After our tour of the Salt Flats we decided to get out of town ASAP and boarded the 1am train to Oruro and then straight onto a bus to La Paz. In La Paz we were in heaven with a really lovely room, hot shower and tons of great restaurants and cafes within walking distance. We caught up on some much needed sleep and food for the next couple of days before continuing on to Copacabana - the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca.
The lake is enormous (it takes 3 hours driving just to get from the Bolivian side to the Peruvian side) and is the highest navigable lake in the world at around 3,800m above sea level.
Copacabana was a very chilled out little town with just one main street and beautiful views of the lake. The main tourist attraction is the Isla Del Sol - an island around 2-3 hours away by boat which holds great significance to the locals as they believe that the sun god was born here. We arrived at the northern point of the island and then hiked to the southern end, around 3 hours away, but a beautiful walk. At points we could definitely feel the high altitude as we puffed our way up the hills!
In town - the local church and by the water
Just another day on the island taking the pigs for a walk
Very funny sight - our huge bus crossing the lake on a not so sturdy boat. Glad that we weren't on board
The following day we caught the bus to Puno, our first stop in Peru! From here we took a tour of the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca, visiting the famous floating reed islands and the natural island of Taquile. Although SUPER touristy, we got a great taste of the unique way of life for the locals who use the reeds from the lake to build everything from houses to boats. There are even floating hospitals and schools!
On the island of Taquile we had a lunch at a local restaurant before heading back to the mainland.
Uros - the most famous reed island
Taking the scenic ride on the reed boat
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