El Alto, Bolivia

We have flown in to and out of the El Alto airport a number of times while staying in La Paz. The airport is approximately 10 km from the city center but is 390 meters higher in elevation. At 4050 meters, it is the world's highest international airport.

The larger planes need almost 5 km of runway to lift off, and must land at twice their sea level velocity to compensate for the lower atmospheric pressure. Stopping distances are much greater too and the planes are equipped with special tires to withstand the extreme forces involved.

On clear days the views from the airport, and from the plane, are fantastic. Snowy, triple peaked, Mt Illimani (6402m) looms in the distance and other lesser peaks seem close enough to touch. Directly below the plane is the city of El Alto and the soaring white spires of dozens of churches, all built by the German priest, Padre Obermaier.

El Alto, the community, is considered the Aymara capital of the world  and has a 5% to 6% growth rate per year. Since 1952, El Alto's population has grown from 11,000 to 95,000 in 1976, 307,000 in 1985 and 650,000 in 2001. Today, it is estimated that the population is more than 1,000,000, with 81% identifying as indigenous, predominately Aymara. The average age of this young city is 22 and 60% of the population are under 30 years of age.This spread out suburb on the altiplano, lurking above La Paz, is a melting pot for campesinos (subsistence farmers) and people from all around the country. Rarely do you see a western dressed women walking on the streets, all of them wear chola attire.

Everything about El Alto is stunning: the scenery, the people and the airport. I can think of no other place in the world with such an awesome combination.  And of course this is where the local tradesmen construct every sort of imaginable item: from bedroom furniture to chicken rotisseries to all of the reconstructed parts needed to keep the thousands of taxis and buses mobile.  It's a fascinating sub-culture of La Paz.