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Heading to La Paz and enthusiastic about what to do in La Paz in 3 days? Don’t fear, on this article, I’ll share our itinerary for 3 days in La Paz plus some wonderful day journey concepts from La Paz, so hopefully, you can see some concepts and inspiration to your upcoming journey to Bolivia!
Earlier than we begin with the perfect issues to do in La Paz, I wished to share some necessary and helpful data to your journey to Bolivia:
Helpful hyperlinks (so you’ll find them multi function place):
The place to remain: hostel – Selina (e-book right here) or tremendous good resort – MET (e-book right here)
Teleferico tour round La Paz – e-book right here
Road meals tour of La Paz – e-book right here
Bike tour to the well-known demise street – e-book right here
Issues to know earlier than going to La Paz, Bolivia
Passport management actually takes some time
Bolivia doesn’t have nice worldwide flight connections – after we went there simply after the covid restrictions had been lifted, there have been solely two worldwide flights per day going to and from Bolivia. One was to Lima, one other one to Bogotá. On prime of that, there have been days when there have been no flights in any respect.
It’s additionally may very well be a bit troublesome to enter Bolivia: those that require a visa on arrival should spend a few hours within the queue! Even when your entry was easy (e.g. no visa required), you possibly can nonetheless spend good 10-Quarter-hour on the passport management counter. Relying on how many individuals are within the queue in entrance of you, that is also hours. If you wish to save time, e-book a seat in entrance of the aircraft so that you’re one of many first ones to go away the aircraft!
Have your bookings and paperwork prepared
Since there isn’t any working wi-fi on arrival and most international locations don’t have good roaming agreements with Bolivia (in Peru, we had limitless knowledge and requires £6 a day with Vodafone), it’s very troublesome to retrieve your paperwork, similar to insurance coverage, resort bookings and return tickets (additionally vaccination certificates and PCR exams – however that may change quickly).
Be certain to avoid wasting them in your cellphone (take screenshots or simply save them within the information), as all these paperwork might be checked!
Money is the king in Bolivia
You possibly can extract cash from the ATM within the airport in La Paz, and I undoubtedly suggest doing so. Whereas there are locations like fancy eating places and motels that settle for playing cards, money is the king in Bolivia. You will want it for purchasing issues in small retailers, paying for taxis and consuming out.
Altitude illness in La Paz – how dangerous is it?
Even supposing we got here straight from Cusco in Peru (are you additionally going to Peru? Try our 5-day itinerary for Peru right here), we had been nonetheless hit arduous by the altitude illness in Bolivia. Not as arduous as through the first days in Cusco, however nonetheless, we had a little bit of a headache and had been strolling very slowly, because it was arduous to stroll round.
Nevertheless, after a number of days in Bolivia, we felt significantly better and didn’t really feel the altitude, even in El Alto. We had been capable of go to the fitness center at our resort in La Paz and even go for a swim.
The place to remain in La Paz
We booked Selina La Paz for two nights (regardless of solely needing it for about 16 hours), but it surely was solely £18 per evening for a personal room, so we didn’t hesitate a lot.
In the event you like fancy hostels, I undoubtedly suggest Selina! Nevertheless, understand that it could be slightly noisy there on Fridays and Saturdays, as there’s a busy nightclub. If that you must get up early, maybe, it’s not the most suitable choice. Another reasonably priced motels in La Paz are these:
In the event you like consolation, take into account staying within the South of La Paz, in a leafier neighbourhood, e.g. Achumani. The very best motels in La Paz are situated there, e.g. MET resort, the place we stayed for two extra nights.
Day 1 in La Paz: Sopocachi and Achumani. Attempting out the well-known Gustu restaurant
Arriving at El Alto Airport
We landed in La Paz round 3:30am. Since there aren’t too many worldwide flights arriving in La Paz (as of now, you’ll be able to solely fly there from Lima or Bogota, we flew from the latter), it’s very probably that you’ll land in La Paz very early, simply le we did.
On the one hand, it’s superb, as a result of you could have your entire day to spend in La Paz. However, when you haven’t had an opportunity to sleep within the airplane (s), you’ll arrive exhausted. Since passport management takes fairly a little bit of time (I’ve written about it in a separate paragraph proper firstly of this publish), you’ll solely get to town centre of La Paz at 5:30am and even 6:00am.
Since we had to purchase a SIM card and surprisingly, the method took a bit lengthy, we arrived simply after 6am.
Exploring Sopocachi
After arriving at our ho(s)tel, Selina, we went straight to sleep and slept till 11am (for about 5 hours), which gave us sufficient power to outlive the day!
Selina is situated in Sopocachi, the most effective areas to remain in La Paz for younger individuals. All of the nicest bars and occasional locations are situated in Sopocachi. There are additionally a number of avenue meals markets and eating places and it’s very to town centre – you’ll be able to stroll there in 30-40 minutes. Nicely, technically, it nonetheless IS town centre.
The one draw back is that Sopocachi is fairly congested – it’s extremely arduous to get on the market through the rush hour.
We went for a stroll round Sopocachi, took some footage and noticed a lot of the roads just about caught with site visitors round 12pm on a weekday and that acquired us a bit apprehensive since we needed to get a taxi to go to a restaurant later to get there at 1:30pm. We ended up being 20 minutes late for our reserving as a result of we waited for a taxi for ages after which there was an excessive amount of site visitors on the street! When planning journeys to a different a part of La Paz, it’s price preserving that in thoughts!
Visiting the well-known Gustu restaurant
Gustu is situated within the South of La Paz, which is a extra prosperous space of town. It’s a restaurant that was opened by a co-founder of the well-known Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark. Noma is without doubt one of the finest eating places on this planet – it constantly takes the primary spot within the rating of the world’s prime 50. Therefore, we had fairly excessive expectations for Gustu – and it didn’t disappoint!
We ordered a 3-course menu, which ended up costing round £22 ($27) per individual, and it was price each penny! You possibly can select a starter, most important and a dessert and all of the dishes had been very distinctive. We relied on the assistance of the waiters to clarify us the menu as we couldn’t recognise a lot of the components. Among the many dishes, there have been native river fishes from the Bolivian a part of the Amazon rainforest, numerous distinctive herbs, greens and fruits and even alligator carpaccio!
The drinks had been additionally wonderful. Total, it was an excellent expertise and I might undoubtedly suggest you to go to Gustu. Be certain to e-book it upfront, because it tends to get absolutely booked fairly typically! You possibly can e-book a desk utilizing this hyperlink:
Strolling across the metropolis centre of La Paz
After consuming in Gustu, we took a taxi again to town centre, which took round Half-hour.
Within the metropolis centre, we visited Plaza Murillo – a beautiful sq. with plenty of avenue distributors. Then we went to Calle Jaen – one of many only a few protected streets in La Paz, the place it’s not allowed to demolish buildings and make just about any visible adjustments to the streets. Calle Jaen is unquestionably the prettiest avenue in La Paz, so head there for some lovely photographs. There are additionally plenty of good streets and locations not too distant from Calle Jaen.
On Calle Jaen, we discovered a beautiful little tour company, the place we booked some excursions for the upcoming days in La Paz (a meals tour and a teleferico tour of town).
Mirador Kili Kili
We didn’t spend an excessive amount of time within the metropolis centre this time as we had been fairly drained and hit arduous by the altitude regardless of arriving from Cusco the identical day.
Earlier than heading again to the resort, we determined to go to the perfect place to see La Paz from above – mirador Kili Kili! It’s not too removed from Calle Jaen – you solely must stroll for about 20-25 minutes, nevertheless, the final 5 minutes require fairly a steep stroll up. It took us a bit longer to rise up than Google Maps predicted, as we needed to cease to catch our breath each couple of minutes, however ultimately, we made all of it the way in which up!
The view from Kili Kili is basically beautiful – you’ll be able to see the 360 panorama of La Paz, and it’s particularly fairly through the “Golden” hour when the sunshine is the prettiest or through the sundown. There aren’t too many issues to do up there moreover simply strolling round and taking photographs, nevertheless, there’s a grocery store proper subsequent to the doorway to Kili Kili, the place you should purchase some snacks and drinks.
The place to have dinner in La Paz
In the event you aren’t too drained, I like to recommend strolling again to town centre and going for dinner on the restaurant known as Manq’a. This restaurant was once a part of the highest 50 eating places in Latin America, and it specialises in Bolivian delicacies. The costs aren’t too excessive and the meals there may be good! Additionally they have an in depth checklist of snacks and drinks which are undoubtedly price making an attempt!
Day 2: Exploring La Paz or taking a day journey
On the second day in La Paz, you’ll be able to both keep in La Paz and proceed exploring town or take one of many day journeys and both go to Copacabana (lake Titicaca) or to one of many mountains, or, alternatively, possibly you are feeling match to go to the well-known demise street biking journey?
Listed below are a number of the finest excursions you’ll be able to take from La Paz
Non-public tour to lake Titikaka (requires minimal two individuals) – it is possible for you to to see probably the most lovely and largest lakes on this planet.
The well-known bike tour to the demise street (it’s a descent from over 5k over the ocean stage), but it surely’s nonetheless a really difficult tour, because it requires superb bodily situation.
Stunning Palca Canyon Tour with an elective cease at Valle de las Animas
Chacaltaya & Valle de Luna Tour (make sure that to deliver heat garments, as Chacaltaya was once a ski resort)
Condoriri and the lagoons full trekking tour for trekking lovers
The well-known Huayna Potosi mountain trek – all the way in which as much as 5000m above the ocean stage with beautiful views (difficult)
In the event you resolve to spend a day in La Paz as a substitute…
In our case, the excursions for lake Titicaca weren’t accessible on that day resulting from a scarcity of guides and vacationers as nicely and I had some odd points with my knee, so I couldn’t go on any excursions that concerned plenty of strolling (not even mentioning trekking), so we determined to remain in La Paz as a substitute.
We spent the morning and early afternoon strolling across the space, the place our resort was situated – the upscale space of Achumani. This space is far larger than the centre of La Paz and likewise, it’s a lot simpler to breathe there, because it’s additionally decrease than the remainder of La Paz. There are many retailers and cafes and you’ll simply simply stroll round, discover the retailers and sit down for a espresso for a few hours in Achumani.
We additionally went to the restaurant known as Ancestral for lunch. We didn’t have a reservation, however they’d some free tables, so we may simply stroll in. Ancestral is a steakhouse, and it was fabulous. I can undoubtedly suggest it! If it’s a weekend, I undoubtedly suggest calling beforehand and securing a desk for lunch.
Heading to town centre & Mercado de las Brujas
After lunch, we determined to take the teleferico to town centre to go to the well-known Witches Market or Mercado de las Brujas. Sadly, resulting from covid, plenty of stalls have closed for good, so we initially even struggled to search out the market. We needed to ask round the place Mercado de Las Brujas was as a result of we simply couldn’t discover it within the place the place it was marked on Google Maps. Because it turned out, it was simply all the way in which down the road. Mainly, as of Might 2022, it consists of three stalls that promote every part you want for numerous rituals. They even promote new child llamas and llama foetuses that dangle exterior the stalls (they appear surreal and even a bit terrifying).
Inside, they promote numerous teas, soaps and candies which are produced for various causes, e.g. to assist discover a job or love or get wealthy, amongst different issues.
Meals tour of La Paz
Lastly, within the night, we had our meals tour of La Paz. It turned out to be a personal tour only for the 2 of us but it surely was even higher that manner! Our information introduced us to the principle meals market of La Paz, Mercado Lanza. Once you enter the market, that you must climb two flights of stairs to the second and third flooring, the place a lot of the meals stalls are based mostly. There are such a lot of meals stalls and most of them promote numerous Bolivian dishes. We had an opportunity to strive a few them they usually had been fairly distinctive!
After that, we headed to a restaurant, the place we had a tasting of 5 extra widespread dishes in Bolivia, similar to Fricasé, Sopa de Mani, Chairo and others!
This tour undoubtedly helped us to know Bolivian delicacies even higher and take a look at some widespread dishes locals eat day-after-day. We additionally found Mercado Lanza and the insane number of meals choices there, which was very spectacular! In the event you’re involved in taking a meals tour of La Paz, you’ll be able to examine the costs and availability right here.
Day 3 in La Paz: Teleferico tour of La Paz, another go to to Mercado Lanza, Ice Cream from the Netflix Present and the flight to the following vacation spot
Teleferico tour of La Paz
On the final day of our three days in La Paz, we lastly determined to take a sightseeing tour. We booked a Teleferico tour of town (you’ll be able to discover the supply right here)
I can undoubtedly suggest this tour as a result of our information Maria was very educated and good, her English was nice and likewise, this tour may be very reasonably priced – we paid simply $10 per individual! That additionally contains all of the tickets for Teleferico, so that you gained’t must spend the rest. Maria instructed us extra concerning the Cholitas (girls in conventional Bolivian clothes) and Cholets (a word-play for Cholitas + Chalets), which rich Aymara (indigenous individuals) of El Alto and La Paz construct for themselves. There’s additionally a really attention-grabbing tour of the perfect Cholets in El Alto, together with visiting a celebration – you’ll find out extra right here > – you’ll be able to take it a day earlier than on even in your first day in La Paz. In case your flight is late, you’ll be able to most likely take it in your final day in La Paz as nicely, so long as you don’t keep on the get together for too lengthy!
La Paz has a really attention-grabbing historical past and so does El Alto – there are such a lot of attention-grabbing details about each of those cities!
Attempting Sopa de Cardan and Helado de Canela
After the tour, we determined to go to Mercado Lanza one final time and attempt to discover the well-known bull testicle soup of Bolivia – Sopa de Cardan. This soup may be very widespread in El Alto within the mornings, however we managed to search out it in Mercado Lanza within the afternoon as nicely. We shared one giant bowl between us and likewise had a neighborhood drink with a non-alcoholic beer Bicervecina (it tasted like butter beer within the Warner Bros Harry Potter expertise).
From different vacationers in our morning tour, we additionally came upon about a avenue meals documentary on Netflix, which featured a number of the most attention-grabbing avenue meals spots in La Paz. We had already visited a few of these locations and the opposite ones had been all off-bounds apart from the ice cream locations close to the cemetery in La Paz. This ice cream place serves a really distinctive cinnamon ice cream (it’s not truly ice cream, extra like a sorbet) – and it’s purple!
The afternoon in La Paz
We spent the afternoon strolling across the metropolis centre, and tried the final of the dishes really useful to us by the locals – the standard pasties – Salteñas. There are many spots serving salteñas within the coronary heart of La Paz, nevertheless, we discovered a restaurant known as Paceña la Salteña, which specialises in them. I picked a vegetarian one and Jose acquired a meaty one – each of them had been very liquid inside and tasted like soup, which was fairly distinctive. When consuming a salteña, it’s very straightforward to make a large number, so make sure that to watch out when consuming it!
We additionally went to a shopping center known as Las Torres and spent a while in Juan Valdez cafe there. It was additionally very attention-grabbing to see how a Bolivian shopping center seems to be like.
After that, we went again to our resort MET to start out packing and attempt to get some sleep earlier than our flight at 3am. As I discussed earlier than, the 2 worldwide flights that depart from La Paz, each depart at evening, one at 3:30am, and one other one a bit later, so it’s arduous to resolve whether or not to go to mattress early and attempt to sleep 3-5 hours earlier than the flight or stay awake in any respect and sleep at your ultimate vacation spot as a substitute. Taking a taxi to El Alto airport at evening additionally signifies that there gained’t be any site visitors, so it is possible for you to to get there in simply 20-Half-hour, relying in your location! In our case, it took round 28 minutes to get there from the Southern a part of La Paz
Abstract of La Paz in 3 days: the perfect issues to do
Alright, to summarise, listed here are a number of the finest issues to do in La Paz in 3 days:
- Undoubtedly take a Teleferico tour of town as a result of it’s wonderful and you’ll be taught a lot about La Paz and perceive the tradition lots higher.
- Go to Mercado Lanza and take a look at native avenue meals – you’ll be able to both do it your self or as a part of a meals tour of La Paz, which I additionally actually suggest
- Go to Mercado de Las Brujas – although it’s fairly small now, it’s nonetheless very distinctive
- Take some photographs on the Calle Jaen – the one protected avenue within the metropolis
- Go as much as the Mirador Kili Kili to see the perfect views of La Paz and El Alto
- Strive a set menu in Gustu and benefit from the uniqueness of the flavours
- Have a celebration in a Cholet
- Stroll round and go to some hipster espresso retailers in Sopocachi
- Head all the way down to the South and discover the leafiest and poshest elements of La Paz (you will get there by teleferico as nicely)
I hope you discovered this publish helpful and in case you could have any questions, ship me a DM at @lizatripsget on Instagram!
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