Titicaca Lake Center Touristic
Center Tourist in Titicaca Lake
- Huatajata
- Island of the Sun
- Suriki Island
- Island of the Moon or Koati
- Kewaya or Kala Uta Island
- Pre-Columbian Cultivation Terraces
- Sampaya
- Yampupata
Huatajata
Located at 85 Km. from La Paz city (an hour and a half by car), on the shores of the Titicaca Lake, this town offers a beautiful view of the lake.
Island of the Sun
This island is located on the Northwest end of the peninsula of Copacabana, at 14 km, (one hour and a half by boat). This island has several monuments that date back to the time prior to the colony, such as: The Pilkokaina Palace and the “Chinkana” or Labyrinth, The Stairway of the Inca, The Sacred Fountain of Internal Youth and the Incas’ Terraces.
Yumani
This is the main port of the island. It has several gardens and a long stairway that leads to a fountain that has three streams of water that come out of it. These three streams are supposed to symbolize the three maximum laws or commandments of the Incan Empire: “ama sua, ama llulla, ama khella”, which mean: “Thou shall not steal”, “Thou shall not lie” and “Thou shall not be lazy”. Towards the north of this island there is the town of Yumani.
Pilkokaina
Pilkokaina is a two-story high Incan Palace, constructed by Tupac Yupanqui. The top floor has practically disappeared. It consists of a series of rooms that have niches in each one of them; there are various quarters and patios as well. The openings on the walls, which would be where the walls and windows had been in the past, have a narrower lintel in comparison to the main threshold. In order to seal the ceiling of the construction, stones placed like stairways were used to support the construction; this technique is known in architectural terms as an “Imitation Vault”.
Challapampa
On the Northern section of the Island, away from the church of Yumani, visitors can climb all the way to the summit, where they can see the remains of several walls that were built with stone; these ruins are known as “Chinakana” or Labyrinth. Very close to that there is the “Sacred Stone” (Kaka), which contains a sacred legend about the origin of the Incas. The town where these ruins are located is known as Challapampa.
Suriki Island
This construction was placed at 12 Km. from Huatajata (more than half an hour). It is an island of fishermen and boat constructors, whom are famous for the construction of “totora” (bulrush) barges. The constructors that still live and work in this area, were made famous with the construction of the Trans-Oceanic barge that they built, named Ra I. This barge was able to make it all across the Atlantic Ocean, this was also additional proof that there actually was contact between Africa and America.
There is also a regional museum, which exhibits and sells various hand made barges made by local artisans, this includes barges made of bulrush. Bulrush is a species of cattail or reed mace, which grows from the very depths of the lake. This type of plant is used to make roofs, barges and handcrafts. To manufacture the barges, the green stems of the bulrush are first gathered, then they are dried out with the sunlight, then they are tied up with fibers of straw into 2 or 3 bulky-large bodies. These bodies sometimes have grotesque large masks added to them, this additional pieces are added to indicate which end of the body will be used as the bow of the boat. The entire boat is built completely with bulrush.
Koati ( Island of the Moon )
Located at 7 Km. from the Island of the Sun, this place offers a great view of the Illampu Peak and the Eastern Mountain Range. At this island there are the ruins of the Iñak Uyu (Palace or Temple of the Moon). It is believed that this place was a “Ajlla Huasi”, a sacred place where the virgins of the sun (ñustas) were chosen.
This area is basically a series of rooms constructed around a rectangular patio over a platform that has a retention wall and it has a joint that connects the walls that is perfect. The walls are sealed by imitations vaults.
Kewaya or Kala Uta Island
This island is located at 3 Km. from Suriki, it is surrounded by low waters and a bulrush forest. Its name in Aymara means “Houses of stone”. A part of the island is inhabited by the Kewaya people.
At this place there are several Aymara ruins. There are also many homes made of stone with rectangular bases and roofs. These constructions are also known as “imitation vaults”. In the middle of these houses there are several “chullpares” or funerary towers made of stone, the base of which is also rectangular and with an additional base that has a double vault.
Pre - Columbian Cultivation Terraces
These cultivation terraces are tangible proof of the agricultural technology developed prior to the time of the colony. This technology allowed the native residents of this land to make better usage of an otherwise barren, rocky and useless land. In the surrounding areas of the Titicaca Lake there is an impressive number of these terraces, most of which have been abandoned.
These terraces have been constructed on the sides of the hills, they are held with retention walls. Even today, visitors can still see the blanket of fertile land that rests over layers of gravel and stone, which were actually used to filter and train excess humidity. Most of these terraces also have a slight slope which actually helped to prevent the loss of nutrients that could have been caused by the movement of water.
Sampaya
This is a pre-colonial town, constructed mostly out of pure stone and the constructions were joined with mortars made of mud and all the constructions have roofs made of straw. Through the stone-paved streets of this town there are a series of brooks that filter through it, the water channels of this town are used to supply water to the cultivation terraces of the area. This keeps this area green almost all throughout the year. Visitors will be marveled at the interesting technique used when paving the streets with stones.
Yampupata
This town could be accessed by walking in the same direction in which the Island of the Sun is located. The trek lasts about 4 hours from Copacabana. In this town there are boats, ferries that take visitors across the stretch that is 1 kilometer in length, which leads to the Island of the Sun
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