Welcome to these pages of information about the city and the department of La Paz

La Paz: Gateway to Bolivia

The department (state) of La Paz is one of Bolivia’s nine departments and is located in Northwestern Bolivia near the borders with Peru and Chile. The department of La Paz is a synthesis of culture and natural diversity which makes it ideal for tourism. Here is where we encounter the mystical Lake Titicaca, magnificent pre-Incan ruins, pre-Columbian footpaths, and the majestic peaks of the Andean Cordillera Real mountain range. The department also hosts a paradise of tropical protected areas and nature reserves that extend from the cloud forest (Yungas) to the Amazon region where it borders on the Beni department.

The city of La Paz is the capital of the department and is the seat of the Bolivian government (Sucre is technically the capital but in name only). The city averages 3,600 meters in altitude and is one of the highest cities in the World. La Paz is a multi-ethnic place where many indigenous and foreign cultures combine to present a wide variety of religious festivals from every region of Bolivia, lectures, theatres and other artistic presentations. This ethnic and cultural diversity makes La Paz the most cosmopolitan city of Bolivia. The city is located in an enormous canyon called "la gran hoyada altiplánica". The houses cling to the sides of this canyon at rakish angles, and old colonial buildings are mixed with more modern constructions. La Paz is unique, it is the political and cultural centre of Bolivia and is an important stop on any Bolivian tourist route.