Copacabana, Bolivia?

The Catedral de la Virgen de Copacabana is at the town’s very center and it dominates not only the landscape but the cultural life as well. It was built between 1605 and 1820 and is famous due to the statue of the Virgen de Copacabana, a statue carved in wood by an Indian artist called Tito Yupanqui. On the first two days of February, the Fiesta de la Virgen de Copacabana is celebrated on the place to commemorate the day in which the figure arrived to the town, on February 2, 1583. The cathedral and the adjacent Via Crucis at the Cerro Calvario became one of the main pilgrimage centers in Bolivia and South America.

Copacabana is built between Cerro (Hill) Calvario and Cerro Niño (Child) Calvario. The Cerro Calvario delimits the city to the north and is dedicated to the Via Crucis suffered by Jesus; the place has been developed by the Franciscans and the many crosses along it date back to the forties of the last century. The site is divided into fourteen stations; the stone crosses on each bear a dedication to the contributor as well as the appropriate Bible passage. From the top awesome views of the town and the Lake Titicaca are available.

The Isla del Sol (Sun Island) and Isla de la Luna (Moon Island) is where according to Inca legends, their gods were born. The larger Isla del Sol is by far the most popular one to visit and is easily accessible from Copacabana in half-day or whole day trips. On the way there, the Isla de la Luna and Isla de la Estrella (Star Island) can be observed.
The most popular way to cross to Peru from Copacabana is from Khasani, nine kilometers south from the town. Minivans and taxi leave during the day from the plaza on 6 de Agosto Street. The trip roughly follows the Titicaca Lake shoreline.

The Tiquina Straits must be crossed before reaching Copacabana from La Paz. The straits are the limit between the northern and southern parts of the lake and offer an awesome look of the Illimani Mountain; if looking toward the southeast from the middle of the straights, the mountain appears to float over the lake.

Quick Tips:

It is recommended to attempt the climb of Cerro Calvario after being at least a week or two on the plateau; arriving after visiting La Paz or Puno is a good way to accomplish that. The best hours to see the "challas", the traditional blessings of cars are in the early afternoon or on Sundays, in front of the basilica.

The hotels scene is like nothing I have seen before; regardless the classification of the establishment (hotel or guesthouse) and the room’s price, the rooms looked all alike. Dozens of guesthouses and hotels cram the little town and offer rooms for anything between 25BOB (a bit over three dollars) and 85BOB per night for a single. Most rooms were relatively large, with a window to the lake or not, an old, sturdy bed, a very basic bathroom with a water heater attached to the shower and nothing more. Without exceptions, the water heaters were badly connected and offered quasi-warm water in a thin trickle. If the faucet was open too much, then the heater was not strong enough to heat the water; if it was open too little, it overheated and stopped working. I have seen such arrangements work perfectly well; it seems to be a problem with the local handyman. Considering the low temperatures in the area, this is a critical issue, hence it is recommended to shorten the visit to the minimum. It would be difficult to classify the different hotels by their quality, but Hotel Mirador is in front of the beach and offers the best views from its rooms.

If travelling to the Isla del Sol in the "whole day" deal, then it is recommended to bring a lunch box; they are sold at all the local restaurants. Snacks, water and soft drinks are usually 0.5BOB more expensive in Tiquina than in La Paz, and 1BOB more expensive in Copacabana. It sums up; hence it is worth to bring some reserves from the big city.
Parquipujio is a delightful – and empty – settlement by the shore that can be reached from Tiquina. However, despite the blue lake, Mediterranean vegetation, and the superb ambience, there are no facilities to stay there overnight. An afternoon picnic is an excellent option before returning to La Paz or entering Peru.

Best Way To Get Around:

Reaching Copacabana from La Paz is easy. From the General Cemetery – a main landmark in La Paz – there are minivans leaving for Copacabana and Tiquina. It is possible to bargain; Tiquina can be reached for as low as 8BOB () and Copacabana for 10BOB at the low hours. At peak times Copacabana can cost up to 17BOB. In any case, the ticket does not include the ferry fee at Tiquina. The last is the settlement sitting at the narrowest part of the Titicaca Lake, where the Big Lake (the northern part) meets the Small Lake. Since there is no bridge spanning the narrow straits (the residents do not want to loose the ferry business), all the passengers are requested to leave the vehicles and cross the straits on a different ferry. The pleasure adds 1.5BOB to the fare. In my last crossing, a group of six Argentineans refused to leave their luggage in the vehicle while crossing over; they claimed to have been robbed shortly before by a bus crew; it was easy to believe, and I – somewhat of a veteran victim in the area – arrived without luggage at all. The way back to La Paz is more expensive; minivans charge 17BOB and more and big buses charge at least 15BOB.

From Copacabana there are direct buses reaching Puno and Lima in Peru, but it is possible to cross the border independently through Khasani and then board a Peruvian bus. As a rule of thumb, international buses are more expensive than local ones, thus crossing in such a way is recommended; in such a way it is avoided paying commissions to agencies at each side of the border. From the plaza in 6 de Agosto Street leave shared taxis (6BOB) and minivans (2.5BOB) to the border cross whenever they are full.

Boats to the Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna leave from the pier at the beach; a booth sells ticket on the spot. The trip takes about an hour and it is recommended to sit on the deck, so that the beautiful lake can be fully appreciated.

The most popular way to cross to Peru from Copacabana is from Khasani, nine kilometers south from the town. Minivans and taxi leave during the day from the plaza on 6 de Agosto Street; minivans charge 2.5BOB, while shared taxis 6BOB. Both leave only when they fill up, meaning that at the low hours of the afternoon reaching the border can take some time. The trip roughly follows the Titicaca Lake shoreline.

Once there things are simple and friendly. A beautiful church followed by a stone arch separate between the countries. The Bolivian check out is simple and the Peruvian immigrations proved to be highly efficient and in the random day I visited, it took less than thirty seconds per person to get the stamp on the passport and be dismissed with a smile. The vast majority of nationalities get visas on arrival; but due to possible changes it is recommended to check out the situation before reaching Khasani.

Another option to cross the border is a place with the intriguing name of Parquipujio (apparently an Aymara language distortion of the Spanish "Parque Pujio" – Pujio Park). To reach the place it is necessary to head back to Tiquina - however do not cross the straits back – and then to take a shared taxi to Parquipujio. Once there an archway with a flamingo on its top marks the border. On the day I visited the immigration booths were deserted and the village on the Peruvian side seemed to have no inhabitants except for a pack of wild dogs and a few, slow-blinking, long-eyelashed llamas. However the lakeshore here was especially delightful and unspoiled, with a strange resemblance in shape, views and odors to a Mediterranean coast, justifying thus the trip.

The Catedral de la Virgen de Copacabana is at the very center of the town and it dominates not only the landscape but the cultural life as well. Sparkling white, it was built between 1605 and 1820 and is famous due to the statue of the Virgen de Copacabana, a statue carved in wood by an Indian artist, Tito Yupanqui. On the first two days of February, the Fiesta de la Virgen de Copacabana is celebrated on the place to commemorate the day on which the figure arrived to the town, on February 2, 1583. The cathedral and the adjacent Via Crucis at the Cerro Calvario became one of the main pilgrimage centers in Bolivia and South America.

The place was built in stages; the Capilla Mayor was built between 1614 and 1618, while the first Basilica was built between 1668 and 1678. The Basilica seen today dates from 1805. The altar was built in such a way that sunlight illuminates it directly, while the rest of the church is kept in relative darkness.

It is interesting to note that in 1826, one year after the Bolivian independence, all the gold and silver were expropriated by the first president of the republic to create the first Bolivian coins.

The statue is housed in the higher floors, in the Camarin de la Virgen. It was carved on a hard cactus called maguey and is covered in gold, and her clothes are in Incan fashion and colors; strangely the statue has a wig of natural hair. Slightly over 1.2m in height, she holds a child Jesus in her left hand and in her right hand a basket and a candle; a crown adorns her head as well as the head of the child.

In the early afternoon, it is possible to meet the many drivers and their cars that arrive from all over the country to have their cars blessed. The road in front of the church, by the square, is transformed into a huge parking lot, and a priest passes from car to car and blesses them. The cars are adorned with flowers and miniatures of the material things the owners wish to themselves; money, houses, and cars are the classics.

Copacabana is built between Cerro (Hill) Calvario and Cerro Niño (Child) Calvario. The Cerro Calvario delimits the city to the north and is dedicated to the Via Crucis suffered by Jesus; the place has been developed by the Franciscans and the many crosses along it date back to the forties of the last century. The site is divided into fourteen stations, paralleling the traditional ones in Jerusalem; the stone crosses on each bear a dedication to the contributor as well as the appropriate Bible passage. From the top awesome views of the city and the Lake Titicaca are available.

Every year, on Good Friday, thousands of pilgrims journey to Copacabana on foot to do penance on Cerro Calvario; many climb the stony path on their knees. At the end of the day, a candlelit procession begins at the Basilica, led by a statue of Christ in a glass coffin and a replica of the Virgen de Candelaria. At the summit, they light incense and buy miniature images of material possessions, in hopes of being granted the actual item by the Virgin. During regular days, many sellers create a colorful spectacle along the way. Beyond the miniatures and snacks, they sell alcoholic drinks used for "challas," or traditional blessings.

The Titicaca Lake - at the hill’s base - is around 3,810m above the sea level, and the hill rises above it maybe another 200m; if acclimatized to the altitude, that means a ten minutes easy climb, if not, it means arriving red-faced and fighting for oxygen half an hour after beginning the climb. Hence, it is recommended to attempt such a climb after being at least a week or two on the plateau; arriving after visiting La Paz or Puno is a good idea. The best time of the day is by the sunset, when the lake and town are wonderfully illuminated; there are no electric lights in the surroundings, thus it is better to descend before it gets too dark. At the hilltop it is possible to walk downwards toward the lake, however through that route it is not possible to return to the town due to the cliffs.

The Isla del Sol (Sun Island) and Isla de la Luna (Moon Island) is where according to Inca legends, their gods were born. The larger Isla del Sol is by far the most popular one to visit and is easily accessible from Copacabana in half-day or whole day trips. On the way there, the Isla de la Luna and Isla de la Estrella (Star Island) can be observed.

Reaching the island is easy, at Copacabana’s only beach there is a booth selling tickets for the 8:30am boats. The options are a half-day boat that returns at 12:30pm and costs 15BOB (a bit less than $2) and the whole day one that returns at 4:30pm and costs 20BOB. The only difference between both is that the long trip allows a walk across the island and more time to see the very few ruins scattered around. All the restaurants in town sell lunch boxes for the long trip, since there are no facilities on the island.

The boats do not leave until they fill up; if it is not raining it is better to sit on the deck and enjoy the views. The day I traveled came after a very heavy night rain, it was chilly and damp; nonetheless, sitting on the deck was worthwhile. The boat travels slowly over the calm waters and there is no wind to speak of; surviving the low temperature was easy. The trip takes about one hour and travels north along the broken Titicaca shoreline; after the Isla del Sol is spotted, the boat ventures into the lake and then the Star Island and Isla de la Luna can be seen before docking.

The small pier includes a very basic snacks shop where overprized instant coffee is sold and little Aymara girls sell keepsakes (especially painted wood-whistles). A long staircase climbs up the steep hill and is the main Inca ruin; from here they arrived from the mainland and climbed to the holy places in the island interior. More souvenirs are available along the way – including a girl and her llama that pose for pictures. At the very top there is an awesome view of the lake and the mainland, as a background to many cultivated terraces (nowadays mainly with medicinal herbs).

Scattered around are several Inca ruins and two tiny villages; the main relic is the sacred rock where the Inca legend began. One of the strangest views is an improvised museum that blocks the way to the hill top at the staircase end; there a single boy that guards a circular room with Inca ceramics. There is no entrance fee, but a contribution is requested to be allowed to continue walking.