Expert travel storyteller Jordan Adkins, founder of InspiredByMaps.com, brings a decade of adventures across 101 countries and 450+ UNESCO sites into rich, off-the-beaten-path narratives, melding ecological expertise with genuine, seasoned travel insights. His full bio can be found here.
Snow-capped mountains peek above the clouds in the distance, overlooking the chaotic mess of traffic and smog left far below.
Throngs of tiny, tiny people go about their daily life – unaware of the silent observers looking on from above on the La Paz Cable Car in Bolivia.
This is now a daily reality of life here in Bolivia’s administrative capital and nearby El Alto – the world’s highest metropolis, which spread across the cliffs above 4,150m.
That’s far higher than Mexico City at 2,250 m and nearby Arequipa in Peru at 2335 m…
Thanks to the vision of Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma, in 2014, the world’s largest and highest aerial cable car urban transit system became operational – beginning with three lines but with a further seven planned or currently under construction.
There really is nothing else in the world like it – nor a city so uniquely suited for such an ambitious project. Situated in a deep valley high in the Andes, La Paz is steep, over-crowded, and absolutely chaotic.
Still, when you are soaring high above its thousands upon thousands of ramshackle terra-cotta-red buildings, it takes on an almost exquisite quality.
La Paz Cable Car in Bolivia – The World’s Coolest Public Transportation?
The La Paz Cable Car in Bolivia is the world’s first example of cable cars being used as a primary transport network rather than connecting to a more extensive network of subways or trains.
We loved the bizarre subway art museums of Stockholm and the glistening new metro of Doha, but this. This was something else entirely.
In contrast to the surrounding narrow streets, uninspired architecture, and gritty atmosphere, the new cable car stations are a beacon of modernity in this fast-developing country.
Futuristic, clean, high-tech, and grand – the La Paz Cable Car was designed for the city La Paz wishes to become.
Upon entering the eight-person cabins, you are enveloped in silence. Free WiFi is provided, but the views will be enough to keep you entertained for hours – a bird’s eye view of the ground below.
It is surreal and refreshing to see a city from a completely new angle and grasp just how big and sprawling this city truly is.