Part Two: La Paz, Bolivia

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Images below are thumbnails. Click on them to see a larger version.

Two Andean mountain chains run through western Bolivia, with many peaks reaching higher than 6000 metres. The western Cordillera Occidental stands between Bolivia and the Pacific coast. The eastern Cordillera Real runs southeast past lake Titicaca, then turns south across central Bolivia.

Magnificent views of the eastern chain of the Andes came into view. In the distance spread the magnificent mystical blue Lake Titicaca. This is the world's highest lake navigable to large vessels, lying at 12,500 feet (3,810 m) above sea level in the Andes astride the border between Peru to the west and Bolivia to the east.

The mystical lake covers some 3,200 square miles (8,300 square km) and extends in a northwest-to-southeast direction for a distance of 120 miles (190 km). It is 50 miles (80 km) across at its widest point. Titicaca lies between Andean ranges in a vast basin (about 22,400 square miles [58,000 square km] in area) that comprises most of the Altiplano (High Plateau) of the northern Andes. In the snow-covered Cordillera Real on the northeastern (Bolivian) shore of the lake, some of the highest peaks in the Andes rise to heights of more than 21,000 feet (6,400 m).

Our plane tilted its wings for the bleak approach to La Paz, and soon the poverty-plagued adobe sprawl of El Alto appeared below us. Because of its unique location 500 metres below El Alto - at the bottom of a vast chasm at a breathless 3632 metres above sea level, La Paz was still not visible. As soon as I undid my seatbelt after landing, and rose to gather my hand luggage, I suddenly became dizzy and lightheaded, and found breathing difficult. High plateau cities like El Alto and La Paz are well-known for altitude sickness. This would become my challenge over the forthcoming week in Bolivia.

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