Bolivia’s Isla del Sol, a bucolic, pastoral haven with pigs on the beach, donkeys on the stepped terraces and a slow, relaxed pace of life for the residents. You can expect beautiful, secluded beaches and impressive views of Lake Titicaca. Isla Del Sol is rumoured to be the birthplace of the Sun god, Inti, meaning that the island is dotted with the archaeological remains of temples. 

I really recommend spending at least one night on the Isla del Sol. We didn’t do this and really had to rush to pack everything into one day. Below is an ideal itinerary based on the mistakes we made.

Pack light, it’s best if you can arrange for your hostel to store your luggage and bring a light rucksack with you. Catch the early morning bus from La Paz to Copacabana, this involves a short ferry crossing of Lake Titicaca at San Pablo De Tiquina – you will need to disembark the bus and buy a ticket for the passenger ferry at San Pablo de Tiquina, and then reboard the bus at the other side of the crossing. Don’t worry, the ferry ticket is very cheap and the bus ticket to Copacabana is valid on both sides of the crossing.

Arrive into Copacabana around midday and head straight for the dock. There are two stands at the waterfront where you can buy boat tickets to Isla del Sol. You can either get the boat to the north (Challapampa) or south (Yumani) of the island. I recommend Yumani as there are more hostels and restaurants there, and most people choose to arrive at Yumani. Challapampa is a smaller, more quiet settlement however there are a few hostels and at least one restaurant there as well. 

Take the next boat to arrive at Isla del Sol mid-afternoon and head to your hostel or hotel. Make sure you pre-book accommodation as there are very limited options on the island and you don’t want to be turned away at the inn and have to drag yourself up the hill to further away accommodation.

Relax in the afternoon. You can trek to the nearby Templo del Sol if arriving at Yumani (we didn’t manage to visit here but it looked interesting from the brief glimpse from the boat on the way back) or Roca Sagrada (Challapampa) for the sunset if you time it just right. Roca Sagrada is the mythical birthplace of the Incas and a highlight of the island. I believe you have to pay an entrance fee for both of these sites, so bear that in mind and bring cash with you. There are no ATMs on the island.

Next day, wake up early to hike across the island. There are hiking trails (sort-of) although we used the AllTrails app which includes GPS and we somehow managed to veer off the trail and ended up taking a very steep detour. Make sure you know what the departure time of the boat is from Yumani or Challapampa, if your final destination. It is possible to hike the whole route from Yumani to Challapampa and back again in one day if you set off early enough, or you can get a boat from Challapampa back to Yumani before taking the afternoon boat back to the mainland. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to get to the correct port before the last boat crossing, you don’t want to be stuck on the wrong side of the island with no way of getting back. We missed the last boat at Challapampa and had to resort to bargaining with a confused local to give us a lift back to Yumani on his boat. We felt like a broke version of James Bond with a private speedboat all to ourselves, however you might not be so lucky. We’d resigned ourselves to spending a night on the island unplanned, however thankfully that wasn’t to be. 

After returning from Isla del Sol spend the night in Copacabana and take the bus back to La Paz the following afternoon afternoon. While in Copacabana you can hike to the top of Cerro Calvario, this provides great 360 views of Lake Titicaca on a clear day but is quite a climb, you’ll be out of breath at the top. You can also visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana and La Horca del Inca (Mirador del Inca), although we didn’t make it to the top as you had to pay an entrance fee and we were feeling cheap on that day. All of these activities can easily be completed in the morning before you return to La Paz.

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