What is the highest capital city in the world?
La Paz, Bolivia's seat of government, is the highest capital in the world, at about 3,600 meters above sea level. Quito, Ecuador, at about 2,850 meters, is the highest official capital.
Bolivia has two capitals. Sucre is the constitutional capital, while La Paz is the seat of government, where the president and parliament are based. La Paz sits in a deep canyon in the Andes, and its neighboring city, El Alto, at about 4,000 meters, is one of the highest large cities in the world.
Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is the highest official capital city. It lies in a valley on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, close to the Equator. Other high capitals include Bogotá in Colombia, at about 2,640 meters, and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, at about 2,355 meters.
Life at altitude
At such heights, the air contains less oxygen, and visitors can suffer from altitude sickness, with headaches and shortness of breath. La Paz has an aerial cable car system called Mi Teleférico, one of the largest urban cable car networks in the world, connecting it with El Alto.
Did You Know?
Water boils at a lower temperature at high altitude, about 87 degrees Celsius in La Paz, so cooking pasta and beans takes longer.