Isla del Sol (June 5-6, 2006)

Lake Titicaca’s name is derived from the original name for the Island of the Sun, which was known to early inhabitants as Titi Khar’ka, Rock of the Puma, after a large sacred rock on the northern tip of the Island. According to ancient Inca mythology, during a time of eternal darkness, the god Con Tiqui Viracocha emerged and created the Sun and the Moon at the sacred rock, as well as a man and woman (Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo) whom he sent to Cusco to begin the Incan empire. Because of this, the Isla del Sol, and its sister island the Isla de la Luna, are considered to be one of the most sacred sites of the Incas. Pre-Incan civilizations (Tiwanaku, Colla, etc.) also revered this island, and many of the ruins on the island are actually pre-Incan, dating from around 1500 B.C.

The boats leave Copa for the island at 8:30am and 1:30pm, so we were up bright and early to catch the 8:30 boat. We chatted with a British couple on the boat, who gave us some tips on Cuzco, and we gave them some tips on Bolivia. It took 1 ½ hours to get to the island (the boat was very slow!) and it dropped us off at the dock by the Escalera del Inca, a steep staircase leading up to the town of Yumani. At the top of the staircase is the Fuenta del Inca, a three-stream fountain coming out of the rock and flowing down beside the stairs. It was a tough start to our hike, climbing up those stairs and the continuing steep trail up to the top of the island. We couldn’t understand why our packs felt so heavy after we had left half our stuff behind at the hotel. We persevered though, and found the mountain route towards the northern half of the island (there is a mountain route and a coastal route). The views from the top of the island were beautiful, both towards the Peru side of the lake as well as towards the snow-capped peaks of the Cordillera Real in Bolivia. It took us about 4 ½ hours to get to the Chincana ruins on the northern part of the island, including stopping for lunch and a few rests. Along the trail we were forced to buy a ticket (10bs each) for entry to the archaeological sites on the northern part of the island. When we arrived at Chincana, the man there said our tickets were no good and we had to buy more. We managed to talk him into letting us in with our existing tickets, and then another old man kept following me around trying to tell me information that I already knew and wouldn’t leave me alone. I appreciated he was trying to make some money, but it is hard to absorb the spirituality of a place when someone is yapping in your ear, saying the same things over and over again.

The Chincana Inca ruins are a labyrinth of stone walls and tiny doorways that overlook a pretty beach. Nearby is the ceremonial table, where it is believed human and animal sacrifices were made. Also nearby is the Titi Khar’ka, which requires imagination to see the face of the puma, as well as the face of Viracoca, naturally carved into it. At one end of the rock are a couple of niches known as the Refugio del Sol and the Refugio de la Luna, where the sun and the moon were born. There are also imprints in the rock that look like footprints, and are said to be the Footprints of the Sun.

After exploring this area, we headed off in search of our campsite on Bahia Sabacera. We walked too far up the hill though before we realized we had missed the trail, so had to walk back down (darn!). We reached the beach around 5:00 and set up camp. It was a beautifully secluded small beach and we had the place all to ourselves. The guidebook said the beach was white sand, and it was, except the sand was underneath a layer of zillions of rounded stones. We managed to find a patch about three-feet square of actual sand to set up our tent. It was so peaceful to have the sounds of the water lapping up on the beach (about ten feet from our tent) and the sun setting. Dinner was delicious pasta and cookies for dessert.

When we are hiking we sleep when the sun sleeps, and wake up when the sun wakes up, so we were up for the sunrise, which was even more beautiful than the sunset. It still took us a while to pack up camp, and we didn’t start hiking again around 8:45. We headed back up the hill we had already walked up the evening before, towards the coastal trail back to the southern end of the island. This side of the island is more populated, and there are little towns along the way. The guidebook said it resembled the Mediterranean, and we certainly agreed. Nice beaches, blue water, fishing boats, sunshine. Fantastic. We stopped at the Museo de Oro in the village of Cha’llapampa, which of course we had to buy another ticket for. This museum houses artifacts that have been found in the underwater Tiwanaku site known as Marka Pampa, off the northern tip of the Isla. This site also has a massive stone temple, winding pathways, and a surrounding stone wall, under 8 metres of water. This site was constructed when the levels of the Lake were much lower.

We continued along the beautiful coast, remarking that this trail was harder than the one that goes along the middle of the island. There were definitely more ups and downs! We made it back to Yumani and down the steep trail to the dock area around 1:30pm and had a couple of hours to relax before the boat back to Copa left at 3:30. We arrived back in Copa at 5:00 and went back to our hotel for a wonderful hot shower. We treated ourselves to a delicious dinner at La Orilla and met a nice British couple at the table beside us who are also heading to Puno tomorrow, likely on the same bus. We’re excited to be going to Peru!