La Paz in the context of "List of capital cities by altitude"

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco, warm valleys, high-altitude Andean plateaus, and snow-capped peaks, encompassing a wide range of climates and biomes across its regions and cities. It includes part of the Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland in the world, along its eastern border. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west. The seat of government is La Paz, which contains the executive, legislative, and electoral branches of government, while the constitutional capital is Sucre, the seat of the judiciary. The largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located on the Llanos Orientales (eastern tropical lowlands), a mostly flat region in the east of the country with a diverse non-Andean culture.

The sovereign state of Bolivia is a constitutionally unitary state divided into nine departments. Its geography varies as the elevation fluctuates, from the western snow-capped peaks of the Andes to the eastern lowlands, situated within the Amazon basin. One-third of the country is within the Andean mountain range. With an area of 1,098,581 km (424,164 sq mi), Bolivia is the fifth-largest country in South America after Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia, and, alongside Paraguay, is one of two landlocked countries in the Americas. It is the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere. Bolivia had a population of 11.4 million as of the latest census in 2024. It is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, and the descendants of Europeans and Africans. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guaraní, Aymara, and Quechua.

The Andes (/ˈændiːz/ AN-deez), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (Spanish: Cordillera de los Andes; Quechua: Anti) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is 8,900 km (5,500 mi) long and 200 to 700 km (120 to 430 mi) wide (widest between 18°S and 20°S latitude) and has an average height of about 4,000 m (13,000 ft). The Andes extend from south to north through seven South American countries: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.

Along their length, the Andes are split into several ranges, separated by intermediate depressions. The Andes are the location of several high plateaus—some of which host major cities such as Arequipa, Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, El Alto, La Paz, Mérida, Santiago and Sucre. The Altiplano Plateau is the world's second highest after the Tibetan Plateau. These ranges are in turn grouped into three major divisions based on climate: the Tropical Andes, the Dry Andes, and the Wet Andes.

Quito (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkito] ; Quechua: Kitu), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is in a valley on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes.

Quito's elevation of 2,850 m (9,350 ft) makes it either the highest or the second highest national capital city in the world. This varied standing is because Bolivia is a country with multiple capitals; if La Paz is considered the Bolivian national capital, it tops the list of highest capitals, but if Sucre is specified as the capital, then it is the second highest, behind Quito.

Sucre (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsukɾe]; Quechua: Chuqichaka) is the de jure capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of 2,790 m (9,150 ft). This relatively high altitude gives the city a subtropical highland climate with cool temperatures year-round. Over the centuries, the city has received various names, including La Plata, Charcas, and Chuquisaca. Today, the region is of predominantly Quechua background, with some Aymara communities and influences.

Sucre holds major national importance and is an educational and government center, as well as the location of the Bolivian Supreme Court. Its pleasant climate and low crime rates have made the city popular amongst foreigners and Bolivians alike. Notably, Sucre contains one of the best preserved Hispanic colonial and republican historic city centres in the Western Hemisphere - similar to cities such as Cuzco and Quito. This architectural heritage and the millenarian history of the Charcas region has led to Sucre's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city has held an important place in Bolivian history from its place as an important center in the Real Audencia de Charcas, and later as the first capital of Bolivia before the fall of silver's importance as a global mineral commodity. Some regional tension remains from the historical transfer of capital functions to La Paz, and even today the issue features an important role in local culture and political ideology.

El Alto (Spanish for "The Heights") is the second-largest city in Bolivia, located adjacent to La Paz in Pedro Domingo Murillo Province on the Altiplano highlands. El Alto is today one of Bolivia's fastest-growing urban centers, with an estimated population of 943,558 in 2020. It is also the highest major city in the world, with an average elevation of 4,000 m (13,123 ft).

The El Alto–La Paz metropolitan area, formed by La Paz, El Alto, Achocalla, Viacha, and Mecapaca, constitutes the most populous urban area of Bolivia, with a population of about 2.2 million. The city is rapidly developing, although significant challenges with substandard infrastructure and utilities remain, especially in the outlying areas.

Tiwanaku (Spanish: Tiahuanaco or Tiahuanacu) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilometers and include decorated ceramics, monumental structures, and megalithic blocks. It has been conservatively estimated that the site was inhabited by 10,000 to 20,000 people in AD 800.

The site was first recorded in written history in 1549 by Spanish conquistador Pedro Cieza de León while he was searching for the southern Inca capital of Qullasuyu.

Cochabamba (Aymara: Quchapampa; Quechua: Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 661,484 according to the 2024 Bolivian census. Its name is from a compound of the Quechua words qucha "lake" and pampa, "open plain." Residents of the city and the surrounding areas are commonly referred to as cochalas or, more formally, cochabambinos.

It is known as the "City of Eternal Spring" or "The Garden City" because of its spring-like temperatures all year round. It is also known as "La Llajta," which means "town" in Quechua. It is the largest urban center between the higher capital of La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra in the tropical plains of the east. It sits south-west of the Tunari mountains, and north of the foothills of the Valle Alto. In antiquity, the area featured numerous lakes, which gave the city its name. Many of these lakes have since disappeared to urban development, but Coña Coña and Alalay lakes are extant examples. It has been a populated settlement since the Pre-Inca period, and is today an important cultural, educational, political, and commercial centre.

This is a list of national capitals ordered by elevation. Higher elevations typically have social, economic, and architectural effects on cities, in particular colder temperatures in winter. Low elevation cities are often seaports or are close to the sea.

The first country on the main list, Bolivia, is a country with multiple capitals; La Paz is the seat of the government while Sucre is the constitutional capital.