Must-see attractions in Lake Titicaca

  • Cathedral

    Lake Titicaca

    The sparkling white mudéjar (Moorish–style) cathedral, with its domes and colorful azulejos (blue Portuguese-style ceramic tiles), dominates the town…

  • Sampaya

    Lake Titicaca

    This is a beautifully preserved village where the homes are built with flat stones joined in an earthen mortar. There is a stone church on the hilltop…

  • Chincana Ruins

    Isla del Sol

    Isla del Sol's most spectacular ruins lie near the island’s northern tip. Its main feature is the Palacio del Inca, a maze of stone walls and tiny…

  • Cha’lla

    Isla del Sol

    This agreeable little village stretches along a magnificent sandy beach that could be straight out of a holiday brochure for the Greek islands. The…

  • Marka Pampa

    Isla del Sol

    At low tide an innocuous-looking column of rock peeps just a few centimeters above Lake Titicaca’s surface, north of Isla del Sol. Most locals dismiss it…

  • Yumani

    Isla del Sol

    Yumani is the main village at the south end of the island. Most boats drop you at the village’s dock, about 200m downhill from the town proper. The small…

  • Horca del Inca

    Lake Titicaca

    This hillside gate (named 'the Incan Gallows' by the Spaniards) is a fascinating pre-Incan astronomical observatory, surrounded by pierced rocks that…

  • Mesa Ceremónica

    Isla del Sol

    About 150m southeast of the Chincana ruins is the Mesa Ceremónica. It’s thought to have been the site of human and animal sacrifices and makes for a…

  • Cerro Calvario

    Lake Titicaca

    The summit can be reached in half an hour and is well worth the climb, especially for a view of the sunset. The trail begins near the church at the end of…

  • Escalera del Inca

    Isla del Sol

    Just uphill from the ferry dock at Yumani, along the beautifully reconstructed Escalera del Inca (Inca stairway), you’ll pass plenty of terraced gardens,…

  • Fuente del Inca

    Isla del Sol

    Early Spaniards believed Yumani’s spring was a fountain of youth and for the Incas the three streams represented their national motto: Ama sua, Ama llulla…

  • Piedra Sagrada

    Isla del Sol

    From Cha’llapampa Village, the Chincana route runs parallel to the beach, climbing gently along an ancient route to the isthmus at Santiago Pampa (also…

  • Museo de Kusijata

    Lake Titicaca

    A 3km walk northeast along the shoreline from the end of Calles Junín or Ballivián leads to the community of Kusijata, where there’s a former colonial…

  • Templo de las Vírgenes

    Lake Titicaca

    The ruins of an Inca nunnery and temple dedicated to the Virgins of the Sun ­– also known as Ajlla Wasi or Iñak Uyu – occupy an amphitheater-like valley…

  • Museo de Pariti

    Lake Titicaca

    The stunning pots and ch’alladores (vases) found on Isla Pariti in 2004 are now on display at this tiny museum near the excavation site. Exhibits here…

  • Copacabana Beach

    Lake Titicaca

    While Bolivia’s only public beach can’t hold a candle to its better-known counterpart in Rio de Janeiro, on weekends the festive atmosphere is a magnet…

  • Yampupata

    Lake Titicaca

    This is a collection of lakefront adobe houses. If you ask around, you’ll find rooms for rent for about B$30. Asociación Transport Yampu Tour Lacustre…

  • Museo de la Catedral

    Lake Titicaca

    Copacabana's cathedral is a repository for both European and local religious art and Museo de la Catedral contains some interesting articles and offerings…

  • Cha'llapampa Museum

    Isla del Sol

    The small Cha'llapampa Museum contains artifacts excavated in 1992 from Marka Pampa, referred to by locals as La Ciudad Submergida (Sunken City). Among…

  • Pilko Kaina

    Isla del Sol

    This prominent ruins complex near the southern tip of the island is about 30 minutes (2km) south by foot from Yumani. It sits well camouflaged against a…

  • Cerro Kopakati

    Lake Titicaca

    Located about 4km down the road from Horca del Inca toward Kasani, this carved stone features pre-Incan ruins and pictographs. The best known, though…

  • Museo del Poncho

    Lake Titicaca

    A visit to Museo del Poncho will help you unravel the mysteries of the regional textiles. The exhibits, spread over two floors, give a clear insight into…

  • Intikala

    Lake Titicaca

    North of the cemetery on the southeastern outskirts of town is this neglected site of artificially sculpted boulders. Its original purpose is unknown, but…

  • Templo del Inca

    Isla del Sol

    Over the track, and in a field just southwest, from the Piedra Sagrada, are the ancient walls of the complex known as the Templo del Inca. Although little…

  • Sicuani

    Lake Titicaca

    Ask around town for Hilario Paye Quispe. He can take you on trips around the bay in a totora-reed boat or via motorboat to the peninsula opposite (prices…

  • Titicachi

    Lake Titicaca

    This picturesque village lies on a secluded crescent-shaped bay encased by green hills. If it’s open, there’s a basic tienda (shop) in town selling soft…

  • Gruta de Lourdes

    Lake Titicaca

    A cave that, for locals, evokes images of its respective French and Portuguese namesakes. It attracts devotees from across the border in Peru,…

  • Lighthouse

    Isla del Sol

    This lighthouse on the tip of Kakayo-Queña Ridge is technically in an area tourists are allowed to visit, though access by land has been cut off by the…

  • Mirador Palla Khasa

    Isla del Sol

    Follow the well-signposted path from Yumani's ridgeline up to this small stone lookout atop Cerro Palla Khasa (4065m) for sweeping sunset views over the…

  • Ruins

    Isla del Sol

    Of the more than 80 Inca ruins on the island, most date to the 15th century AD. You could spend a week looking at them all.

  • Ruins

    Isla del Sol

    Some obsidian remnants among the ruins indicate contact with people as far away as Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Peru.

  • Cha’llapampa

    Isla del Sol

    Most tours visiting the northern ruins land at Cha’llapampa, a small village straddling a slender isthmus.

  • Museo Pacha Uta

    Lake Titicaca

    A small museum by the tourist info center that's dedicated to the natural and human history of the lake.

  • Museo Étnico

    Isla del Sol

    Some dusty exhibits, including Inca pots. Admission is free with the Cha’lla trail fee.

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