Copacabana

This attractive little town with red-tiled roofs is nestled between two hills on the shores of Lake Titicaca, 158 km from La Paz and 8 km from the Peruvian border at Kasani. Copacabana is popular with Bolivian and foreign tourists alike and gets busy in high season, on weekends and public holidays. Fortunately, the town's splendid location and the great natural beauty of the lake help overcome the bustle. Copacabana's main plaza is dominated by the impressive and heavily restored Moorish-style basilica dedicated to the Virgen de la Candelaria. Every Sunday in front of this great shrine a line of vehicles, all decorated with garlands of flowers, waits to be blessed as a spiritual form of accident insurance.

Sights

The basilica, was built between 1610 and 1620 to accommodate the huge numbers of pilgrims who flocked to the town when miracles began happening after the presentation of a black wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, carved in 1581-1583 by Francisco (Tito) Yupanqui, grandson of the Inca Tupac Yupanqui. The Virgin is alternatively known as the Virgen Morena, Virgen de Copcabana, or Virgen de la Candelaria, the patron saint of Bolivia. It is encased in glass and the only time it is ever moved from the cathedral is during festivals . In fact, only a copy is moved not the original image.

Architecturally speaking, the cathedral is notable for its spacious atrium with four small chapels. The main chapel has one of the finest gilt altars in Bolivia, restored in 2003. The basilica is clean and white, with coloured tiles decorating the exterior arches, cupolas and chapels. There are 17th- and 18th-century paintings and statues in the sanctuary.

A museum inside the basilica offerings brought to the Virgin by pilgrims.

Saturday and Sunday vehicle blessings (for good luck and to prevent accidents) outside the cathedral involve large quantities of fresh flowers and petals, garlands, firecrackers, beer sprinkled liberally over the vehicle, and money tucked behind the steering wheel.

Don't miss the walk to the top of Cerro Calvario, up a series of steps with the stations of the cross. There are great views of town and the lake from the top where you can buy miniature items (cars, suitcases and money, plus a myriad of other things) and have them blessed, especially on weekends. On another hill, behind the basilica, is the Horca del Inca, two pillars of rock with another laid across them. More correctly called the Inti Watana, it is a solar calendar, with the sun passing through a small orifice in a nearby rock to illuminate the horizontal pillar only during the winter solstice.

Floating Islands of Sawiña

Inspired in all likelihood by the touristic success of the Islas de los Uros near Puno, Peru, the small community of Sawiña, off the road to Kasani, built three small floating reed islands of its own in 2006.The islands have elevated observation platforms and huts of various shapes all made of reeds, they are uninhabited and very tranquil. Visitors are taken to the islands in reed canoes.

Hiking near Copacabana

This is a beautiful location for trekking and day-walking. All the nearby hills invite you to climb and there are superb views of the lake and distant cordilleras. Near the village of Copacati Alto, 3 km toward the border, are petroglyphs including an ancient whipala-like design called Inca Banderani, the Inca flag. (The whipala is a multi-coloured flag adopted in contemporary times by the continent's indigenous political movements.)

Yampupata Peninsula

A good longer walk is to the fishing village of Yampupata, at the tip of the eponymous peninsula. Start from the Straits of Tiquina and follow a pre-Hispanic road through Parquipujio, Chisi (which has some ancient ruins), the stone village of Sampaya and other villages to reach Yampupata. This particular version of the trek takes two to three days and is not very common but gives fantastic views of the Cordillera Real across the lake.

Most people however set out from Copacabana. It is 17 km along the side of the peninsula from Copacabana to Yampupata and takes about four hours. There are three small streams for water, but this must be purified.