La Paz & Lake Titicaca holidays

What is the best option for a La Paz & Lake Titicaca holiday?

Bolivia's cultural capital, La Paz, and beautiful Lake Titicaca combine well and can even be incorporated into a longer holiday to Peru. Bubbling with energy and alive with commotion, La Paz is a massive, messy metropolis. Spend your La Paz holidays delving into the city’s old colonial centre, where sleepy squares and magnificent palaces beckon at every corner. Stroll through the wonderfully hectic Indian markets - virtually every street is alive with stalls and traders selling everything from herbs and potions to obscure animal parts; the most famous being the Witches Market, uniquely atmospheric with its billowing incense, reminiscent of a similar scene in Nepal. Outside La Paz, the mountains provide plenty of adrenaline sport opportunities, from skiing to mountain biking, or take part in the three-day Choro Trail trek through the Cotapata National Park, not far outside of La Paz, for a chance to take in the forested landscape and follow in the footsteps of the Incas. While on the road to Lake Titicaca, make sure to stopover at the pre-Inca sites of Tiwanaku and Puerta del Sol (the Gate of the Sun). During your stay at Lake Titicaca (one of South America’s largest lakes) enjoy an endless variety of watersports and make sure to take a trip to the waterfront town of Copacabana which is an important pilgrimage centre renowned for its religious festivals.

At Lake Titicaca, the Peruvian side may boast the floating islands of the Uros tribe, but the Bolivian side is well worth exploring on your holiday, in particular the fascinating islands of Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna, which are dotted with ancient Inca ruins ripe for exploration. Isla del Sol, believed by locals to have been home to the supreme Incan god Inti, is the largest of the Lake's islands. During the Incan era Isla de la Luna was home to women known as 'Virgins of the Sun', who lead nun-like lifestyles, weaving their own clothes and performing ceremonial dances to the sun. The island is scattered with Incan ruins and sacred sites and the charming Posada del Sol means you can spend the night on the island rather than making the rather lengthy day trip from Copacabana. From Isla del Sol, it is just a short hop by boat across to Isla de la Luna. Less visited than it's neighbour, this tiny island is regarded as the birth place of the Inca Goddess Mama Quila and was once home to the 'Virgins of the Sun'. You can still visit their crumbling old convent as part of a trip to the island.