5 Days in La Paz: First-Timer Plan
La Paz, Bolivia: A 5-Day First-Timer Itinerary
Five days lets you settle into the altitude, cover the city properly, and get out to two solid day trips plus a distinctly local afternoon.
Day 1
Arrive at El Alto (roughly 4,060-4,150m) and take a registered radio taxi to your hotel, about $8-12. Rest for the day: soroche is common in the first 24 hours here. Drink water, order mate de coca, skip alcohol. Tip: a room in Sopocachi or Zona Sur, both lower and warmer than the center, makes the adjustment noticeably easier.
Day 2
Walk Plaza Murillo and the Cathedral, spot the backwards-running Reloj del Sur clock on the Congress building, then visit the Witches’ Market on Calle Linares, a living Aymara market, so ask before photographing anyone working there. Grab salteñas mid-morning for around $1, browse Calle Jaén’s museums, and ride Mi Teleférico (about $0.45 a ride) toward El Alto for views of Illimani at golden hour. Dinner at Popular Cocina Boliviana runs about $15-20. Tip: book a registered radio taxi for the ride home rather than hailing one on the street.
Day 3
Take a half-day guided trip to Tiwanaku, about 2 hours away, for roughly $25-35 including transport. Back in the city, browse Mercado Rodríguez and have a casual dinner, pique macho or chairo, for about $5-8. Tip: reserve this tour a day ahead during festival season, when demand spikes.
Day 4
Ride Death Road with a reputable mountain-bike operator, never unguided, for roughly $80-130 for a full guided day. Celebrate with dinner at Ali Pacha for around $20-30. Tip: check reviews of your specific operator’s safety record, not just the tour company’s name.
Day 5
El Alto’s Feria 16 de Julio, one of South America’s largest open-air markets, runs Thursday and Sunday only, so plan your trip dates around one of those if you can; if not, swap in a half-day at Valle de la Luna or Muela del Diablo instead. In the afternoon or evening, take in cholita wrestling in El Alto, a sport that grew out of domestic-violence-survivor support circles and is worth seeing as empowerment rather than novelty; expect a modest ticket price, generally under $15. Tip: bring small bills for the market, since vendors rarely make change on large notes.
Beyond five days, a Titicaca overnight in Copacabana extends naturally from here. Uyuni is still a separate multi-day trip on its own.
Read more: our things to do in La Paz guide has more options if you want to swap a day.