Visit the churches, museums, and Witches Market of central La Paz, a sprawling city surrounded by colorful hills and peaks, especially towering Mt Illimani. From there it's only a 10km trip to Moon Valley, aptly named for its lunar landscape.
Our first stop is Plaza Murillo, where the Bolivian government is based. Our first stop is the immense Cathedral, after which we'll visit the Presidential Palace, colloquially known as the Burnt Palace due to its near destruction in 1875 during a popular uprising.
After leaving the plaza we'll head to our next stop, the 16th century San Francisco Church, whose stunning elaborate mestizo-baroque façade features blend indigenous symbols such as masks, dragons, tropical birds and snakes with Catholic imagery. A stone tunnel stairway from the neoclassical interior leads to the roof, which offers an arial of the church's unique rooftops and of the city as well.
We'll make brief stops at the replica of the semi-subterranean shrine of Tiwanaku and the natural scenic lookout of Quilli Quilli, which boasts the best panorama of southern, central, and northern La Paz as well as the slopes of the surrounding peaks. During Tupac Katari's 1781 siege of Colonial La Paz, this spot was both a watchpost and prison.
Then it's off to Bolivia's richest museum, the Pre-Columbian Precious Metals Museum (formerly the Gold Museum). Its priceless pieces of finely-worked silver and gold, as well as bronze and ceramic relics, span 3,000 years and were excavated from archeological sites such as Tiahuacu's Kalasaya Temple. Afterwards, we'll stop at the small but refined National Folklore Museum to tour its stunning exhibits of bright woven unku capes, feathered headdresses, and ritual and festive masks.
At the Witches Market, you'll see pre-Columbian Aymara beliefs in practice as locals buy products such as llama fetuses, dried frogs, potions, and talismans for use in rituals like the Ch'alla and offerings to t
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