at an elevation of 3640 metres (12000’).

Getting there

La Paz is served by El Alto Airport (LPB), which is located just 5km to the west of the old town.

Unfortunately the network of international flight connections out of La Paz is not very strong and you may find yourself having to fly via some pretty surprising cities on the way here. This is one of the main reasons that Bolivia remains such a little-visited country.

When travelling around the country from La Paz, there are domestic flight connections to places like Salar de Uyuni, Salta and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

We more generally like to travel around the country by means of private guided overland safaris, but those flight legs can come in useful when looking to keep a lid on the total number of road miles.

The one major exception is when heading down into the Amazon Basin, in which case we almost always fly from La Paz down to Rurrenabaque, from where we continue by boat into the forests.

Where to stay

Where cities like Santiago and Lima offer a wonderful range of attractive places to stay, from high-end business hotels to chic boutique properties, here in La Paz the choice is severely limited.

The situation is so bad in fact, that we generally cut our losses and head for a good and reliable business hotel, located a pleasing distance from the hectic city centre.

used as a transit stop in order to make flight connections