More cable cars

We took some time to photograph the stunning views of La Paz from El Alto before returning to the cable car station and taking the red line down through the Chualluma district. The project to splash Chualluma with colour lasted between March and July of 2019, making it one of Bolivia’s hottest and newest attractions. Overseeing the project was Knorke Leaf, who served as the creative director, concept designer, as well as the urban artist who painted it. The fact that Ms. Knorke Leaf is a Bolivian herself, adds a huge amount of significance and meaning to the incredible project.

Like Comuna 13 in Medellin or Maboneng in Johannesburg, Chualluma transformed a struggling neighbourhood into a beautiful one that tells the story of its people.

The cable car then took us over La Paz cemetery.  When people die, their families can only lease a space in the cemetary for a maximum of five years.  After this time, the body must be removed and either cremated or reburied in a private graveyard.  If the body is cremated, the family can buy or rent a glass-fronted space in the cemetary walls for the ashes.  They affix plaques and mementoes of the deceased and place flowers behind the glass door.

The red line ends at what used to be La Paz's central railway station.  Bolivia's railway network was bought by British Rail in the mid-1990s, but they couldn’t make it pay.  They offered to sell it back to the Bolivian government, but they declined.  So, the tracks and most of the rolling stock was sold, and La Paz (Bolivia) was left without a public transport system.  This remained the case until the cable car was opened.Read more