La Paz Walking Tour: Local Routes & Witches' Market
See the city the way locals do, not the way guidebooks say to.
Be a Local is a walking tour of La Paz led by an English-speaking guide who takes you through the old town's hidden routes and alleyways, stopping at Plaza Murillo, San Francisco Church, the Witches' Market, and the food market at the city center. The tour runs two to three hours and operates on select days, with an extended version on Thursdays and Sundays that adds the Teleférico cable car, the flea market, and a Cholitas Wrestling show. Children from age five are welcome.
Step-by-step itinerary
Explore La Paz city highlights
- Visit Plaza Murillo in old town
- Explore La Paz central food market
- See San Francisco Church landmark
- Browse Witches' Market for potions
- Observe San Pedro Prison area
- Walk through El Prado gardens
- Stroll along Avenida Camacho avenue
- Plaza Murillo 40m
- San Francisco Church 30m
- Witches' Market 40m
What’s included
- An English-speaking local guide who teaches from a resident's perspective.
- walking access to Plaza Murillo, San Francisco Church, the Witches' Market, and the city's central food market.
- on Thursdays and Sundays, the extended tour adds Teleférico cable car access, the flea market, and Cholitas Wrestling show entry.
Times
- Every day No fixed time
Before you book
Operated by Altitude Travel
Prices and times updated today
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The experience
The tour starts in La Paz's Casco Viejo, the old town, where your guide walks you through paths most tourists skip. You'll stand in Plaza Murillo, the lively plaza framed by the city's most important political buildings, then move through the center's largest food market before reaching San Francisco Church, one of La Paz's most historical landmarks. The route is built around what a local actually knows about the city: the corners, the stories, the rhythm of how people move through it.
The Witches' Market (Mercado de las Brujas) is where the tour opens onto something genuinely unusual. Vendors sell dried llama fetuses, medicinal plants, potions and spells: some for altitude sickness, some for other ailments, some for spiritual purposes. Your guide explains what you're looking at and why it matters to the city. You'll also pass San Pedro Prison, located meters from Plaza San Pedro, where around 1500 inmates run shops and restaurants within the prison itself. El Prado, with its manicured gardens and statues, and Avenida Camacho, one of La Paz's traditional avenues running from the Obelisk Square toward the former Municipal Zoo, round out the walk.
On Thursdays and Sundays, the extended tour adds the Teleférico cable car system, the flea market, and entry to a Cholitas Wrestling show: the tour expands but the same local perspective carries through. Bring comfortable shoes, sunglasses, sunscreen, water and a camera. The altitude is significant and the walking covers ground. An English-speaking guide leads the whole thing, and children from five years old can join.
Is this one for you?Move through La Paz's unseen routes and alleyways the way locals do, discovering what actually matters to the city beyond the standard tourist stops.
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Top questions
What languages is the tour guided in?
Live guide in English and Spanish.
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 17 years). Children under 5 can't be included in the booking.
What is the Witches' Market actually used for?
The Witches' Market (Mercado de las Brujas) sells medicinal plants, potions, spells and spiritual advice for people seeking remedies for ailments, help with wealth, or other purposes. It's a functioning market, not a tourist attraction dressed up as one.
Does the tour include the Teleférico and the wrestling show?
The standard tour does not include them, but the extended tour on Thursdays and Sundays adds the Teleférico cable car, the flea market, and entry to a Cholitas Wrestling show.
How long does the walking tour take?
The standard tour runs two to three hours. The extended version on Thursdays and Sundays takes longer because it includes the Teleférico, flea market and wrestling show.
What is San Francisco Church and why does the guide take you there?
San Francisco Church (Iglesia de San Francisco), also called the San Francisco Basilica, is one of La Paz's most important and historical landmarks and sits on the route through the old town.
What should I bring?
Bring comfortable shoes, extra money, sunglasses and sunscreen, water, and a camera. The walking covers several neighborhoods and the high altitude means sun exposure and physical exertion.
La Paz Walking Tour: Local Routes & Witches' Market
2h–3h · EN · ES
from US$ 8 per person
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