La Paz, Bolivia: The City that Found a Solution to Traffic Jams

in #streetphotography6 years ago (edited)

Traffic jams are a common sight in La Paz, the Andean city that is the seat of the Bolivian government. If you look closely, you will see that almost every second car in this photo either is a taxi or a mini-van used for public transport. Since there is a difference in elevation of about 1.000 metres between the lowest point of La Paz and the highest point of El Alto, the sister city of La Paz, the city highway is quite steep and getting from one point to another takes a long time by car.

01-jpp-20151003.jpg
18mm, f8, 1/320; Click on image to enlarge

To improve the public transport, the local government has recently introduced a system of cable cars that provide a fast and convenient way of travelling between different places around the city.
When I visited Bolivia in 2015, there were three cable car lines across the city; meanwhile, two more have opened. La Paz now has the biggest cable car system in the world.

01-jpp-20151007-2.jpg
35mm, f8, 1/400; Click on image to enlarge

With a price of 3 Bolivian Pesos equaling about 0,44 US-Dollars, riding the cable cars is really cheap by western standards and still affordable for Bolivians.
Thanks to the excellent system of cable cars, traffic jams like in the first photo can be avoided for many routes already. With 6 more lines scheduled to open in La Paz, the government-run company Mi Teleférico continues to build cable cars for other cities in Bolivia.

01-jpp-20151007.jpg
90mm, f6.3, 1/200; Click on image to enlarge


Camera Gear

The camera I used for these photos is a Sony A37 (APS-C) with a Sony DT 18-135 mm F3,5–5,6 SAM lens.

More about La Paz

I did a photo documentary about the market in El Alto some weeks ago with more photos from the cable cars over La Paz. Feel free to check it out, but please remember that you cannot vote on posts older than 7 days on Steemit, so please vote on one of my recent posts instead!

Market Friday: Market in El Alto, Bolivia. A photo documentary.

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So I was up there on the Teleferico. I climbed one of the concrete buildings to get a good shot of La Paz. I asked one of the passerby if it was ok to setup my tripod where I was. Turns out I was on top of somebody's house!

Haha, sounds like something that could have happened to me :D

Cool shots! And nice writeup for the background info. I took the teleferico to El Alto market, and one local sharing the gondola told me it’s too dangerous to go there alone, haha... So he offered to show me around the market. La Paz is breathtaking (literally as well), so I kept extending my stay there :D ❤️ Bolivia!

Wow, so you went to the market in El Alto as well? Such an interesting place and the view is breathtaking - or is it just the altitude? :D So you got a guided tour across the market then?
I have met so many nice people in Bolivia, although I felt that many Bolivians were less open to talking to travellers than people in other Latin American countries.

Maybe because of the wild high Andes? I’m not sure 🤔 I heard people from lowlands are different? How did you feel in Santa Cruz? I haven’t been there yet.

Eastern Bolivia is a bit different, but I felt very welcome in Santa Cruz. Further East in the department Santa Cruz there is almost no tourism (and now wifi at all! :D) and people were very surprised to see a European guy travelling there, but they were super nice!
In Santa Cruz, I actually met a guy who was learning German and hosted me for some days. He even took me to some amazing waterfalls in the region!

Sounds very cool! 😀 I want to visit it in future too, and Tarija - recommended by some Bolivianos in a bus ;)

Every Bolivian I met told me to go to Tarija :D It was too far off my route, but I will go there when I am back in South America!

Great post Julian! I find this extra interesting as I should be going there in the next month or two. Thanks for sharing! -Dan

Bolivia is such an amazing country, I am sure you will enjoy your time there! I spent 7 weeks travelling around Bolivia in 2015 and I was amazed by the nature and culture of this country, just the food wasn't so good :D Hit me up if you need some tips where to go!

Sweet. I certainly will get in touch with you before I get there. No kidding, the only place I've really like the food in latin America was Mexico! I've got a feeling Argentina will be good too as I love steak and that is what they do best!

Well, wait until you get to Peru! It was really a difference to Bolivia: As soon as I had crossed the border, the dishes with the same name as the ones in Bolivia suddenly there were well seasoned and tasted amazing! Also, they have "real" restaurants there, while in Bolivia and Ecuador I was mostly eating on markets since they have often better quality than restaurants. But in Peru the markets are good (a lot better than in Bolivia!), but some restaurants are really amazing! They have so many great dishes in Peru, definitely try ceviche, their national dish. Oh, and if you want to splurge, in Lima you can eat out in some really fancy restaurants for quite affordable prices.
I was only in Argentina for two days when I visited the Iguazu Falls on my way from Brazil to Paraguay so I haven't tried any steak there, but the Brazilian BBQ in the border town Foz do Iguacu was some of the most amazing meat I have had in my life!

Thank you so much for the info JP. Will keep all of this mind!

That’s awesome, would never have known Bolivia was home to something like that. Great to see cities like this thinking greener and solving the car problem!

I was surprised as well, but some "third world countries" actually have a very good public transport system since so many people rely on it because they can't afford to own a car.

Absolutely, I was stunned at just how bad America's public transport system is!

Absolutely! In America everybody depends on their car; when I visited Hilo, the largest city on Big Island (Hawaii) I had to hitchhike to the shopping centre because there was no public transport at all!

Bolivia looks really interesting! I think I should add this destination to my 'to visit' list! It is vibrant with a good infrastructure and beautiful architecture judging by Virgin Mary!

The third image is not for those with a fear of heights! 😱 I can't believe how high it is! I would not be happy to be the owner of the house below!

You certainly should! Bolivia is an amazing country to visit, it has so much to offer, the nature also is really spectacular.
The view from the cable cars certainly is not for those with a fear of heights, but I liked it a lot to watch life from above; The cable cars in La Paz are running over so many different places, from cemeteries over military bases to residential neighborhoods.

It is a perfect way to get a little bit noisy!

Interesting post. La Paz looks a very colourful city. I love that decorated grass embankment in the middle of the road.

The cable cars look fun but I'd have to get over my fear of heights quickly, if I visited! 😊

I was walking across a bridge and then I saw this amazing view, I loved how they made the green space! At least there is something pretty to look at while stuck in traffic :D

These are great, love the first photo, all the colours and lines look amazing, it almost looks like its in a toy village!

You are right, it does like like a toy village!

Oh how i love my bolivia... i lived there from 98 to 2000 and visited again as a photographer in 2012 #nostalgia

I love it too! :) Such an enchanting place.

I read about that in your #introduceyourself post, I bet it was an awesome experience! Where in Bolivia did you live?
I love Bolivia as well, I ended up staying there 7 weeks out of my 5 months in South America and will return there on my next trip to the region!

I never thought anyone could make traffic look so beautiful :D
Amazing shots, all of them :)

Thank you :) I took the second shot through the windows of the cable car cabin, so I am not totally happy with the quality..

Thank you very much, i am planning a trip to Bolivia so this is good info :)

Enjoy Bolivia, it is an amazing country to visit!

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