This City Was Just Named the Least Walkable Destination in the World — but There’s One Other Epic Way to Get Around

Sure, walking and meandering winding streets is usually a fantastic way to explore your vacation destination. However, sometimes that’s simply not possible due to just how strenuous some roads can be on the body. (Take it from me, someone who lives in Lisbon, a place known for its seven hills.) But a low walk score doesn’t make a place any less fantastic to visit. All you need to do is get creative — especially if you decide to visit one particular city in Bolivia, which was just named the least walkable city in the world. 

In July, All Clear Travel Insurance released its lists of the most and least walkable cities on Earth. It compiled 242 global destinations, ensuring cities that are “commonly considered very hilly, or very flat, were included.” It then analyzed data from topographic-map.com to calculate which cities have the lowest overall elevation and smallest elevation ranges. It then took all the values and normalized a score for each to give a “walking difficulty” score out of 100.

After doing all that math, the team named La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, the least walkable city on the planet, with a difficulty score of 99.6 out of 100. 

“With the highest difficulty score in our study, Bolivia’s La Paz offers breathtaking views of the surrounding Andes mountains, but as one of the highest capital cities in the world (3,650 meters high), this is truly a city that will give you an intense leg workout,” the findings shared. “Located in a valley, and with much of the city built on steep hillsides, navigating its inclines on foot can be challenging, especially for extended distances or for those with mobility issues.” 

Don’t worry if you don’t think you can hoof it. There are plenty of fantastic ways to see the city that don’t involve getting in your steps. Namely, it’s famous for its cable car experience, aka Mi Teleférico, that takes you above the city, providing a bird’s eye view of the colorful homes and straight to the area’s best attractions. The system, which transports people between La Paz and the neighboring El Alto neighborhood, hovers at 13,000 ft above sea level, making it the highest cable car on Earth. And fares for rides start at just 3 bolivianos or about .50 cents. (Just note that this isn’t only a tourist attraction. It’s also the way locals commute to and from home, work, and around their city, so it can get crowded.) 

La Paz was followed by two equally challenging places to walk around, which are equally worthy places to still explore: Bogotá, Colombia, which scored a 94.5; and Quito, Ecuador, which scored a 94.4. But, again, all these spots are well worth the workout, or at the very least, figuring out a plan B for transportation.

See the full list of the least and most walkable destinations at allcleartravel.co.uk.