Death Road (El Camino de la Muerte), La Paz

Advantages: World's highest capital that's high on life.
Disadvantages: Oxygen tanks are expensive.

...of Christ) at the summit of the highest hill in town. There are great views of the town from here and it costs only 6B for the round trip. The more adventurous another option from La Paz is to visit the Northern town of Rurrenabaque, a great base for trips into the Bolivian Pampas and the Amazon Rainforest. There are 2 ways to get there. Take a $100 flight or the bus along the notorious road of death. As our budget was meagre and our pockets not lined with rabbit feet we decided against it but many visitors to Bolivia recommended this as the highlight of their trip to the country. La Paz has all the excitement and energy of a South East Asian city. Curiously it lags behind much wealthier Bolivian cities such as Cochabamba and Sucre. You will see more native people here than in the countries other main cities (due in most part to El Alto... Read review

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Advantages: A lively and exciting city
Disadvantages: Thieves all over the place

...the trendy businessmen wearing suits and sunglasses, and the markets and witchcraft stalls and the little minibuses on the main road, which constantly holler their fares and destinations as they drive along. And the people dressed up in zebra costumes who stand on - ha ha - the zebra crossings and are like the Bolivian equivalent of lollipop ladies. They're great. The one main road in La Paz goes straight through the centre of the city - known in this central section as El Prado - from the plaza San Francisco (the San Francisco church looks quite pretty on the outside but is actually rather plain inside), down to the plaza del Estudiante, which is near the University. The really steep calle Sagarnaga - which goes straight up past the San Francisco church - appears to be a street entirely designed for tourists: it's filled with artesania... Read review

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Advantages: Amazing sights, very cheap, unique city, great shopping
Disadvantages: Altitude sickness, hard to get around

...the coming days and/or weeks. For a westerner you cannot help but clutch the seat and try not to gasp too openly as the drivers cut onto the other side of the rode to overtake traffic and not even acknowledge the seemingly fearless pedestrians who step out onto the road at near suicidal times, only to pass within a hair's breadth of the oncoming car and not even break their stride. Perhaps the best sight as you travel into La Paz, however, is the airport road which encircles the top of the volcano and you can gaze in awe over the vast city stretching down into the crater. GETTING AROUND Aaah, the adventure that is trying to navigate La Paz everyday. My advice: dispense with the modern(that might be a bit of an overstatement) conveniences of buses and taxis and go by foot. The majority of the important areas within La Paz are all within a good... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful