Best night spots
18 Jul, 2011 | Camilla Swift and Helen Reid
THE MOST QUIRKY: La Costilla de Adán - Pasaje Aspiazu 743 Discreet and mysterious, La Costilla is a hidden gem. The owner opened the twostory place in what was his home, and has crammed it full of curios and artifacts collected over the years. Words don’t do it justice - visit to find out more!
THE MOST INDUSTRIAL: Diesel - Av 20 de Octubre 2271 A grunge-chic bar / restaurant with fascinating post-apocalyptic décor: Train tracks leading up to the entrance, propeller dangling from the ceiling, car engines on the walls and sci-fi toilets. One would expect hard metal music to fit the theme, but a surprisingly chilled blues and acoustic guitar soundtrack accompanies delicious cocktails and piqueos.
THE MOST ELECTRIC: Traffic - Av Arce 2549 Popular bar-cum restaurant cum-club. Electro, house and hip-hop keep the dancefloor heaving till the wee hours!
THE MOST JAZZY: Thelonious - Av 20 de Octubre 2172 With an intimate atmosphere, Thelonious Jazz Bar hosts live jazz and Brazilian music Wednesday - Saturday.
THE MOST GRINGO: MONGO’S : Hermanos Manchego 2444 As the huge Australian flag behind the bar suggests, this La Paz hotspot is packed with grinding gringo backpackers on most nights. It transforms, however, on Tuesday nights when a live Salsa band attracts a much more local crowd
THE MOST LATINO: Mama Diablo - Av 6 de Agosto Salsa central! Live Salsa and Cumbia bands every weekend ensure an energetic night of dancing, if you want to escape the gringo crowd...
THE MOST EXPLOSIVE: The Star of India - Calle Cochabamba 170 Well-renowned among backpackers and locals as the ultimate place to test your taste buds: the Vindaloo Challenge (a 35-chili-strong curry, seemingly infinite, but must be finished) is truly horrific and we’re not entirely sure the T-shirt reward is worth the consequences... We won´t go into details!
THE MOST ALTERNATIVE: TTkos - Calle México 1551 This cool cave-style basement club is the perfect place to boogie with the locals! Meditation Mondays, Reggae Tuesdays, Other Reality Wednesdays, World Party Thursdays, Big Party Fridays and Saturdays... Spoilt for choice!
THE MOST AUTHENTIC: Peña Marka Tambo - Calle Jaén 710 Immersion in a beautiful Bolivian bubble of dance, song and music. Exuberant show of traditional dancing (including characters from Bolivian legend such as the Diablo) as well as hilarious stand-up comedy with lovingly satirical comments on Paceño life, and a quartet of musicians from Tarija playing instruments such as the charango.
THE MOST BOHEMIAN: Etno Café- Calle Jaén A strong smell of incense sets the scene for this cosy hippie hide-out with original details like tables painted to look like Jupiter! Regular cultural events such as film showings, charango concerts and even literature clubs attract Paceño art students. Moreover, it’s the only place in La Paz that serves Ajenjo (a drink equally as hallucinogenic as Absinth)!
