Bolivia's capital rises from a giant alpine bowl

La Paz is one of the most impressive cities you’ll ever visit, not for its architecture or culture, but for its remarkable topography.

Built in a giant high alpine bowl and shadowed by Bolivia’s second highest peak   Mount Illimani, La Paz tenaciously clings to life in a rambunctious, chaotic style.

Downtown La Paz rises from the bowl’s epicentre in the form of a few skyscrapers. The further up the sides, the more precarious the buildings and homes until you reach the rim, ringed by shanty towns and swaying eucalyptus. From a distance, no ground or gap is visible among the rambling buildings. The bowl is full, and at night transforms into a giant amphitheatre of twinkling lights.

La Paz is the world’s highest capital city at 3,600 metres above sea level and one of the most fire resistant. The thin air makes it very hard for fires to catch alight or burn. If flying into La Paz, be prepared for a shock to the system. The nearby international airport is built above the city on the altiplano at 4,400 metres. It’s not uncommon for tourists fresh off the plane to faint on arrival due to a lack of oxygen.

When visiting La Paz make sure you check out the colourful street markets where you can buy anything from hiking gear to rip-off designer hand bags, livestock and fresh produce. They add a buzz to the city, but watch your belongings. Professional thieves keep an eye out for tourists and use a number of techniques to pinch your belongings, including using kids to spit in your face to distract you.

La Paz is also home to Bolivia’s notorious San Pedro Prison which has become popular with tourists because it’s run entirely by the 1500 prisoners. Inmates can buy or sell their prison cells, personal belongings or food, and often have their whole families living with them who can come and go freely. All of the inmates work in a variety of roles such as tour guides, hairdressers, shopkeepers and messengers. Visitors to the prison can buy handicrafts or cocaine produced behind bars which provides valuable income for the prisoners. Police rarely enter the prison despite an average of four violent deaths a month.

La Paz boasts one more superlative - the world’s most dangerous road. The North Yungas Road descends 330 metres over 69 kilometres from La Paz to Coroico in the Amazon basin. It’s estimated between 200 – 300 people die on the road each year, which ironically has made it into a tourist attraction. It’s also a favourite with downhill mountain bikers.