Department #2: La Paz

The Department of La Paz comprises 51,732 square miles with a population of around 2,706,359 inhabitants. This makes the Department of La Paz the most populated out of all the other departments. It is situated at the western border of Bolivia, sharing Lake Titicaca with Peru. It contains the Cordillera Real, which reaches altitudes of 4.1 miles. Northeast of the Cordillera Real are the Yungas, the steep eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains that make the transition to the Amazon River basin to the northeast. The capital of the department is the city of La Paz and is the administrative city and seat of government/national capital of Bolivia.

The Department of La Paz contains the road of death I talked about a few blogs back. Also located in El Alto (the departments second largest city), contains La Paz’s international airport and is the highest airport in the world at 13,313 ft. La Paz is also famous for its cable car system. The cable car network provides fast and reliable transport between the city’s major attractions. Operating at 13,000 ft above sea level, it's the world’s highest cable car ride and is a fun way to get from A to B while experiencing impressive views over La Paz.

I actually had the opportunity to visit La Paz and ride on the cable cars. But what stood out to me the most while on those cable cars were all the houses, buildings, and people. La Paz is Bolivia's fastest growing urban center. That simply means that the city is growing with more and more people. It makes me think of the people there and how they need a local church. How they need someone just to tell them of the Gospel. Please be praying for the department of La Paz.