Is El Alto safe to visit for tourists?

El Alto is relatively safe for tourists when it is daylight, especially near the cable car stations, at the huge 16 de Julio market, and around the Cholita Wrestling venues. That said, going away from the main shopping streets, or staying in the city after dark, is strongly discouraged.

It is a massive, sprawling working-class city up on the high plateau around 4,100 metres, so it has a higher baseline of urban crime than La Paz. During the day, the markets feel amazing and very immersive culturally, but they are also well-known hotspots for highly skilled pickpockets. If you visit, keep everything valuable secured, and use the cable car to get back to La Paz before nightfall.