El Alto Heights

Overview

Huayna Potosi Photo - Bolivia, South America

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HighlightsLa Feria del AltoOn Thursdays and Sundays, the longest market in the world (according to Guinness) is assembled between La Ceja and Plaza Ballivian. Anything from used plastic bottles, through rusty iron parts belonging to unidentified machines, twenty years old newspapers and brand new, though black market, cars can be bought here (see separate entry).El Alto International AirportThe city of El Alto is split in two parts by the El Alto International Airport (see separate review); it can easily be reached by foot from La Ceja. La Ceja is where these two parts meet and thus it is the city's nexus. El Alto Bus Terminal...Read More

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El Alto International Airport

Attraction

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Despite its humble size, the El Alto International Airport is the Andean Plateau main airport and serves mainly the people arriving to or departing from La Paz. It is located above La Paz, on the plateau itself. Neighborhoods popped out around it and in 1985 became a new city, called El Alto; even today downtown El Alto is split in two by the runway. Another peculiarity of this airport is its altitude: the runway is at 4019 meters above the sea level (above 12000 feet).Reaching the AirportReaching the airport is easy. From downtown La Paz there are minivans marked ...Read More

Despite its humble size, the El Alto International Airport is the Andean Plateau main airport and serves mainly the people arriving to or departing from La Paz. It is located above La Paz, on the plateau itself. Neighborhoods popped out around it and in 1985 became a new city, called El Alto; even today downtown El Alto is split in two by the runway. Another peculiarity of this airport is its altitude: the runway is at 4019 meters above the sea level (above 12000 feet).

Reaching the Airport

Reaching the airport is easy. From downtown La Paz there are minivans marked "Aeropuerto" which cover the short distance through Bolivia's only highway (it is ten miles long) and cost less than half a dollar. From La Ceja - the commercial area connecting La Paz with El Alto it is a five minutes walk to the airport's main gate.

The Tax

The airport is almost inactive due to the taxes issue; most Bolivians prefer to cross overland to Peru and take a flight from there. There are two taxes to be paid by departing passengers and they are not included in the tickets, so that paying in cash is the only open option. The airport tax is a sweeping twenty-four American dollars - double of the usual at the biggest airports in the world. If that wasn't enough, there is a second tax called "Impuesto de Salida Aerea" or "Air-exit Tax" which amounts to 176BOB or almost twenty-three American dollars. The result is that a passenger pays almost fifty dollars before he gets his first coffee. Most people decide to skip the opportunity.

The Passengers Terminal

The tiny terminal offers few opportunities of entertainment; thus, it is recommended to arrive as late as possible to the flight. In the basement are located the free public toilets, an oddity in Bolivia. There is a small coffee shop called "Dolce Café Espresso" that offers rudimentary coffee and basic snacks. The other option for a coffee is the stall of the popular Alexander Coffee (see picture); its coffee is good but it must be take away to one of the few coaches available for the passengers use. Burger King has one of its few branches in Bolivia here, at the second floor; their biggest meal costs four dollars. In front of it is the Restaurante Mirador, in direct sight of the runway; however, in the many times I crossed this airport, it was never open. The lucky customers of Athina Tours (a leading travel agency in La Paz, which I do recommend) can enjoy the only VIP room in the terminal, which is placed in front of the Burger King.

The View

El Alto offers spectacular views. Seconds after the take off, the grounds drops sharply when the Andean Plateau breaks down and the city of La Paz appears on the almost vertical slopes leading to the Amazonian Basin. Keep the camera prepared.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 15, 2007

El Alto International Airport

La Paz

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Between Two Cities: La Ceja

Story/Tip

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La CejaA few years before I arrived at Bolivia for the first time, a wild hailstone created a mudslide that caused to a small section of the Andean Plateau to slide down upon the city of La Paz. Many people and a neighborhood just disappeared in a couple of hours. The result was an area reminiscent in its shape of an inverted eyebrow (ceja, in Spanish), sitting on the busy interface between the cities of La Paz (on the slopes toward the Amazonian Basin) and El Alto (on the Andean High Plateau).The few streets comprising this area are one of the main commercial centers in the country and it may be the biggest travel hub in the country. South of the unused railway, the are...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on June 19, 2007

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Climbing the Huayna Potosi

Story/Tip

Llama, Condor and Coca Cola Photo - Bolivia, South America

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The MountainHuayna Potosi separates the Andean Plateau from the Zongo Valley and is almost ubiquitously visible from El Alto. Roughly an hour away from the city, it reaches 6088 meters above the sea level and is covered by snow during the whole year. The summit has a solid cornice and one of the best views in the Cordillera Real. The AltitudeBefore attempting to climb the mountain, acclimatization at 4000 meters should be achieved (that's the altitude of El Alto City). If arriving directly from sea level, that means staying more than a week at the city, walking around, drinking lots of water and exercising lightly. The sun radiation at such altitudes is ...Read More

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Urban Heights

Story/Tip

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One of the most exciting aspects of visiting the Andean High Plateau is the opportunity to see urban life above 4000 meters (13123 feet). In Nepal, settlements at such an altitude are tiny; plants barely exist there and provide little nourishment to the scarce yaks. Just north of Nepal, Lhasa is the only example of Urban Tibet, but it is substantially lower and smaller than its Bolivian counterparts. Bolivia's Andean High Plateau has two substantial cities above the 4000m line: ...Read More

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El Alto Journals

El Alto Heights

El Alto Heights

El Alto International Airport

Between Two Cities: La Ceja

Climbing the Huayna Potosi

Urban Heights

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