Highlights from La Paz to Puno

First we’ll meet you at La Paz Airport and take you to your hotel. We’ll let you settle in and then in the afternoon we’ll start our tour, first exploring the city followed by a trip to Valle de la Luna.  

The first stop on our La Paz city tour is the famous Witches’ Market, also known as El Mercado de las Brujas and La Hechiceria. As we wander through the many stalls of the Witches’ Market, you’ll notice women wearing black hats and carrying coca pouches. These are the yatiri, some of the last witch doctors in South America.   

The yatiri are iconic figures in the world of Bolivian traditional medicine and supernatural abilities. It is said they have the power to contact the paranormal world and its denizens, and they deal in spiritual matters as much as they do in physical ones. Bolivia is predominantly Catholic, especially in La Paz, but the yatiri often wait outside Catholic churches on Sundays. Here, they offer ceremonies to Bolivians who want to supplement their Catholic faith with traditional pagan rituals, just to be safe.   

Many of the yatiri’s customers are now tourists, but Bolivians still seek them out for specific tasks: to have their fortunes read, their illnesses cured, and for the administration of various spells that might help them financially, with fertility issues, or with love and luck.  

Next we’ll head to San Francisco Colonial Church and the traditional artisanal crafts sold along Calle Sagarnaga. This busy street, located just south of Plaza San Francisco, is packed with businesses catering primarily to tourists, featuring hostels, tour agencies, cafes, souvenir stores and clothing stalls. It’s a hugely popular strip, and new businesses open up along Calle Sagarnaga regularly, offering more and more goodies for travelers to buy.  

Calle Sagarnaga has been a popular destination for travelers since the 18th Century, when the buildings lining the street were used by people traveling on foot between Potosi and the Peruvian coast. It’s now also a great place to buy souvenirs, and you can find Bolivian musical instruments, silver jewelry, fluffy alpaca sweaters and even a salteña or two.  

Moving on, we’ll head to Plaza Murillo, home to the Cathedral of La Paz, the Government Palace and the National Congress. Plaza Murillo lies at the heart of La Paz and serves as the hub for much of Bolivia’s political life. It is located in the old town, or Casco Viejo, of the city.  

Next we’ll visit Calle Jaen, a famous colonial street with a cluster of interesting museums. It’s a magical place, the walls of each building painted in various bright colors, from reds to blue green and everything in between. Walking down the narrow cobblestone street feels like stepping back in time, and is one of the most photogenic places in the city. We will also stop to see the replica of the semi-subterranean temple of the Tiwanaku Culture.  

Shifting locations, next we will go to the residential areas of Obrajes, Calacoto and La Florida, located in a lower section of La Paz. This is where the most affluent business and the richest neighborhoods of the city are found, and today it’s now the second commercial and financial center of the city. It is home to many international companies such as Moody's, Citibank, Aon Corporation, Huawei, Millicom International Cellular, Pan American Silver Corporation, Ernst & Young, and the "MegaCenter," Bolivia's largest shopping mall.   

Valle de la Luna 

Our tour for Day 1 ends with a visit to the unique Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley), where you can explore this fascinating site and visit a ceramic workshop for a demonstration of the art of pottery.  

Valle de la Luna isn’t a valley at all, but rather an otherworldly maze of canyons, strange rock formations and giant spires. This peculiar landscape was created by rain and wind erosion, which slowly cut away at the clay and sandstone of the local mountains. The result was this strange, craggy landscape, which wouldn’t look out of place in a science fiction movie.   

The colors of the Valle de la Luna are also sublime. The rock formations range from beige to red to dark purple, a result of the wide array of minerals in each individual hillside, slowly exposed by the wind and rain to create a pallet that any artist would be proud of.

You’ll have time to explore one of the two trails located at Valle de le Luna. One leads to Devil’s Point, the most spectacular view point, located at the end of a 45-minute trail. The second trail is much shorter and can be walked in about 15 minutes. Make sure you bring comfortable walking shoes: the terrain isn’t physically demanding, but the trails can be narrow with loose scree and rocks underfoot.