Bolivia Guide
La Paz
Zona Sur
Just 5m or so away from central La Paz but almost 500m lower in altitude, the Zona Sur – home to upmarket suburbs like Calacoto, San Miguel and Cota Cota – has a noticeably warmer climate and feels much closer in style to suburban USA than to the rest of La Paz, with little other than the surrounding mountains to remind you that you're in Bolivia. The juxtaposition of luxury boutiques and villas with the harsh badlands landscape verges on the surreal, and the contrast with the rest of La Paz is striking. If you're passing through on the way to the Muela del Diablo or the Valle de la Luna, it's worth stopping for a drink in one of the many cafés just to get an impression of how the city's elite live.