La Paz Food Walk: Salteñas, Mercado Rodriguez & the Cable Car
Day tour
Food tour
Standard
Departure point
→
Destination
La Paz, Bolivia
La Paz
1N (Participation Duration)
Walking,Cable Car (Transportation)
English (Language)
Number of participants 0/8
0 booked
Tour description
La Paz sits in a canyon at three thousand six hundred and fifty metres, with El Alto on the rim above it at over four thousand, and the city is connected by the largest urban cable car network in the world. We use it, both because the views are extraordinary and because it means you do not have to walk uphill at this altitude.
We start at Mercado Lanza with api con pastel: api is a hot, thick, purple-corn drink with cinnamon and clove, and the pastel is a fried cheese pastry dusted with icing sugar that you dunk into it. It is the Bolivian breakfast and it is very good.
Then salteñas, which are the reason Bolivians set alarms. A salteña is a baked pastry with a crimped seam, filled with a stew so juicy it is nearly soup, and there is a correct way to hold and bite one that your guide will demonstrate before you ruin your shirt. They are sold from mid-morning and when they are gone they are gone.
We also walk Mercado Rodríguez for Andean tubers - dozens of potato varieties, chuño, oca, papalisa - and finish with a sandwich de chola, roast pork in a crusty roll with pickled vegetables.
Small group, maximum 8 guests.
We start at Mercado Lanza with api con pastel: api is a hot, thick, purple-corn drink with cinnamon and clove, and the pastel is a fried cheese pastry dusted with icing sugar that you dunk into it. It is the Bolivian breakfast and it is very good.
Then salteñas, which are the reason Bolivians set alarms. A salteña is a baked pastry with a crimped seam, filled with a stew so juicy it is nearly soup, and there is a correct way to hold and bite one that your guide will demonstrate before you ruin your shirt. They are sold from mid-morning and when they are gone they are gone.
We also walk Mercado Rodríguez for Andean tubers - dozens of potato varieties, chuño, oca, papalisa - and finish with a sandwich de chola, roast pork in a crusty roll with pickled vegetables.
Small group, maximum 8 guests.
Meeting point:
View on map
Mercado Lanza, near Plaza Murillo, central La Paz
We meet at the Mercado Lanza entrance near Plaza Murillo. Your guide will have a small sign with your name.
Detailed itinerary
Stop 1 - Mercado Lanza: The central market, with your guide on Bolivian ingredients and the Aymara food culture underneath the city.
Stop 2 - Api con pastel: A hot thick purple-corn drink with cinnamon and clove, with a fried cheese pastry to dunk in it. The Bolivian breakfast.
Stop 3 - Salteñas: A baked pastry with a crimped seam, filled with an almost liquid stew of meat, potato, olive and egg. Your guide demonstrates how to eat one before you try.
Stop 4 - Mercado Rodriguez: Dozens of potato varieties, chuño freeze-dried potato, oca and papalisa, with your guide on how Andean agriculture actually works.
Stop 5 - Mi Teleferico: A ride on the world's largest urban cable car network, over the canyon and up towards El Alto, with the city and Illimani below. Fare included.
Stop 6 - Sandwich de chola: Roast pork with crackling in a crusty roll with pickled carrot, onion and llajua chilli sauce.
Stop 7 - Singani or mate de coca: A small taste of Bolivia's grape spirit, or a cup of coca tea, with your guide's notes on eating in the city.
Stop 2 - Api con pastel: A hot thick purple-corn drink with cinnamon and clove, with a fried cheese pastry to dunk in it. The Bolivian breakfast.
Stop 3 - Salteñas: A baked pastry with a crimped seam, filled with an almost liquid stew of meat, potato, olive and egg. Your guide demonstrates how to eat one before you try.
Stop 4 - Mercado Rodriguez: Dozens of potato varieties, chuño freeze-dried potato, oca and papalisa, with your guide on how Andean agriculture actually works.
Stop 5 - Mi Teleferico: A ride on the world's largest urban cable car network, over the canyon and up towards El Alto, with the city and Illimani below. Fare included.
Stop 6 - Sandwich de chola: Roast pork with crackling in a crusty roll with pickled carrot, onion and llajua chilli sauce.
Stop 7 - Singani or mate de coca: A small taste of Bolivia's grape spirit, or a cup of coca tea, with your guide's notes on eating in the city.
Tour price includes
• Small-group English-speaking local food guide (maximum 8 guests)
• All food and drink tastings listed in the itinerary
• Mi Teleferico cable car fares
• Bottled water and wet wipes throughout
• All taxes and service fees
• All food and drink tastings listed in the itinerary
• Mi Teleferico cable car fares
• Bottled water and wet wipes throughout
• All taxes and service fees
Tour price excludes
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off unless stated
• Additional drinks beyond those included
• Personal travel insurance
• Tips for your guide (appreciated but never expected)
• Meals and purchases outside the programme
• Additional drinks beyond those included
• Personal travel insurance
• Tips for your guide (appreciated but never expected)
• Meals and purchases outside the programme
Cancellation policy
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour start time for a full refund. Cancellations within 24 hours are non-refundable. If road blockades or demonstrations make the route unsafe we cancel and refund in full.
Other notes
Runs daily at 09:00. Salteñas are sold from mid-morning until they run out, usually by one o'clock, which sets the timing.
Altitude is the defining issue here. La Paz is at about 3,650 metres and El Alto above it is over 4,000. Do not book this tour for your arrival day. Give yourself at least twenty-four hours, ideally more. We use the cable car specifically so that you are not climbing, we sit down often, and we do not include alcohol beyond a token taste. If you have a heart or lung condition, are pregnant, or have had recent surgery, talk to your doctor before travelling to this altitude. Your guide is trained to recognise altitude sickness and the only real treatment is to descend - we have a taxi and a named clinic on call.
Safety and the current situation, honestly: Bolivia is rated Level 2 by the US and the UK foreign office currently advises against all but essential travel to parts of the country, citing economic difficulty and rising crime. Road blockades are the standard form of protest here and can close routes including the airport road at short notice. There have been fuel shortages. We keep this tour central and on foot and the cable car, we monitor daily, and we will cancel and refund rather than run into a blockade. Please read your own government's advice before booking.
Money: Bolivia is in a currency crisis. Cards frequently fail and ATMs run dry. Bring US dollars in cash. Your guide pays for everything on the tour.
Water: tap water is not drinkable. We provide bottled water.
Rain: November to March, heaviest in January, with hail and flash flooding in the canyon streets.
Dietary needs: tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Vegetarian is workable via api, cheese salteñas, humintas and the tuber market.
About 1.5 km of walking plus cable car rides, at 3,650 metres.
Altitude is the defining issue here. La Paz is at about 3,650 metres and El Alto above it is over 4,000. Do not book this tour for your arrival day. Give yourself at least twenty-four hours, ideally more. We use the cable car specifically so that you are not climbing, we sit down often, and we do not include alcohol beyond a token taste. If you have a heart or lung condition, are pregnant, or have had recent surgery, talk to your doctor before travelling to this altitude. Your guide is trained to recognise altitude sickness and the only real treatment is to descend - we have a taxi and a named clinic on call.
Safety and the current situation, honestly: Bolivia is rated Level 2 by the US and the UK foreign office currently advises against all but essential travel to parts of the country, citing economic difficulty and rising crime. Road blockades are the standard form of protest here and can close routes including the airport road at short notice. There have been fuel shortages. We keep this tour central and on foot and the cable car, we monitor daily, and we will cancel and refund rather than run into a blockade. Please read your own government's advice before booking.
Money: Bolivia is in a currency crisis. Cards frequently fail and ATMs run dry. Bring US dollars in cash. Your guide pays for everything on the tour.
Water: tap water is not drinkable. We provide bottled water.
Rain: November to March, heaviest in January, with hail and flash flooding in the canyon streets.
Dietary needs: tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Vegetarian is workable via api, cheese salteñas, humintas and the tuber market.
About 1.5 km of walking plus cable car rides, at 3,650 metres.
Detailed price list
| Guest type | Price |
|---|---|
| Adults | $49 |
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