The numbers
PlaceAltitudeWhat it feels like
El Alto airport4,061 mThe highest point of your trip is the moment you land. Walk slowly to the taxi.
La Paz center~3,600 mStairs are work. Sleep is light the first night.
Zona Sur~3,300 mNoticeably easier. Where the valley road starts.
Valle de las Ánimas~3,965 m300 m above the center. You feel it on the 25-minute climb.
Palca CanyonsimilarFlat riverbed; the walk is easy, the air is thin.
Arrival day
- Land, breathe, sit. We pick you up at the airport — $25 to downtown, $35 to Zona Sur, private taxi for one to three people — and you do nothing for an hour.
- Water, not beer. Drink more than you want to. Skip alcohol the first night; it is the difference between a headache and a bad night.
- Eat light, walk slowly. A short flat walk in the afternoon is good; a climb is not. Our city tour at 1 or 3 pm is built for this day: short stretches, cable car instead of stairs, a guide watching how you feel.
- Sleep with the window open a crack. The first night is light. That is normal.
Symptoms, honestly
Normal: headache, breathlessness on stairs, poor sleep, less appetite. Rest, water, a mild painkiller, and it passes in a day. Say something: a headache that does not improve with rest, nausea, dizziness, confusion, a cough that will not stop. On a tour, that means we stop, give oxygen, and go down — nobody has ever regretted turning back. Emergency: confusion, inability to walk straight, breathlessness at rest. Down, immediately, to a clinic. This is rare at La Paz altitudes and we have never needed it in the valley — but we plan for it.
On our tours
- We ask before departure: first day at altitude? heart or lung conditions? pregnancy? medication? Your honest answer changes the pace, not whether you can come.
- Pace set to the slowest person; breaks every 20 minutes on the climb; oximeter on request.
- Oxygen in every vehicle and a portable unit with the guide on the walk.
- Mild symptoms that do not improve in 20 minutes: we go down. Serious ones: vehicle, descent, clinic, guide calls ahead.
- Travel insurance required on every tour — the vehicle’s SOAT covers traffic accidents only.
Questions
Will I get altitude sickness in La Paz?
Most visitors feel something the first day — a headache, short breath on stairs, poor sleep. A minority feel genuinely unwell. Almost everyone is fine by the second morning if they take the first day slowly.
Should I take medication?
Ask your doctor before you travel; many take acetazolamide starting a day before arrival. Coca tea helps some people with the mild symptoms. We are guides, not doctors — but we know the symptoms and when to go down.
Is the valley higher than the city?
Yes: about 3,965 m against roughly 3,600 m in the center — some 300 m more, about the altitude of the airport. After a night in the city you are most of the way there; you will feel the extra on the climbs, which is why we walk slowly.
Do you carry oxygen?
On every vehicle and with every guide, plus a pulse oximeter. We measure you before the walk if you ask, or if the guide thinks it is time.
Who should not come?
Wheelchair users (the trails cannot take it), pregnant travelers, and small children without an adult to supervise them. Heart or lung conditions: talk to your doctor first, then tell us.
