Bolivia - Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol

Our last destination in Bolivia was Lake Titicaca. When we went to Peru for a two week escape from the Yukon winter back in 2008, we didn't have time to visit. This made the lake, which lies between Peru and Bolivia, a must see destination this trip. At over 3,800 metres above sea level, and over 8400 square kilometres, Lake Titicaca is the largest high altitude lake in the world. It is also considered the birthplace of the Incan civilisation.

We bussed from La Paz to Copacabana, the most popular spot to visit on the Bolivian side of the lake. Copa has about 50,000 inhabitants and lots of accommodations and other services for tourists. It's quite a pleasant place to visit. We did well to book a suite at Las Olas Hostel up on the hill on the edge of town with fantastic views over the lake and the city.

The view of the Copacabana harbour from our hostel.

It's the most expensive place that we've stayed at so far, but at US$ 50/night it wasn't too extravagant and it was easily the most interesting and unusual place we've ever stayed. Each suite is a unique stand alone building strategically placed on the property with great views and privacy. We rented La Tortuga (turtle) Suite, named for it's resemblance to a turtle. Two stories, with almost floor to ceiling windows looking over the water, La Tortuga was a wonderful respite from the often noisy, and sometimes rough around the edges hostels that we've been staying at for most of our trip. Check out the rest of the cool suites here: www.hostallasolas.com

La Tortuga suite.

Great windows looking over the lake.

The main floor bed.

Nice view to wake up to - taken from the bed!

We stayed in La Tortuga for a total of four nights sandwiched around a three day trip to Isla del Sol in the middle of Lake Titicaca. Incan legends state that their Sun God Inti was born on Isla del Sol. Manco Capac, the son of Inti was the first Inca and is believed to have emerged from the rock on the island. There are many small Incan ruins on Isla del Sol dating from the 15 century, but other archeological sites date back at least as far as 2200 BC. Today the island is home to about eighty families living in three small communities and many outlying farms.

There are no roads and no vehicles on the seventy square kilometres of Isla del Sol. Access is by boat from Copacabana or one of the other small villages on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Stone trails built by the Incas are still used to travel between villages, and horses and mules are the only way to move goods around. It's a wonderfully slow paced life there with chickens, pigs, goats and sheep wandering the streets, and many local inhabitants dressed in traditional clothing.

We arrived by boat from Copa with only our day packs and no specific plans for three days of exploring. After climbing the steep reconstructed Escalera (stairway) del Inca up to the village of Yumani, we checked several small hostels before settling on one with a spectacular view over the west side of the island. 

Looking across Lake Titicaca from our
hostel in Yumani.

The next day we walked about eight kilometres of the Inca trail running along the top ridge of the island with spectacular views over both sides.  We checked out the Inca ruins of Chincana - the largest of over eighty ruins on the island - before finding a place to spend the night in Cha'llapampa on the north end of the island.

The Inca trail that runs the length of the island.

This was likely used for animal and human sacrifices.

The Chincana ruins on the north end of Isla del Sol.

There is also a lower trail between Yumani and Cha'llapampa that runs through the third community of Cha'lla. We had originally planned to take that route back, but our first walk on the ridge trail had been quite cloudy and when we awoke to brighter skies on day three, we decided to retrace our route back to Yumani along the ridge. We got back to Yumani in lots of time for our boat to Copacabana, and enjoyed lunch and ice cream at one of the restaurants overlooking the small harbour while we waited.

We really enjoyed everything about Isla del Sol. The views were great, the rustic hostels and restaurants were charming, and the slow pace of life on the island was idyllic. The relatively easy trail and the lack of heavy backpacks made the hiking much easier than our Patagonia treks, although the altitude had it's own challenges. Walking along the stone trails built hundreds of years ago by the Incas in the place where they believed their civilisation began was the icing on the cake.