2 Days in La Paz: First-Timer Plan
La Paz, Bolivia: A 2-Day First-Timer Itinerary
Two days is a tight but workable window for a first look at La Paz, as long as day one accepts that altitude sets the pace, not your schedule.
Day 1
Land at El Alto International Airport (roughly 4,060-4,150m) and take a registered radio taxi down into the city, around $8-12 to most central neighborhoods. Spend the morning resting at your accommodation rather than sightseeing: this is genuinely the highest altitude most visitors will have experienced, and soroche (altitude sickness) is common in the first 24 hours. Drink water, skip alcohol, and order mate de coca, the local remedy, wherever you’re staying.
By afternoon, if you’re feeling steady, take a short, easy stroll near your hotel rather than a full day of walking. Have dinner somewhere low-key: a bowl of chairo or sajta de pollo runs about $4-6 at a casual local spot. Tip: go to bed early on night one, since a good first sleep at altitude makes day two far easier.
Day 2
Start at Plaza Murillo, the historic heart of the city, home to the Cathedral, the Palacio Quemado, and the National Congress’s backwards-running Reloj del Sur clock. From there, walk to the Witches’ Market on Calle Linares, a living Aymara market rather than a tourist display, so ask before photographing any vendor or yatiri.
Grab salteñas for a mid-morning snack, around $1 each, before they sell out by noon. In the afternoon, ride Mi Teleférico (about $0.45 a ride, buy a fare card first since turnstiles don’t take cash) up toward El Alto and back for the city’s best views, then finish at Mirador Killi Killi for a golden-hour panorama. For dinner, Popular Cocina Boliviana, near San Francisco church, serves a well-regarded prix-fixe modern-Bolivian menu for around $15-20. Tip: coca leaf is legal here and central to Andean culture, but don’t pack any tea or leaves home, since export is illegal and it can trigger a positive drug test abroad.
Two days only scratches the surface. If you can extend, Tiwanaku and Death Road both make excellent add-on day trips, while the Uyuni Salt Flats need their own separate multi-day expedition entirely.
Read more: see our full La Paz guide for everything this quick itinerary has to skip.