tell me everything

It was finally time to leave Bolivia, having explored and eaten our fill of the areas around La Paz. Our last stop on the way to Peru would be the sacred Lago Titicaca. For our final morning in the capital, we set a new record for the number of salteñas eaten for breakfast and nearly missed the bus to Copacabana in the process. We’d already travelled along the bus route on the way to Sorata, but had missed the most entertaining (and confusing) part of the bus ride, where the main road is blocked by an arm of Lago Titicaca. We all disembarked onto a crowded passenger boat while the bus floated alongside on a rather dodgy-looking single vehicle ferry. Nevertheless, everyone and everything made it across without incident, and another hour later we arrived at the main body of Titicaca and the town of Copacabana. 

Copacabana doesn’t boast a wealth of activities – there’s lots of tourist shops on the road heading down to the waterfront if you want knick-knacks, and there are plenty of coffee shops aimed at gringos. On the waterfront, to the left are a row of shops in shacks which all sell basically the same variety of freshly-caught lake trout. It’s a great place to sample the local cuisine, but it’s definitely a tourist setup, with prices to match. The beach itself isn’t very nice, with a fair bit of rubbish on the beach, inflatable obstacle courses in the shallows and tonnes of speed boats and jet skis making a racket further out in the water. A few streets back from the water is the main plaza and cathedral, which is quite pretty, and off from that stems the local market, with some restaurants that are more reasonably priced, but in general we found the quality of the food here to be below the normal Bolivian standard. 

That evening, we did enjoy the walk up Cerro Calvario for the sunset – Lago Titicaca and its surrounds are so spectacular. There are no really large cities nearby so there’s no pollution; the air is clear and the water is a pristine blue and the snow covered Andes make an unreal backdrop. Unfortunately, apparently the lake mineral balance is worsening, and the water levels have dropped nearly a metre over the last few years due to glacial melting… but uhhh, it still looks good… Anywhooooo, the walk up to the summit is worth the effort for the sunrise and for the peaceful feel!

The main thing to do from Copacabana is get out to the lake. Staying a night means you can watch a sunset and sunrise, and leave the majority of your luggage at your hotel. The ferry leaves in the morning and the afternoon, but we’d say get on that morning one. El Isla del Sol is the largest island and main attraction, with two different villages with ports at the north and south ends, several homestays to choose from, and a day’s worth of archaeological sites and viewpoints to visit. El Isla de la Luna is much smaller, but also offers homestays and a historical site if you are really interested in Incan history and a more remote visit. 

We only visited the island of the sun, spending two nights in the same homestay in Yumani. Yumani is more populous than Challapampa, and has better views and worse beaches. From Yumani, the homestays are all directly up the ridgeline, which makes for great views from most of the accommodation options but a rough start to your stay. Leave most of your luggage in Copacabana.

Challapampa is much flatter and easier to access, with some really nice beaches. However, to reiterate, we aren’t sure if you’d really like to swim, as the air temperature is always low here, and the water’s maximum average is around 15°C. Even with the strong afternoon sun, it sounds like too much! The ferry can drop you in either village, so if you only have a day to spare it’s possible to get dropped in Challapampa and walk through the central part of the island to Yumani, then take the afternoon ferry back to Copacabana. We’d definitely recommend staying at least a night though – if you’re dropped at Yumani, you can walk to Challapampa and stay the night, or complete the whole loop in a day and sleep back in Yumani (gives you an option to leave your sleeping clothes at your homestay, too). Staying two nights will actually give you an opportunity to relax and enjoy a moment of slow island life.

When you land at either port, you’ll pay a tourist fee (~10bol) for that part of the island – there are at least three, maybe four different ‘areas’ of the island, where the local community charges you to visit their land (even if you are literally only passing through), so keep it in mind if you take the trail around the island. We got charged at Challa, and again in the centre of the island on the main track (when we were walking to the south). Each was 10-20 bol per person. 

The day we arrived, we just enjoyed the views from our homestay which looked to the east over the Andes, and took a short stroll up to the mirador to the north of the Yumani ridgeline. South of Yumani is el Templo del Sol, which is one of the main attractions on the island, but we’d read that the entrance fee is not really worth it without a guide, or at least to find some relevant information online, as there’s not any information at the site itself.

We followed the trail around the island the second day. There is a track around the island which forms a loop; we walked anticlockwise, starting from Yumani and following the tracks on the eastern side of the island; they’re a bit random at times, heading alongside farmland and through other villages, but in general it’s easy walking and really picturesque. There’s a few homestays along a beach in a community called Challa, which is just over half way to Challapampa. Grab lunch when you read Challapampa, as there are a handful of basic restaurants on the beachfront opposite the mini-port. The track then continues on to the north towards a series of archeological sites. The first is a rock formation, but as with el Templo del Sol, there’s not a lot of information about the archaeological sites. Unless you’re aware of the significance beforehand, they just look like curious rocks. The final part is an out-and-back to the end of the island, but we were both uh… needing the loo… so we didn’t complete the full length, instead taking the direct way back to the south, towards Yumani.  

The central part of the track is well defined and doesn’t pass through any villages, just a few small stores. We think this part of the track is more popular with the people who are only staying a single day. It is also much hillier – expect a lot of ascent and descent, but great views to match. It took until the evening to reach Yumani again, where we got a few snacks from a store, and then a pizza for dinner. A great day!

The ferries leave in the morning back to Copacabana, and you can only get your ticket on the day, so arrive a little early to pick one up. Once you’re back in Copacabana, there are options; the buses onward to Peru leave a few times a day if you just want to go to Puno, but the overnight bus to Arequipa (where we went) or Cusco doesn’t leave until 6pm, so you’ll have some time to kill. Also note that the bus price increases a lot here – you’ll still pay in Bolivianos, but the price will be adjusted to match the Peruvian currency.