Lake Titicaca

Tags: Andes 2011, Bolivia, Hiking, Latest, Mountains, Peru, South-America, Travel

Leaving La Paz (Bolivia) and heading back to Lima (Peru) overland, I decided to spend one night at Lake Titicaca, the highest big lake in the world, 3811 meters above sea level.

I jumped on a cheap tourist bus going from La Paz to Copacabana. This is a nice bus ride with awesome scenery of the white-capped mountains of the Cordillera Real as well as Lake Titicaca. Arriving in Copacabana, I just found a simple guesthouse to stay in and then went sightseeing on foot. First I went down to the beach, which is really ugly and not at all up to par with the same named beach in Rio de Janeiro. At least I got myself a good lunch not far away from the shores, before I headed uphill to see the Horca del Inca. This is some interesting rock formations used for astronomical purposes by the pre-Incan Chiripa people. I roamed around the park and sat on top of the hill for a while, to admire the amazing views of Lake Titicaca below.

Next day I walked up to Cerro Calvario (3966m), a small hill next to Copacabana, which boasts nice views of Lake Titicaca. At lunch time I caught a tourist bus to Puno (in Peru). The border crossing was really simple, so it didn't take many hours to reach Puno. I only had a few hours in Puno, before I continued on another bus to Cuzco.

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