Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Laundry
Most hotels have a laundry service, and there are plenty of
lavanderías
around
town. Try Lavandería Maya, Sagárnaga 339, inside the same gallery as
Hostal Maya Inn
, or
the friendly Finesse, IIampu 853.
Pharmacies
There's a 24hr, 365-day-a-year pharmacy on Av 16 de Julio 1473, near the
Monje Campero cinema ( 02 2331838).
Photo equipment and film
There are photo developing labs all over the city centre and
along the Prado; try ABC, Av 16 Mariscal Santa Cruz. Tecnología Fotográfica, Ground
Floor Office A, Edificio Renacer, Av 20 de Octubre 2255 (
tecnologiafotografica.com
),
develops and digitizes slide and black-and-white film, repairs cameras (including digital)
and sells a reasonable range of equipment.
Post office
Correo Central, Av Mariscal Santa Cruz and Oruro (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat till
6pm, Sun 9am-noon). There's also an endearing little office in the far corner of the
Angelo
Colonial
courtyard, Linares 922 (Mon-Fri 9am-noon & 3-7pm; Sat till 1pm, Sun till noon).
Telephones
One of the cheapest places to make international calls is the small Punto Cotel
on the Prado, opposite the main Post Office (walk right through past the first line of booths
to the office at the back; Mon-Fri 8.30am-10.30pm, Sat & Sun till 8pm). Charges to the UK
are only Bs1/minute. For directory enquiries call 104.
Tourist police
Edificio Olimpia, Plaza Tejada Sorzano, opposite the stadium in Miraflores
(24hr; 02 2225016). Come here to report thefts for insurance claims.
Around La Paz
Justsouthofthecitythebarren,moon-likelandscapes ofthe
Valle de la Luna
andthe
Muela
del Diablo
, near the suburbs of
Mallasa
and
Calacoto
respectively, make for energetic day-
trips if you want a little taste of the kind of dramatic mountain scenery that awaits you else-
where in Bolivia; a gentler half-day can be had at Mallasa's zoo.
To the north of La Paz, the spectacular high Andean scenery of the Cordillera Real can be
easily reached on a day-trip to
Chacaltaya
, even if the famous glacier and high-altitude ski-
ing are now increasingly distant memories. Further east towards the Peruvian border lies the
mysterious ruined city of
Tiwanaku
, Bolivia's most impressive archeological site.
Mallasa
From Calacoto, the southernmost suburb of the Zona Sur in La Paz, a road follows the course
of the Río Choqueyapu about 5km southeast towards the suburb of
MALLASA
, in the sur-
rounding environs of which you'll find both the
Valle de la Luna
and the
municipal zoo
.
Valle de la Luna
Daily 8am-5.30pm • Bs15 • Take micro #11 from the Prado or #231/#273 from Calle Mexico, and get off at the
roundabout with the small obelisk, shortly after the road passes through two tunnels
