To navigate
and to walk, the perfect combination that
allows to know the Titicaca lake and its wonderful
islands.Adventures
in gelid blue waters and sheer paths, where the rigors of the
height are felt, the dry wind that filters through the cracks
of the clothes, the timid sun that shines but does not heat in
excess.
Exciting and
unforgettable experience. The traveler won't regret to furrow
the waters of the Titicaca and of knowing every
corner of its islands, in which he will find architectural vestiges
of the Tiahuanaco culture, the human group that dominated the
Andean heights for centuries.
Besides the
attractions of the lake, in this area of the
country -located in the department of La Paz- one can also visit
the town of Copacabana, Known for the Sanctuary of La Vírgen
Morena, the image of patron saint of the Bolivian highland.
In your voyage
by the Titicaca, you should also visit the following
places:
Lake
Titicaca: located at 3,800 m.a.s.l., is the
highest
navigable lake in the world. Of beauty impressively blue, the
Titicaca has a great significance for the men of the highland,
who consider it the cradle of the Andean civilization. The legends
say that, from its waters, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo came out
to found the empire of the Incas, following the orders given by
their father, the Sun.
The Titicaca
has an extension of 8,300 square kilometers and a total of 36
islands, disseminated in Bolivia and Peru. Its temperature average
is of 9 centigrade degrees and among its natural resources are
the totora, the wild ducks, the suches, bogas and trouts; plus,
giant batrachians exist.
Isla
del Sol: it is in the middle of the lake Titicaca
and
during
the pre-hispanic time was an important religious establishment.
It has an extension of 9,6 kilometers long for 4,6 kilometers
wide. Some places of interest in the island are:
- Pilkokaina,
a construction south of the island that
is characterized by its stone rooms and doors.
-Chincana,
passages and semi-underground tunnels of an Inca palace, seems
to be forming a labyrinth in the north part of the island.
-Pisadas
del Sol,
the legend says that, after a big flood, the Sun came to the earth
and, when he rose toward the skies left his prints marked. In
fact, the footfalls of the heavenly body are geologic formations
that are in the surface of the island.
-Roca
Sagrada,
a legend says that Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo took refuge in this
rock, in which two human figures can be observed.
-Escalinatas
of Yumani,
dozens of steps -of the sons
of
the Sun time- lead to the Fuente de los Incas, in which cults
to the water were carried out. Old stories assure that the place
was the fountain of youthfulness.
Kalahuata:
its name comes from the aymara words:
kala
(stone) and huata (house). In the island there are remains of
a great cemetery that dates from the post-Tiahuanaco period or
from the Collas empire time. The residents cultivate quinua, beans,
corn and potato, that are characteristic of this Andean region.
Suriqui:
This island is known thanks to its totora
weavers,
able to build resistant rafts.
Estrecho
de Tiquina: it is one of the most beautiful places
in the lake and is located at 117 kilometers from La Paz. In the
banks of the strait the towns of San Pablo and San Pedro de Tiquina
are located. To move from one bank to the other it is necessary
to board a craft and, in the case of the motor vehicles, these
have to be taken by a ferryboat that crosses the waters of the
Titicaca.
Copacabana:
At only 158 kilometers from La Paz and at 3,841 m.a.s.l.; the
main attraction of this town is the Sanctuary of La Vírgen
Morena, where people surrender cult to the Virgin of Copacabana,
an image carved in wood in 1592, by Francisco Tito Yupanqui who
was a descendant of the Incas.
-Basilica of Copacabana, known for its ornamenta
tion,
beautiful carved works and the four chapels of the atrium. It
was built between 1610 and 1619, by Francisco de Siguenza.
-El
Calvario, as penance, thousands of pilgrims and devote
of the Virgin of Copacabana walk this stone road that leads to
a hill, from which one has a beautiful view of the lake.
-Astronomical Observatory, the ancient cultures of
the highland (previous to the Incas), placed in this place a group
of lithic pieces for the observation of the winter solstice. From
here, one has a spectacular view of the lake.
-Intikala or the tribunal of the Inca,
a series of gigantic stones worked by pre Columbian artists -who
worked seats and pedestals for their gods in the rocks- are located
at less than one kilometer from Copacabana.