La Paz Sightseeing

Few cities in the world have a setting as spectacular as La Paz. The city cowers in a narrow canyon gouged from the high Altiplano. The cluster of church spires and modern office blocks at its centre are dwafted by the magnificent icebound peak of Mount Illimani which rises imperiously to the southeast. The dramatic mountain scenery that surrounds La Paz can be easily reached on excursions down the valley to the south.

Even if the high altitude doesn’t take your breath away, your first sight of the city probably will. That’s if you arrive on one of the fortunate days when there is little pollution. From El Alto, the ramshackle city at the rim of the canyon you can get fabulous views of La Paz nestling in the valley below and Illimani rising behind in the distance.

Unlike most cities, in La Paz the richest neighbourhoods occupy the lowest altitudes while the homes and markets of the poor are located high up on the steep slopes of the canyon. Many of the city’s wealthy now live in the upmarket suburbs to the south where the weather is warmer and it’s easier to breathe.

La Paz is a city which can be a sight in itself. It is noisy, busy, a bit grubby in places and very chaotic but it seems to work and there is always something to see that is different, from ladies in bowler hats to dried llama foetuses and much in between. There are several viewing places or miradores offering impressive panoramas. The most spectacular can be the Jach´a Apacheta Mirador, on the edge of the precipice of the city of El Alto but when we went there the pollution over the city was so bad you could hardly see anything. We decided that we should try other points within the city itself.

One of the most popular places is the K´Illi K´Illi Mirador. It's located a few blocks east of Plaza Murillo on Av. las Banderas. Another option is Parque Laikacota, at the top of Av. Ejercito west of the city center. This offers the best panorama from within the bowl, with clear views of the city and the rugged terrain to the east, all the way to Mt. Illimani. Admission is Bs 3.5.

An alternative is Mirador Monticulo, which is next to Plaza España in the colonial neighbourhood of Sopocachi. This small park (free entry) has a church and lots of trees which block much of the city, but the clear view of Illimani makes it an evening hotspot for couples. From there, an abrupt descent leads to the "South Zone", passing through Llojeta and the "Garden Cemetery".
But for one of the best views in the heart of downtown, Av. Camacho points straight to Illimani, and from the intersection with the Prado it's framed by skyscrapers in an interesting juxtaposition.

The Iglesia de San Francisco is notable for its intricately carved façade, one the finest examples of baroque-mestizo architecture in the Americas. Construction on the original San Francisco Church began on this site in 1548, one year before the founding of La Paz. The church collapsed under the weight of snow in 1610 and was reconstructed in 1784. Blending native and Catholic art, San Francisco's Baroque façade is richly decorated with indigenous symbols such as masked figures, snakes, dragons and tropical birds - a combination of Spanish and Indian motifs created by local artisans who borrowed heavily from the style then popular in Spain. Above the main door is a statue of St Francis with his arms held aloft.

A similar blending of traditions can be seen on the Plaza de San Francisco in front of the church: a modern sculpture of rock pillars and stone faces honors Bolivia's three great cultures: the ancient people of Tiwanaku; the Incas; and modern Bolivians. Crafts stalls line the church wall; most days you'll find colorful weavings and handmade musical instruments.

The interior of the church is Neoclassical in style, featuring small cedar altars decorated with gold leaf designs. These are the principal objects of veneration here. The image of San Judas Tadeo, the patron saint of the poor and miserable is particularly popular. The tower can be climbed for fine views of the church rooftops and the city of La Paz.

The Museum San Francisco is worth seeing. This restored religious complex has housed some of Bolivia's most important historical moments, including the birth of the Independence Revolution of 1809. Displays are in Spanish and English and there are personal guides for rent. The elegant brick cloisters exhibit religious art, furniture and implements of the resident Franciscans as well as their original living quarters. It opens daily from 9am to 6pm for a fee of around US$2.50.

People congregate in the plaza in front of this imposing church. On Saturday mornings it is often possible to see colourful Indian wedding processions leading to and from the church. The Plaza San Francisco is also an interesting place to pass the time and watch Bolivian life go by. The plaza fronting the church is filled with people all day long: Shoeshine boys, apocalyptic preachers, street vendors, camera-toting tourists and Bolivian businesspeople congregate there, making it a prime spot to people-watch.

The Sagarnaga market extends for several blocks around the church. Sagarnaga Street, just south of Plaza San Francisco, is La Paz' main tourist strip. It's mainly a market street with artesano and souvenir stores, but you'll also find budget hostels, tour and travel agencies, cafes, and lots and lots of backpackers. Two blocks directly behind the church is the Mercado de Hechiceria (the Witches' Market), where traditional Quechua and Aymara medicines and potions are sold.

The Witches' Market (Mercado de Hechiceria or Mercado de las Brujas) is one of the more unique sights in La Paz. Located on cobbled Calle Jiminez and Linares between Sagarnaga and Santa Cruz, vendors of the Witches' Market sell llama foetuses and dried frogs for Aymara rituals, as well as soapstone figurines and aphrodisiac formulas. It is a rare window on the usually secretive world of Aymara mysticism.

Located amidst the lively and much larger tourist market, the Witches' Market sells herbs, folk remedies and a variety of fascinating ingredients used to manipulate the many spirits that populate the Aymara world. Common products include dried herbs, seeds and various parts of frogs and insects used in rituals. They are all strange and foreign to most visitors.

But the most prominent product available in the Witches' Market is dried llama foetuses, which are fairly large and moderately disturbing to many foreign visitors including my wife. These are always buried in the foundations of new constructions or businesses as an offering to the goddess Pachamama. The llama sacrifice encourages the goddess to protect the workers from accidents and bring good luck to the business. The foetuses are only used by the poor; wealthier Bolivians are expected to sacrifice a live llama to Pachamama.

There is no clear border between the medicinal and magical here. This is emphasised when you see a witch doctor, identifiable by his dark hat and coca pouch, who offers fortune-telling services to locals. Most visitors just wander around ogling the bizarre variety of goods but if you want to know more about the items you need to buy something then talk to one of the stall owners. That is what we did and it proved to be very interesting.

We were able to extract the following information on the use of some items. A dried Llama foetus is used to protect the house. An estimated 99% of Bolivian families have a dried llama foetus thrown under the foundations of their house for luck. Llama foetus (burnt on a plate of sweets and herbs) should ensure luck for a new business venture.

Dried frogs are for money. Apparently, if you stick a cigarette in your frog's mouth, your chances of striking it rich will increase. Stick a Bolivian armadillos above the entrance to your house, and it will prevent thieves from entering. The naked ceramic couples are used to improve the sex life, rectify impotency, and increase fertility.

We went into one shop for a good look. The untidy place looked like something out of a horror movie. Mounted animal heads, feathers and various potions adorned the tables while herbs spilled from their dirty bags onto the wooden floor as a dog sniffed the powerful smells. I noticed a large collection of different colored candles. The owner provided me with an explanation of their powers. They are made of animal wax and when burned release their magical properties. The blue candle is for good luck with work, yellow - health, green - money, purple - happiness, black wards off evil spirits but is only to be used in a cemetery at night.


The Witches' Market is only a couple of blocks from Plaza San Fransisco, behind the Iglesia San Fransisco, and near the Museo de la Coca. From the Plaza Murillo, a taxi ride to the market will cost about 6 - 8 Bolivianos. Bargain with the vendors and shop around to purchase merchandise at a lesser price.

From La Paz’s southernmost suburbs, a road follows the course of the Rio Choqueyapu southeast towards Mallasa. Before long it enters a stretch of eerie, cactus-strewn badlands known as the Valle de la Luna.

Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) is located about 10 kilometers from the city center. This eroded hillside maze of canyons and pinnacles is strikingly different to most of La Paz and a great place to visit. It is undoubtedly the most interesting trip close to La Paz city and need only take a couple of hours of your time. Don’t miss it.

The Valle de la Luna is not a valley, but a badlands of gullies, rock formations and weird shapes along the canyon of the Choqueyapu River. Scarred by deep canyons and strange formations of clay and rock carved by seasonal rains into pinnacles in part resembling church organ pipes, the valley is a popular excursion from the city. Naturally it has become a tourist attraction and now parts are fenced off and you pay an admission fee to enter. This, however, has the advantage that money is spent on tracks and signboards so you can move around easily without getting lost.

Once you enter there are two recommended circuits. The first only takes about 15 minutes and gives you an overview of the place. The longer one takes about 45 minutes and takes you past features such as the Silence Canyon, the Lady’s Hat, the Devil’s Viewpoint, Turtle Hill and the Window of the South. This shows you that there is considerable diversity within this area. A recent addition to the place is a modern sculpture by ceramic artist Mario Sarabia. There is a souvenir shop, a handicraft shop and cafe.

To get to the Valley of the Moon you can take any public bus from the El Prado with the signs Mallasilla or Mallasa on the placard in the front window. These include the big yellow micro bus number 11 and minibuses 273,231, 351 and 379. You can also call a taxi on 2745151. Certainly some of the features can be seen from the road but I recommend that you pay the admission price if you want to fully understand this quite fascinating area. There are some great photographic opportunities here.

The Nuestra Señora de La Paz cathedral (our Lady of Peace) is on the south side of Plaza Murillo. The facade with twin bell-towers is rather plain compared to some of the exuberant cathedrals elsewhere but it is well worth going inside for a visit.

The original structure was founded as a mission in 1720 by the priests Juan de Ugarte and Jaime Bravo, but was abandoned in 1735 due to the hostility of the Indians of the region. A new building was built sometime later but it had to be demolished due to structural problems. The present building was started in 1835 but was not inaugurated until 1925 and it wasn’t finished until 1989 in a last-minute rush before a visit by Pope John Paul 11. The towers are the newest part of the building.

The church is built with a Latin cross base and is covered by a two sided roof and two pyramidal towers. The façade is divided into two sections and the interior houses five doors carved in bronze. There is a beautiful altar dedicated to the virgin that gives it its name and there is a profusion of stained-glass work. The cathedral's sheer immensity, with its high dome, hulking columns, thick stone walls and high ceilings, is impressive.


In the left wing of the church, a guard of honour stands guard over the tomb with remains of Marshal Andres de Santa Cruz y Calahumana (1792-1865).



Andres de Santa Cruz was born in a mixed Spanish-Indian family. He originally served in the army of the Spanish crown, but in 1820 joined the army of San Martin. In 1823 after a bloody battle at a little place called Zepita he got the rank of marshal. From 1829 to 1839 he was the much revered president of Bolivia. In 1836 he set up a federation of Bolivia and Peru. In 1845 he had to abandon Bolivia and went to France where he died in 1865. 100 years after his death the Bolivian government returned his remains and put them in the mausoleum.

The Cathedral has a museum of sacred art in its crypt. The entrance is situated in Calle Socabaya. It opens both morning and afternoons from Tuesday to Friday and mornings on Saturday and Sunday. There is a small entrance fee. As well as paintings, there’s plenty of extravagant silver-work and sculpture, including the Virgen de la Paz, a fine wooden carving of the city’s patron.

Plaza Murillo is the very center of La Paz. It has a surprising provincial feel and is a ‘must-see’ attraction in my book. During colonial times, Plaza Murillo was on the Spanish side of the Prado, and it became the center of the action because it was the main water source in town. In its glory days, the plaza was surrounded by eucalyptus trees and a statue of Neptune. It is named in honour of Pedro Domingo Murillo (1759-1810), Bolivian patriot, and forerunner of the Bolivian independence.


On July 16, 1809, he raised a mutiny against the governor-general Virreinato del Rio de la Plata and proclaimed independence for Bolivia. When in autumn of the same year troops faithful to the Spanish crown approached La Paz, there was discord among the mutineers, and some of them went to the Yungas Valley, where soon they were defeated. In December in the Zongo Valley, 56 km from La Paz, Murillo was captured.


In 1810 the captured members of the July mutiny, including Pedro Domingo Murillo, were hanged. Before his death Murillo said: "Compatriots, I die, but the torch ignited by me, cannot be put out by anyone. Long live freedom!" 16 years later, on August 6, 1825, the country finally obtained its independence.


100 years after the mutiny, Plaza Mayor or 16 of July Square, was renamed as the Murillo Square. At the same time, in the centre of the square, a three-meter high monument to Murillo was erected by an Italian sculptor Ferruccio Cantella. At the foot of the monument there is an image of a woman that embodies the State, next to her is a soldier, and to the right, a bronze lion as a symbol of fearlessness and triumph. During shipment of the monument from Italy, the boat that carried the cargo sank. Some portions of the monument were irretrievably lost. It is still worth seeing, however.


On the south side of the Plaza is the colonial Government Palace, also known as the Palacio Quemado (burned palace). Originally La Paz's City Hall and now the office of Bolivia's president, the building has been burned eight times. At the entrance to Palacio Quemado soldiers of the battalion Colorados carry the guard of honour. The first Indian president Evo Morales presently occupies the palace. Every Thursday at 9am, you can take a 15-minute guided tour in Spanish. Outside the Government Palace, guards are in red uniforms. During the Pacific War (1879-84), when Bolivia lost its sea coast to Chile, the soldiers wore red uniforms. Today, these uniforms send the message that Chile must return that land to Bolivia.

Across from the palace is the Congress building or Palacio Legislativo, which has a long history: It was a convent, a jail, and a university before a 1904 renovation to house Bolivia's congress. The legislative power of Bolivia has a two-chamber system. Both chambers with deputies work in this palace.