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Before you begin bargain hunting for alpaca sweaters, visit one or two stores to get an idea of what to look for. High-quality hand-knit designs that sell for around $100 USD here fetch three times that amount in the United States. The shops along Calle Sagárnaga, near Plaza San Francisco, are a good place to compare quality and price, but also venture into the streets above for better bargains.
This funky little Sagarnaga store carries traditional fair trade alpaca knitwear with ethnic designs.
Calle Sagárnaga, near Plaza San Francisco, although tourist central, is still a good place to look for local handicrafts, Aymara embroidered shawls, and wool. Prices start at $15 USD and peak at more than $200 USD for those made of buttery-soft vicuña wool. Colorful polleras, the traditional skirts worn by indigenous women, are priced between $50 and $100 USD; bowler hats start at around $20 USD. Along the tiny streets that lead off to the right and left are numerous crafts shops.
For different, colorful, and trendy sweaters handmade from sheep and alpaca wool, try Diseños Yumi.
For the ultimate flea-market experience, visit the Feria 16 de Julio in El Alto on Thursday or Sunday. One of the largest markets in the world, here you can buy anything from a forklift truck to a Kalishnikov rifle. There's no address, it just sprawls out from the Teleférico station, block after block, seemingly endlessly into El Alto. Access is much easier now thanks to the Teleférico (red line) but get there before 9am or after 1pm to avoid long lines. Carry little with you: pickpocketing is rife.
On Calle Linares, just off Calle Sagárnaga, you'll find the Mercado de las Brujas. The Witches' Market is where you'll find folk remedies and herbal treatments.
A great place to get anything from locally made soaps to recycled paper "llamita" notebooks to fine knits, this small, independent design store—aptly named Mistura ("mixture")—is packed with trendy gifts and souvenirs.
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