La Paz

Capital of beautiful Bolivia

 

December 2022

 

by Ravi Gundakaram

 

La Paz is the bustling capital of Bolivia, and according to a few people that I got to speak to, is quite different from many towns and cities of the country. La Paz is on a canyon and hence at various elevations, and some of the streets are quite steep.

La Paz – street view. A locality of the city on a hillock can be seen to the centre and rear of this photograph.

The Basilica of San Francisco is a very important landmark in La Paz. The present building is over 250 years old and is used by the Catholic denomination (Franciscan). The underground crypts contain the mortal remains of several important personalities (for Bolivia). The inside of the Church is magnificent but pity, photography not allowed. A part of the Church complex was converted into a museum which goes by the name Museo San Francisco Cultural Center. The best way to visit is to take a guided tour, although the cost of the admission ticket is a tad steep. The Convent has hardly any residents today.

On the left is the Basilica of San Francisco.

A corridor in the Museo San Francisco Cultural Center.

A sculpture standing on the wall inside the museum.

A view of the roof of the Basilica.

Another view from the roof, showing the old construction.

A Cross on the Basilica, framed against the backdrop of the blue La Paz sky.

View of a part of the city from the rooftop of the Basilica.

A part of Plaza San Francisco. The square is a popular meeting place for the locals, and is especially crowded in the evenings. It is also an important space for protests!

What is a city without its people? Here is a friendly couple selling souvenirs. I bought a lot of stuff from them!

The Templo de la Recoleta is a Catholic Church on America Avenue, constructed in the Neo-Gothic style. The Church was consecrated in 1896, making it over 120 years old. The towers were inaugurated in 1930.

Templo de la Recoleta.

One cannot think of La Paz, without thinking of the Witches Market (Spanish: El Mercado de las Brujas). This is surely the most famous tourist spot in the city! The witch doctors are said to sell potions and dried frogs, among other things, the most famous being llama foetuses that are buried under many houses. I didn’t find any women flying on brooms, though, and I did look around!

A street in the Witches Market.

Another street view in the area.

A shop selling ritualistic items. You can see llama foetuses hanging!

One of the most visible images in La Paz is the overhead cable car system, known as Mi Teleférico. There are ten lines (indicated by different colours with the cars of each line painted in the colour of that line) and provide an important lifeline in a congested city. Each car can carry a maximum of ten passengers. While it is common to find cable cars in hilly regions in different cities and countries, Mi Teleférico is an urban transit network and the backbone of public transportation in La Paz. It is cheap, and gives tourists a great way to see the city: from above, of course! Each station has a Spanish name and another in Aymara.

The yellow line over the Buenos Aires station (Aymara: Quta Uma). I found it interesting that the word Uma means, among other things in the Aymara language, ‘feminine’, while Uma is the benevolent Mother Goddess in Hinduism and the feminine counterpart of Lord Shiva. Uma is also a common name in India for women.

Another view from the Quta Uma station of the yellow line (línea amarilla).

Another line over a relatively flat portion of the city.

Estación Central (Taypi Uta in Aymara) is the Central station, located on the Orange Line (Línea Naranja) and is a heritage structure.

View of the city from the Mirador (Qhana Pata) station on the linea Amarilla.

That is all Dear Friends, from this blog covering my trip to peninsular Antarctica, Argentina and Bolivia. My sincere thanks to you for reading!