La Paz - City of Bolivia

Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department. As of the 2001 census, the city of La Paz had a population of 789,585, and together with the neighboring cities of El Alto and Viacha, make the biggest urban area of Bolivia, with a population of over 1.6 million inhabitants.

Founded in 1548 by the Spanish conquistador, Alonso de Mendoza, at the site of this the Native American settlement, Laja, the full name of the city was originally Nuestra Señora de La Paz . The name commemorated the restoration of peace following the insurrection of Gonzalo Pizarro and fellow conquistadors four years earlier against Blasco Núñez Vela, the first viceroy of Peru. The city was later moved to its present location in the valley of Chuquiago Marka.

Pedro de la Gasca, the Spanish king had entrusted rule over the former Inca lands, commanded Captain Alonso de Mendoza to found a new city commemorating the end of the civil wars in Peru. Then the city of La Paz was founded on October 20th, 1548.

Spain controlled La Paz with a firm grip and the Spanish king had the last word in all matters political. In 1781, for a total of six months, a group of Aymara people laid siege to the no longer peaceful city of La Paz. Under the leadership of Tupac Katari, they destroyed churches and government property. Thirty years later Indians laid a two-month siege on La Paz - where and when the legend of the Ekeko is set. In 1809 the struggle for independence from the Spanish rule brought uprisings against the royalist forces. It was on July 16, 1809 that Pedro Domingo Murillo famously said that the Bolivian revolution was igniting a lamp that nobody would be able to turn-off. This formally marked the beginning of the Liberation of South America from Spain. Pedro Domingo Murillo was hanged at the Plaza de los Españoles that night, but his name would be eternally remembered in the name of the plaza, and he would be remembered as the voice of revolution across South America.

La Paz is the highest capital city in the world, and is home to the world's highest golf course, football stadium, velodrome and landing strip.

At La Paz was built in a canyon created by the Choqueyapu River , which runs northwest to southeast. The city's main thoroughfare, which roughly follows the river, changes names over its length, but the central tree-lined section running through the downtown core is called the Prado.

La Paz is renowned for its unique markets, very unusual topography, and traditional culture.

La Paz is located in the valleys of the Andes, and is closer to the Eastern split of the Altiplano region. Therefore, it is closer to the famous mountains such as the Illimani , Huayna Potosi, Mururata, and Illampu. On the Western side of the Altiplano divide, about an hour to the West of the La Paz, is the site of the tallest mountain in Bolivia and 9th tallest mountain in the Andes, the Sajama Volcano.

La Paz is the cultural center of Bolivia.

Some of the notable sites are the marketplaces. These are located across the city and one will most likely run through one at some point. Also, the city is home to hundreds of museums and locations such as the Cathedral of San Francisco , the Metropolitan Cathedral , the Palacio Quemado , the Congress , the Calle Jaen , the Valley of the Moon, the Cine-Teatro Municipal , the largest state University , the Cementerio General , the house of Simon Bolivar, the Devil's Tooth , and many more.

The city is located near many natural and ancient ruins as well. Many tourists chose to take day trips to the Tiahuanacu ruins, which are thousands of years older than Macchu Picchu itself and of the same magnitude. Such is the interest in these ruins, that Chilean and Peruvian trips almost always include this site, even though it is in Bolivia. Another day trip visit tourists usually include is the Lake Titicaca and the lakeside city of Copacabana.