CITY TOUR & MOON VALLEY

Photo Author: Lito78

City Tour La Paz, the trip start going around the city 4 hours approximately, in this tour we shall visit the “Mercado de las brujas” (Witch market), the Basilica de San Francisco. Murillo Square, the palace Goverment and the Cathedral, Jaén Street, Murillo’s House, Monolith Square and the residential part in south neighborhood of La Paz and finally the Moon Valley that are formed for strange rocks that have been formed for natural erosion.

You can take this tour in the morning or in afternoon.

Dried llamas in Witches Market

Witches Market

San Francisco Church

Inside San Francisco Church

Congress Palace

The Palace of Government & La Merced Cathedral

Jaen Street

Murillo's house

Monolito square

Southern District of La Paz City

Going inside Moon Valley

Moon Valley

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Dried llamas in Witches Market

Located on Calle Jiminez and Linares between Sagarnaga and Santa Cruz in, it’s impossible to miss the Witches’ Market of La Paz, Bolivia, which is found right in a lively tourist area. Dozens of vendors line the streets to sell a number of strange and fascinating products and the raw ingredients used in rituals to call on the spirits that populate the Aymara world.
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Witches Market

The dried llama fetuses are the most prominent product available at the market. Among the many items sold at the market are dried llama fetuses that are said to bring both prosperity and good luck, dried frogs used for Aymara rituals, soapstone figurines, aphrodisiac formulas, owl feathers, dried turtles and snakes, herbs, and folk remedies. Witch doctors in dark hats and dresses wander through the market offering fortune-telling services.
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San Francisco Church

It is located in the old town, and bordered on the north by Perez Velasco street, which is short segment of La Paz's main artery. Perez Velasco roughly follows the route of the now-culverted Choqueyapu River. The Plaza San Francisco a major urban plaza in the city of La Paz, Bolivia, and a frequent location for political gatherings and protests. It is located in front of the San Francisco Cathedral (from which it takes its name) as well as the Lanza Market and the headquarters of the La Paz Factory Worker's Departmental Union Federation. The plaza was enlarged to 6,163 square meters in 2011.
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Inside San Francisco Church

The church’s outer walls, built in the baroque-mestizo style, feature carvings of indigenous symbols, such as snakes, dragons, tropical birds and masked figures. A contemporary statue of rock columns in the upper section of San Francisco Plaza is intended to honor the Tiwanaku, Inca and modern cultures of Bolivia. The beautifully decorated church, admired for its intricately carved facade and blending of catholic and native art, was built entirely by indigenous Aymara workers.
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Congress Palace

The Plaza Murillo is the central plaza of the city of La Paz and the open space most connected to the political life of Bolivia. Prominent buildings on the plaza include the Presidential Palace, National Congress of Bolivia, and the Cathedral of La Paz. It is located in the old town, or Casco Viejo, of the city and is surrounded by Socabaya Street to the west, Ayacucho Street to the east, Comercio Street to the south, and a continuation of Ingavi and Ballivan Streets to the north.
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The Palace of Government & La Merced Cathedral

The Presidential Palace, built in the middle of the 19th century, has witnessed some of the most important historical events in Bolivian history. However, the government building hasn’t always stood tall, suffering from violent political outbursts on numerous occasions.
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Jaen Street
is one of La Paz’s most finely preserved colonial streets, featuring brightly plastered houses dating from the 18th century. Nestled among these colourful abodes are five of La Paz’s most important and interesting museums:
- Museum of Precious Metals
- Litoral Museum
- Museum of Murillo's House
- Juan de Vargas Costumbrista Museum
- Museum of Musical Instruments
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Murillo's house

The museum displays collections of furniture, textiles and art from colonial times as well as various personal household items of glass, porcelain and silver that belonged to Bolivia’s upper class. One of the most fascinating works on display is the painting titled “The Execution of Murillo”; a depiction of the 1810 execution of Murillo by the Spanish in La Paz’s Plaza Murillo. Other notable pieces include the painting “Los Plantas Calientes”, national costumes, a copy of the Proclamation Tuitiva Board and intricately carved wooden furniture. The museum also has a special room dedicated to herbal medicine and magic.
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Monolito square

This place is called La Plaza del Monolito and is located in front of the Hernando Siles Stadium, in the neighborhood of Miraflores. The name has a lot to do with the tihuanacota culture, the motif that adorns the square is that, as you can see in the image. The particularity of this place is that it is in the subsoil.
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Monolito square

When football matches are played in the place usually people are settled who sell t-shirts and other souviners of the equipment that they play in a certain occasion. It may be that Tigre, Bolivar or Selection play.
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Southern District of La Paz City

Located on the 2nd district has less height than the rest of La Paz (3,200 to 2,800 meters). This area houses the most affluent business and the richest neighborhoods of the city, like Calacoto, La Florida and Achumani, among others. It has benefited from steady economic growth and is now the second commercial and financial center of the city, housing international firms like Moody's, Citibank, Aon Corporation, Huawei, Millicom International Cellular, Pan American Silver Corporation, a Sumitomo Corporation branch, Ernst & Young, and the "MegaCenter", Bolivia's biggest shopping mall (52.000 mts2 of construction).
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Going inside Moon Valley

Situated 10 kilometers from downtown La Paz is a unique area featuring lunar landscapes and bizarre geological formations. It consists of an area where erosion has worn away the majority of a mountain, composed primarily of clay rather than rock, leaving tall spires. It is similar to another zone of La Paz that is known as El Valle de las Animas (The Valley of the Souls). It is an important site of the famous holiday, Dias de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) November 2.
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Moon Valley

There are two circular walking tracks to choose from at Valle de la Luna each spanning different view-points. Devil’s Point (the most spectacular view-point) is located toward the end of the longest track, which takes around 45 minutes to complete. The other track is much shorter, taking just 15 minutes to complete. Clearly marked trails are provided for explorers, however the paths can be narrow and tricky to navigate, so comfortable shoes with good grip are recommended. For those looking to stay overnight in the area, there is now a camping site along the main road with amazing views over the valley as well as brand new toilets and showers, an outdoor kitchen, and hammocks.

LA PAZ CITY TOUR & MOON VALLEY

Dificult: ─ Duration: 4 hours

Morning: Start in LA PAZ CITY. We departure at 08:30 a.m. In this tour we will visit Witches Market, San Francisco Church, Murillo Square, The Palace of Government, La Merced Cathedral, Jaén Street, Murillo´s house. Then we go down to Monolito square and the residential south zone of La Paz in order to visit the Moon Valley that is a land formed by strange rocks product of a natural erosion.