We booked our tickets from Copacabana to the Bolivian capital La Paz for 25 BOB1 each from a tour agency in Copacabana. The bus left at 6.30 PM and the seats on the bus were comfortable enough for the 4-hour journey. We saw that it’s also possible to buy a ticket directly from the bus driver when boarding, which is probably a little cheaper. It took about an hour to reach Tiquina where everyone has to get off the bus and get on a boat to cross the Strait of Tiquina. It was dark and a little chilly so make sure you wear warm clothing. The bus crosses on a ‘ferry’ which looks like a large makeshift wooden boat. It’s amazing and scary to see how they carry the buses across the strait. It takes some time for the bus to cross over and there’s no indoor seating area to wait in. Some street vendors were selling hot drinks and snacks which you can get while you wait. The whole process isn’t very well organized. We asked where to wait for the bus and we were just told to wait at the corner of the street. There doesn’t seem to be any signposted area of where the bus picks us up so we just joined the group of people we saw who got off the bus with us. Once the bus came, it was another 2-hours 30-minutes to La Paz. We arrived at around 10.15 PM and the bus stopped at the terminal by the cemetery rather than the main terminal. It was dark and deserted, so we quickly ordered an Uber2 to take us to our hotel in the the Witches Market. Once we checked in, we just went to bed to get up early to explore the city the next day.
The City and Finding Tours
Our hotel was located in the Witches Market area. We went for a walk around and other than arts and crafts shops, we found several restaurants and tour agencies. There is also the general market in the area to buy fresh produce and also market restaurants if you’re looking for cheaper and more authentic dishes. As you walk around the city you’ll notice most of the locals are indigenous. You’ll especially see several ‘Cholitas’ who are known to be hard-working indigenous women. They are the ones selling produce in the markets and you’ll see them carrying their merchandise and kids everywhere. One of the tourist attractions is ‘Cholita’ wrestling in El Alto where most of the indigenous people live. We had 2 more days in La Paz so after some breakfast, we went to look for tours. We chose to go on a Death Road bike tour (380 BOB each) the following day and then on our last day, we decided to visit the Moon Valley without a tour. It’s worth noting that all the tour agencies we went to charge a credit card fee, so it’s worth taking cash out if you don’t want to pay an extra 3-5 percent for the fee. With those two days sorted, we went back to our hotel since we saw they had a city walking tour at 2 pm for 65 BOB.
Walking Tour
The meeting point for the tour was at Plaza Murillo which is close to the Witches Market. It was a small group of around 7 people and the guide took us to several tourist sites in La Paz. The highlight was the journey she took us on to El Alto. This was particularly interesting since she took us via public transport. So it’s a great way to learn how to take the combis3, which are like minivans that the locals take to move around the city. Also, to get to El Alto, she showed us how to take the cable cars and told us the prices and what would be most convenient for us. Overall it’s a great way to learn about and get around the city like a local. She also gave us a great recommendation for a Harry Potter themed restaurant called Avada Kedavra which we checked out in the evening.
