Lake Titicaca

We spent our last two days in Bolivia in the town Copacabana at Lake Titicaca, which we reached by bus from La Paz. About 40% of Lake Titicaca lies in Bolivia, while the rest belongs to Peru. The only way to reach Copacabana without crossing Peru is by taking the 800-meter ferry at the Strait of Tiquina, which separates the two main basins of the lake. On the strait, we immediately felt a good energy coming from the lake in the form of a light breeze. Lake Titicaca is not only South America’s largest lake, but also the world’s largest high-altitude lake, with a surface elevation of 3’812 meters.

Sam on a ferry crossing the Strait of Tiquina

Car ferry crossing the Strait of Tiquina

Copacabana

From Copacabana, we spent one day exploring Isla del Sol. The large island was an important place in the Inca culture, as it was believed to be the birth place of the sun god. Today, there are many Inca ruins across the entire island. The most interesting ones were supposed to be on the North of the island, but this part was closed for tourists when we visited, due to some disputes between the island’s indigenous populations. Instead, we spent the day hiking around the Southern part of the island near the town Yumani, which was very enjoyable too.

Yumani on Isla del Sol, seen from Cerro Palla Khasa

View South from Cerro Queñuani on Isla del Sol

Sam on Isla del Sol with a glass of wine reading our South America guidebook

Bolivian woman sitting on her balcony in Yumani on Isla del Sol

We left Bolivia after only 9 days. We could have definitely spent more time here, but on the other hand, we were running out of time for the other countries we still plan to visit. The border crossing to Peru was an easy process. Our bus stopped on both sides of the border to allow us to get our passports stamped. Once in Peru, we continued to the city of Puno, which is located at Lake Titicaca too.

Instead of staying in Puno, we spent the night on one of the Uros islands. A few kilometers off the coast of the lake, the Uros people have built a very unique way of life. They live on islands that are entirely built from totora reed, a plant that grows in the shallow areas of Lake Titicaca. We stayed with a local, who had built two very nice rooms for tourists on his island, though we were the only people staying that day. Our stay was both relaxing and informative, as our host explained us all about the construction of the islands and their way of life. Walking on a floating island is a very interesting experience. The ground is very soft and it feels a bit weird, that there is nothing but plants between you and the lake. Having a floating island is also a lot of work. The totora constantly rots away at the bottom and new totora has to be added on top about once a month. In total, an island can live for around 40 years, before it becomes too heavy and a new island has to be built. The totora has many other uses for the locals. They also build boats from it, use it as medicine, produce handicraft they sell as souvenirs and it can be eaten too.

Entrance gate to the floating island where we stayed

Marta on top of our hut on the floating island

The floating island where we stayed

View over Lake Titicaca from the floating island where we stayed

Sam with our host on a boat made from totora reed

Boat on Lake Titicaca bringing totora reed for island maintenance

Traditional boat with Puma heads made from totora reed

After our fantastic stay on the floating island, we spent one more night in Puno. Compared to charming Copacabana, Puno is a rather large, industrious city, which we enjoyed less. The next morning, we moved on by bus to Cusco.