Best time to visit La Paz
Bolivia · Latin America
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in La Paz
Tap a month for its page
- JanJLa Paz in January: ok
- FebFLa Paz in February: ok, busy
- MarMLa Paz in March: ok
- AprALa Paz in April: good
- MayMLa Paz in May: sweet spot
- JunJLa Paz in June: good
- JulJLa Paz in July: sweet spot
- AugALa Paz in August: good
- SepSLa Paz in September: sweet spot
- OctOLa Paz in October: sweet spot
- NovNLa Paz in November: sweet spot
- DecDLa Paz in December: good
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Dry season: May–Sep, 6 or fewer rainy days a month.
Plan this trip
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Where to stay
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Luxury
Things to do
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Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
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Things to do in La Paz
- Yungas Road Very dangerous old road in Bolivia
- Huayna Potosí Mountain in Bolivia
- The Witches' Market Vendors sell llama fetuses and dried frogs for Aymara rituals…
- Palacio Quemado Official residence of the president of Bolivia.
- Plaza Murillo Contains government buildings and the city cathedral…
- Valle de La Luna Surreal, weathered rock.
- Valle de las Ánimas Similar to the above.
Tours and tickets in La Paz
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (La Paz), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
Month by month
No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16° | 16d | 69% | 10.8h | ok | 16C max, 16 rainy days |
| Feb | 16° | 15d | 71% | 10.5h | okbusy | holidays: BO: Carnival |
| Mar | 15° | 16d | 72% | 10.2h | ok | 15C max, 16 rainy days |
| Apr | 16° | 8d | 62% | 10.7h | good | 16C max, 8 rainy days |
| May | 16° | 4d | 50% | 10.8h | sweet spot | 16C max, 4 rainy days |
| Jun | 15° | 1d | 42% | 10.9h | good | 15C max, 1 rainy day |
| Jul | 16° | 1d | 40% | 10.9h | sweet spot | 16C max, 1 rainy day |
| Aug | 17° | 2d | 44% | 11.0h | good | 17C max, 2 rainy days |
| Sep | 17° | 5d | 54% | 11.2h | sweet spot | 17C max, 5 rainy days |
| Oct | 18° | 8d | 55% | 11.6h | sweet spot | 18C max, 8 rainy days |
| Nov | 18° | 8d | 57% | 11.6h | sweet spot | 18C max, 8 rainy days |
| Dec | 17° | 14d | 65% | 10.7h | good | 17C max, 14 rainy days |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at the centre, 6 km from the airport (LPB): ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
La Paz's September days now average 17.4°C, 4.0°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 12 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 14.7° | 14.4° | 14.6° | 14.0° | 14.0° | 12.9° | 12.7° | 13.2° | 13.4° | 14.6° | 14.8° | 14.7° |
| 2017–26 | 15.8° | 15.7° | 15.4° | 15.9° | 16.1° | 15.5° | 16.2° | 16.8° | 17.4° | 18.0° | 18.5° | 16.7° |
| Change | +1.1° | +1.2° | +0.8° | +1.8° | +2.1° | +2.6° | +3.5° | +3.6° | +4.0° | +3.4° | +3.6° | +2.0° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
How far La Paz is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Lima
- from Santiago
- from Buenos Aires
- from Sao Paulo
- from Bogota
- from Miami
- from Mexico City
- from New York
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to La Paz, flying or not.
Before you go
| Cost of living | very cheap — prices run about 40% of the United States' (World Bank, 2025) |
|---|---|
| Currency | Boliviano |
| Languages | Spanish, Aymara, Quechua, Guarani |
| Plugs | Type A and C, 115 / 230 V |
| Driving | On the right |
| Calling code | +591 |
| Travel advice | avoid all but essential travel to parts — UK Foreign Office, updated 2026-09-22 Exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories) — Global Affairs Canada, updated 2026-09-27 Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution — US State Department, updated 2026-08-18 |
| Health | UK Foreign Office health advice |
Facts from Wikidata (CC0), the UK Foreign Office (Open Government Licence) and the World Bank, refreshed 2026-10-08. The advisory is written for British travellers; entry rules depend on your passport.Travel advice for American readers is the US State Department's (public domain), and for Canadian readers Global Affairs Canada's (Open Government Licence - Canada), each in its own words and written for its own citizens; entry rules depend on your passport.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — The currency is the boliviano (BOB). Cards are not widely taken outside the cities, so carry small notes for street food, taxis and tips, and if you bring cash to change, bring US dollars. Card and ATM fraud occurs: use ATMs in well-lit public places or inside a bank or business, and cover the keypad.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — Service is included in the bill, but a small tip of around 5% is sometimes given and considered polite; taxi drivers are not tipped.
Getting around La Paz
El Alto International Airport (LPB), run by NAABOL, serves La Paz; taxis, shared transport and city buses leave from outside arrivals. Take extra care with taxis to and from the airport, where tourists have been robbed: turn down anyone offering a cheaper fare, and note the driver's name and licence number from the photo identity card.
- Apps — Rides: Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Taxis have no meters, so confirm the fare before you get in. Book a radio taxi by phone or through your hotel: it shows the company's name and phone number on the roof, and registered taxis carry a sticker on the windscreen. Do not hail taxis in the street or share one with strangers.
Public transport in La Paz is largely underdeveloped compared to its counterparts in Europe and East Asia, or even other South American cities. Due to narrow streets driving is not recommended. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on La Paz, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Help
- Emergency — police 110 · ambulance 118 · fire 119.
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 8 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (11)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/bolivia/getting-help
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/bolivia/safety-and-security
- travel.gc.ca/destinations/bolivia
- uber.com/global/en/cities/la-paz
- naabol.gob.bo/aeropuerto-internacional-el-alto
- naabol.gob.bo/preguntas-frecuentes
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Bolivia
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
La Paz in pictures
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KalaVERITA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Cayambe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Cayambe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Jeff Reuben, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What La Paz is like
La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, while Sucre is the constitutional capital and the seat of the Supreme Court. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Sagarnaga Street (just south of Plaza San Francisco). La Paz's main tourist strip. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Take it easy on your first day in La Paz if you arrive from low altitude. Even if you feel fine, resting and walking slowly will help. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- El Alto International Airport (LPB IATA), El Alto. This is the world's highest international airport; at 13,313 ft/4,058 m above sea level, it's almost half as high as a jetliner's cruising altitude… More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- The plain-clothed police officer scam seems to be popular (but seldom) in La Paz. Read all about it under Bolivia#Stay safe and be aware. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying healthy
- Travelers to La Paz often become ill the moment they arrive in the city. La Paz is 3,627 metres (11,900 ft) above sea level, the highest capital city in the world. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on La Paz, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around La Paz
Nearby
Kind of place
La Paz is in Bolivia, Latin America. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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