The world's highest capital — a canyon city of cable cars, witches markets and the Andean plateau
La Paz (officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz) is the seat of government of Bolivia and the highest major city in the world — the city proper sits in a deep canyon at 3,600m, while El Alto, the sprawling indigenous satellite city on the plateau edge above, stands at 4,150m. The cable car system (Mi Teleférico) connecting the canyon with the plateau is one of the most extraordinary urban transit systems on earth — 10 lines of gondolas running above rooftops with unbroken views of the snowcapped Illimani volcano (6,438m) and the Andes. The Witches Market (Mercado de las Brujas) sells dried llama…
La Paz was founded by Spanish colonists in 1548 at the foot of the altiplano canyon as a waypoint on the silver route between Potosí and the Pacific coast — the canyon's lower altitude (3,600m vs 4,000m+ on the plateau) and protection from cold winds made it habitable. Bolivia became the first South American country to elect an indigenous president — Evo Morales, an Aymara coca farmer, won in 2005 and served until 2019 when a disputed election led to his resignation and exile, described by supporters as a coup and by opponents as a correction of fraud. The 2019 crisis concentrated particularl…