The city of La Paz was then founded on October 20th, 1548 under the name of La Ciudad de Nuestra Señora de La Paz (The City of Our Lady of Peace). The city was first established in what today is Laja, on the Tiahuanaco road. Shortly after its foundation, La Paz was moved to its present location, in the valley of the Chuquiago Marka.

In 1781, for a total of six months, a group of Aymara people laid siege to the no longer peaceful city of La Paz. Under the leadership of Tupac Katari, they destroyed churches and government property. Thirty years later Indians laid a two-month siege on La Paz.  In 1809 the struggle for independence from the Spanish rule brought uprisings against the royalist forces.

Today La Paz is a vibrant city, growing and expanding in all directions. La Paz has a population of more than a million inhabitants. La Paz is the official government site.

La Paz is located in the occidental part of the country, on the boarder with Chile and Peru. It covers an area of 133985 Km2

The northern part of the department shows an amazing transition from the highlands to the Amazon. The contrast is really incredible since the highlands have a desert like scenery while the Amazon has many rivers, forests and warm lands where nature shows its generosity.
La Paz has about 1.900.786 inhabitants. The main languages spoken in this area are Spanish and Aymara.

ALTITUDE AND CLIMATE

La Paz has different climate environments according to each zone's altitude. While the center of town is at 3,650 meters above sea level, the zone of Aranjuez is at 3,300 m. El Alto (where the international airport is located) is at 4,082 m. The average temperature in winter is 15ºC (59ºF) and 22ºC (72ºF) in summer. In the summer, rain falls most afternoons, while during winter, days are slightly cooler, but the sky is mostly clear and sunny.

HOW TO GET THERE

La Paz has a major International airport.
Local flights are available to most cities in the rest of Bolivia.
By land there is also good transportation to most of the main Bolivian cities.

WHERE TO STAY

There are a variety of Hotels and Hostals, with a wide range in both price and quality.

WHAT TO BUY

La Paz offers a wide variety of Bolivian handcraftas, from woven sweaters, to fine textiles and the traditional small souvenirs.

WHAT TO EAT

There are many good restaurants featurinn International and Bolivian foods. Peñas offer live music and a show while you taste some of Bolivia´s typical cuisine.