We felt it even before we disembarked. La Paz, Bolivia’s capital, sits about 3,640 meters above sea level. The city’s airport, in fact, is in an even higher, adjoining city called El Alto. At 4,150 meters above sea level, El Alto is the highest city in the world. Leaving customs with our backpacks weighing down our shoulders, we felt the classic signs—shallow, insufficient breaths, a pounding behind the temples, a strange sense that the air around us was suddenly lighter, thinner, emptier.
A Trip to Bolivia
A Trip to Bolivia
A Trip to Bolivia
We felt it even before we disembarked. La Paz, Bolivia’s capital, sits about 3,640 meters above sea level. The city’s airport, in fact, is in an even higher, adjoining city called El Alto. At 4,150 meters above sea level, El Alto is the highest city in the world. Leaving customs with our backpacks weighing down our shoulders, we felt the classic signs—shallow, insufficient breaths, a pounding behind the temples, a strange sense that the air around us was suddenly lighter, thinner, emptier.