Bolivia has no shortage of great scenery, from the salt flats near Uyuni to the Maragua Crater near Sucre to the Amazon jungle and all of the mountains in between. Some of these places can feel remote, but just a short drive from the capital city of La Paz, you can reach Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley, which looks like it is from another planet.
During my trip to Bolivia, I built in extra days to my time in La Paz so I would be able to visit some of the cool day trips around the area. One of those days was spent on a trip to Valle de la Luna. Here’s what it’s like.
What to Expect on a Tour to Valle de la Luna
My trip to Valle de la Luna was paired with a trip to Chacaltaya Mountain, which is a pretty common for a day trip, and I’ll cover more on that experience later in this post. However, for now, I’m going to focus solely on Valle de la Luna since I think it would technically be possible to visit on your own. Plus, there are tour companies that will do half day trips to only Valle de la Luna.
Getting to Valle de la Luna
I took a tour to Valle de la Luna so my transportation was arranged for me. However, compared to many of the other day trips from La Paz, I think it could be possible to visit on your own.
It’s 25 to 30 minutes by car from the center of La Paz (I used The Witch’s Market as a reference point). So, theoretically, you could hire a taxi to take you. If you’re traveling with a small group, this may make more sense financially. Rather than everyone paying the tour fee, you just pay one (hopefully) lower taxi fare. As a solo traveler, it’s almost certainly easier to just take the tour.
The other option is to look at local buses that head to that area of La Paz. If you’re going to go this route, I highly recommend talking to your hotel to get advice. Bus schedules for La Paz are non-existent, though buses are plentiful. The trick is to know which bus you need to take and when you need to get off, since there are no designated stops. Your hotel will hopefully be able to help you plan that out.
Hiking Around Valle de la Luna
Normally, I’ll give you an exact breakdown of the stats for hiking around a certain area. Valle de la Luna is different because I forgot to start my tracker at the beginning of the hike. Whoops.
Despite not having the exact data that I normally do, I can tell you that you should budget about an hour to walk through the entire area. While there’s a little bit of up and down, the only part that makes this hike difficult is the altitude. You may be at the lowest point in La Paz, but you’re still at 3,400 meters above sea level.
Before you start hiking though, you’ll have to pay your entrance fee. At the time of writing, Valle de la Luna costs 20 bolivianos to visit. From the ticket office, enter Valle de la Luna and head to the right. This will put you on a one way walking path through the area.
Along the way, you’ll get plenty of nice and unique views. The rock formations are unique and I couldn’t think of anything else I could compare it to. The closest I came up with were parts of Death Valley National Park in the United States, but even that felt like a stretch.
So how did Valle de la Luna form? Well, scientists aren’t positive, but they think it’s related to the shifting tectonic plates. Specifically, they believe that this area was once part of the ocean floor, which is crazy to think about knowing that you’re so high in altitude.
As you walk on your tour, your guide will give you more information. This is one benefit of going with a group tour, rather than visiting on your own. I was surprised, but our guide actually walked the entire route with us. We weren’t rushed and could take as many photos as we wanted before moving on to the next place. And if you just wanted to take photos and not pay attention to the background information, that was fine too.
Keep in mind that if you really want to learn about this area, you really need a guide. There are no informational signs (apart from the signs pointing out a rock formation), so if you travel on your own, you need to be ok with just enjoying the scenery. For me, this would have been fine, but since it was easier for me to do this as a guided day trip, I took advantage of whatever information the guide had.
Speaking of information, despite the area looking so unique, you’ll see plenty of houses nearby. Some are further away while others are incredibly close to Valle de la Luna. This is because until the year 2000, Valle de la Luna was not protected by the government. It was tourist agencies that petitioned the government to protect this area and their lobbying worked. However, the houses that were built before that protection occurred still remain. I think it’s a really interesting juxtaposition since normally, scenery like this would be somewhere incredibly remote.
In a little over an hour, you’ll be back at the starting point. As a note, there’s some free and decently clean bathrooms right near the exit. Take advantage if you need them.
Should You Do a Tour to Valle de la Luna?
I think it really depends on your situation. If you’re traveling solo, a tour can be the easiest way to visit Valle de la Luna, especially for non-Spanish speakers. If you’re traveling as a couple or small group, I think it’s worth looking into the cost of hiring a taxi for part of the day.
That said, if you also want to visit Chacaltaya, just take the day trip and save yourself the planning headaches.
Visiting Chacaltaya and Valle de la Luna Together
When I visited La Paz, I booked a tour that included stops at both Chacaltaya and Valle de la Luna. Despite being on opposite ends of the city (Chacaltaya is north of La Paz and Valle de la Luna is south), it somehow still worked.
Typically, the tours will visit Chacaltaya in the morning and then visit Valle de la Luna in the afternoon. My tour was slightly different and we visited Valle de la Luna first. This was a very last minute swap due to the snow on Chacaltaya the night before and I think it was 100% the right decision.
What to Bring on a Tour to Valle de la Luna
Like with any day trip from La Paz, I recommend bringing layers. You’re high in the mountains, though Valle de la Luna is actually the lowest point in La Paz and temperatures can vary wildly. Mornings are cold, but afternoons can be warm (my guide said hot), especially if the sun comes out. So be prepared for different temperatures at Valle de la Luna.
I also recommend bringing water and sunscreen.
More in La Paz
La Paz is one of the capital cities of Bolivia (Sucre is the other) and there’s some interesting things to do in the city. Wander the city center (I recommend a walking tour to get the most out of your experience) or see a cholita wrestling show. Outside of the city, there’s no shortage of day trips.
For those interested in mountains, Chacaltaya is a popular day trip and Charquini allows you to visit a beautiful lake. For more adventure, consider hiking Huyana Potosi, a mountain with a peak above 6000 meters.
If you’re looking for even more adventure, consider taking a biking tour of Death Road.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed my time in La Paz, but a big reason for that was all of the fun and unique day trips you can do from the city. Visiting Valle de la Luna was no exception and I’m glad I gave it a spot in my itinerary. Whether you’re visiting on your own or part of a larger day trip, I recommend dedicating a half day to Valle de la Luna.
Continue Your Adventure
More in Bolivia: Don’t miss the jaw dropping Uyuni Salt Flats in southern Bolivia. Near Sucre, you can hike around the Maragua Crater.
