Altitude sickness is a strange beast; it can have little to no
effect on some people but leave others gasping for breath and feeling like
they’ve aged forty years overnight.
This was certainly the case for me when I arrived in La Paz, a
city precariously perched at 12,000 feet above sea level in the Bolivian Andes.
Whilst my girlfriend was blissfully unaffected by the sharp increase
in altitude, as soon as we left the plane at El Alto Airport in La Paz I could
feel the altitude taking an effect. By the time we were in a taxi on the way
into the city, I felt noticeably sluggish.
By following these tips, you can lessen the effects of altitude
sickness in La Paz, and get to see more of this fascinating city.
1. Drink Coca Tea
A popular and cheap method
of dealing with altitude sickness in La Paz is chewing coca leaves or drinking
them in a tea. The effect of the tea is mild and in no way comparable to coca in
its illegal powdered form. Whilst this won’t transform you from a groggy to
energetic state or alleviate the problem, it does take the edge off. Many
hotels and hostels will provide coca leaves free of charge on request. In Cruz
de Los Andes where we stayed twice the leaves were freely available in the
breakfast room.
To prepare this, crumble
the leaves up in a cup and then add boiling water. The flavour isn’t
particularly pleasant, but then again neither is the overpowering lethargy of
altitude sickness.
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| Coca tea - all legal and helps take the edge off altitude sickness |
2. Don’t Exert Yourself
La Paz’s near vertical
streets can be challenging at the best of times, and can feel an impossible
challenge under the influence of altitude sickness. It’s important to pace
yourself when walking, especially uphill.
3. Stay on a Lower Floor of your Accommodation
This may seem
tongue-in-cheek but it genuinely helps, particularly if you are staying in
lift-free accommodation! Our move down from the top (fifth) floor to the second
floor definitely had a positive effect – not least because of the gruelling slog
up five stories of steps! In the room itself, I felt tangibly less short of
breath, my head stopped pounding and the tingling fingers subsided to some
extent.
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| La Paz's higher reaches viewed from our hostel |
4. Eat Sensibly
Eating a heavy meal is
proven to worsen altitude sickness so resist temptation to gorge on the
Bolivian staple of fried chicken. Eat something light in a sensible portion-size
instead.
5. Avoid Alcohol & Drink Plenty of Water
La Paz isn’t renowned as a party city but there are more
bars and hedonistic hostels beginning to spring up. Bear in mind that a
hangover at altitude is a normal hangover squared. High altitude can cause pounding
headaches anyway, especially lying down, so avoid alcohol until you’re
accustomed to the elevated height.
Flying into La Paz from Santiago was a gamble which, if we’d had
the luxury of more time, we probably wouldn’t have taken. It took about two
days in La Paz to adjust, after which I felt no repeat of the symptoms in the
weeks after, even at a higher altitude in Quito.
Have you experienced altitude sickness in La Paz or any
other city?
