During the Spanish rule, the area that is now Bolivia was one of the wealthiest and mostly densely populated areas thanks to silver mining. But today Bolivia remains one of the poorest countries in South America, in spite of being well endowed with natural and renewable resources; due to high production costs, lack of investment, inadequate transportation infrastructure, and the country’s landlocked location. The country has been landlocked since it lost its pacific coast territory to Chile in the War of the Pacific from 1879-84. Most of its largest cities lie high in the Andes Mountains and are some of the highest inhabited areas in the world.
I decided not to go to Bolivia during my South American adventures in 2022 for a few reasons: it didn’t work out with my my route because I had skipped Ecuador due to riots to go to Peru then went back north to Ecuador; by the time I finished Ecuador I had to meet Yen in Chile; a visa was required for US citizens that cost $150 and only allowed for 4 weeks visit (this no longer exists – it is now free and we get 90 days). I really wanted to make Bolivia a priority on this trip for it’s amazing high altitude hiking, the world renowned Uyuni Salt flats, Lake Titicaca, and experiencing a new culture.
Isla del Sol
The Island of the Sun is surrounded by Lake Titicaca and was formerly a sanctuary with an Incan temple dedicated to the worship of the Sun God. There are no roads and approximately 80 families or roughly 3,000-3,500 indigenous Aymara people live in the three main communities on the island.
Getting In
I booked the 6am bus to Copacabana (Bolivian border town on the other side of Lake Titicaca) online with Busbud out of convenience, but classic BS of booking online, the bus doesn’t actually leave until 6:45. It would have also been much cheaper to book at the transit center. It was a reminder that it’s always best to just book at the terminal. I made friends with two Brits and a Dutch guy while sitting at the terminal and got some good recommendations for things to do in Brazil. The Dutch guy was telling me that you could exchange crisp US $100s on the street of La Paz for nearly twice the exchange rate (similar to the Blue Market when I was in Argentina). Damn I wish I knew this beforehand! All I had was $20s from the ATM that were in average shape. Although I did end up getting a slightly higher exchange rate off a guy so at least it was something but if I ever come back then I will bring $100s from my bank.
It was one of the easiest border crossings I’ve done. The Peruvian side asked me one question and that was it. The Bolivian side scanned my passport and asked zero questions. In less than 15 minutes we were already all back on the bus heading toward Copacabana. Overall it took about four hours.
I had lunch in Copacabana with one of the British guys – pepper cream steak with rice and veggies. The food was average but the hot sauce was tasty (it was different than usual – more tomato based). Then I took the 1:30 ferry to Isla del Sol. A girl who was on my bus sat next to me on the boat. She was from Barcelona and we had a solid 30 minute convo in Spanish. We talked about places we’ve been in Peru, my trips to Barcelona, her favorite places in Spain, skiing, and a few other things. My sentences were still short but I’m starting to gain more confidence.
Lodging
I had to walk up the famous Inca Steps to the hostel. It was only 0.2 miles but I had both my big backpack and day pack and it was the heat of the day at altitude so it kicked my butt more than it should have. I had only spent two days in Puno and am still acclimatizing.
I had my own room with great views of some high Bolivian peaks across from the lake. The room even had a chair to sit on and look out. It was the ole toilet in the shower combo and I had to kill a decent size spider, but other than that everything was great. I sat in the chair spending over an hour working on my Spanish.
Island Chilling
I stayed on the south side of Isla del Sol (more restaurants and lodging than the north) which was very peaceful – nothing but the sound of donkeys hee hawing. The walk into town of Yumani was 0.5 miles and 350 feet gain up more steep rock steps. Getting around this island is no joke. I went to a pizzeria with outdoor seating and an incredible view. It was actually quite good pizza and I love that they serve pizza with Louisiana hot sauce in Bolivia. It’s crazy to have a meal at a restaurant a little over 13,000 feet high. Man I love the Andes! I’m just constantly high on altitude.
Hiked el Camino Norte-Sur (13 miles; 2,024 feet elevation gain)
I was originally going to start at 6:30 but the hostal reception wasn’t open until 8 and I needed to drop off my big bag. So I snapped a quick photo of the beautiful sunrise and went back to bed.
Once awake again, I decided to eat the free breakfast and was about to hit the trail when it started pouring down rain. Shiiiit. I wanted to ensure I made the 4pm ferry back to Copacabana but there was no reason to start hiking yet. After about 10 minutes the rain slowed down to a drizzle and I decided to hit the trail. My first stop was the famous Inca fountain to refill my water bottles (I have two filtered bottles that have come super in handy). I had to be extra careful walking up the rock steps toward Yumani as they were a bit slippery. It didn’t take long for the rain to stop and blue skies to take over. Just like in Colorado – if you don’t like the weather wait 5 minutes. The rest of the day turned out to be beautiful.
The hike was relatively flat with small ups and downs throughout. I saw a few other people on the trail but it was very quiet and peaceful; you could hear a pin drop. I was in my happy place letting my thoughts free and soaking in the stunning landscape with 360 views of rolling hills and mountains. Lake Titicaca is so big it felt like I was on an island in the middle of the ocean.
There were occasional “checkpoints” where you had to have a ticket depending if you were in the south, central, or north and if you hadn’t already purchased one it was 15 bolivianos (~$2). One of the blogs I had read online bitched about this but come on! I have no qualms giving a little money to the local communities to hike on their land and it’s not like they were charging up the ass.
The trail was a loop from the south end of the island to the north end and back. On the north end there was the Chincana Inca Ruins, an archaeological site that was way bigger than it looked upon arrival. I walked through the maze of narrow doorways and explored the ruins.
From the ruins I started heading back south down to the small village of Challapampa (the other place on the island with lodging). Then the hike continued along a beach where I found a shady spot to finish my leftover pizza from the night before. The remainder of the hike was uphill starting with a steep staircase followed by a path that circled me back to the village of Yumani.
I finished the hike a little after 2pm and waited at the port for the 4 o’clock ferry back to Copacabana. I was unsure whether I would stay the night there or head straight to La Paz; leaving it up to fate. We got into Copacabana just after 6 and there was a company selling bus tickets to La Paz for 6:30. I figured might as well be efficient with my time and get further down the road. Then I can assess my next plans from La Paz. When I got on the bus I decided to book a hotel for the night rather than a hostel. I had been waking up super early the past few days and wanted to get a night of uninterrupted sleep.
La Paz
Sitting at an elevation of 4100m makes La Paz the highest administrative capital in the world. The city has a population of around 755,000 and around 2.3 million in the greater metro area. La Paz was founded in 1548 by a Spanish conquistador and later moved locations to link the mining town of Potosi to Lima. In Bolivia, the constitutional capital is the historic city of Sucre, the Supreme Court is established, but the administrative capital is La Paz, where the executive and legislative branches of government function.
Getting In
I took the bus from Copacabana to La Paz. An hour into the ride, all of the sudden the bus comes to a stop and everyone starts getting off. Huh? The only non-Bolivians besides me on the bus were two German girls in the seat behind me so I asked what’s going on. They told me we had to get off and ferry across. I remember looking at the map a few days before and seeing a dotted line where we had to cross water, but it had totally slipped my mind. Luckily the Germans had come from La Paz as they were just doing a weekend trip during their year long volunteer program in the city so they had just done this a few days before. When we got onto the ferry I had that sinking feeling of what if it’s a different bus on the other side and my backpack was still down below in storage on the other one. But the German girls reassured me it should be fine. You just have to trust the process. Either that or I lose all my things besides my day bag. No biggie. We had a little time on the other side so I went to a street food vendor and got salchipapas (thinly sliced sausage on top of potatoes and plantains from a street) since I rushed out of Copacabana and hadn’t eaten dinner. I wasn’t sure that I would recognize the bus but I did see some of the people from our ferry so I assumed they were also on the bus. Plus my new German friends made sure to remember which bus it was since they hadn’t paid attention when doing this a few days before. Having them there was a life saver. Sure enough the bus showed up a few minutes later. Somehow there was even more people now and they were just sitting in the aisle. Oh Bolivia. We got to La Paz at 10:30 and I taxied to my hotel.
Lodging
I stayed the night at a hotel in the Sopocachi neighborhood. It was a nice room with a queen bed and a TV. The breakfast was buffet style and had a good spread.
Wandering Around the City
I was hoping the weather would be good enough for me to do the high altitude hikes outside La Paz now and not have to come back again later. But when I checked OpenSnow (the weather app I use for snow forecasts in ski season that also has other good features like precipitation and cloud coverage percentages) it looked like the next week only had a slight chance of rain a few days but the cloud coverage was very high. So I figured why rush the high altitude hiking if it’s going to be cloudy (even when I hiked in Isla del Sol the mountains were hidden behind the clouds for most of the day) when I can always come back to La Paz later. My plan was to head south to Uyuni and do the salt flats then work my way back north to La Paz. But I still had the whole day to explore the city since it was an overnight bus to Uyuni.
The city is very hilly and at such high altitude it would be a great workout living here. On top of the inner city bus system they have a bunch of colectivos that locals were hopping on and off at seemingly random locations but I’m sure there was a system to it. The whole city is one giant outdoor market. Almost every block was lined with street vendors selling food, drinks, trinkets, and everything else under the sun.
I made a walking route based on a few of the major attractions to see in the city and I was off. First stop was Plaza Sucre, the main square built in the 17th century. Then I continued along to Mercado Rodriguez, a huge indoor/outdoor market that mostly sold fruits, veggies, and raw meats. I bought a fresh apple juice for 40 cents. The next stop was Mercado de Brujas (witches market) which was decorated with umbrellas overhanging the street and lined with shops selling colorful artesanal goods. I bought an alpaca wool Bolivia beanie for a few bucks. This would be a great place to come back and get souvenirs if I wasn’t living out of my backpack.
I was starting to get hungry so I bought a salteña de pollo (empanada) for a buck fifteen off a street vendor. I continued walking and passed by a with lots of locals sitting on little chairs eating street food. It’s always a good sign when the food stands are crowded with locals and the solteño only cut it as an appetizer. So I took a seat and ordered fried chicken with rice, beat salad, and a potato for less than $3. Such cheap eats and drinks in Bolivia. Although afterwards I worried if getting all this street food was going to give me problems on my overnight bus. Too late now.
Learning from my mistakes in Puno I walked to the Terminal de Buses and bought my ticket directly from the company. I checked Busbud for laughs and it was a 40% markup. Plus it’s nice to get the lay of the land of the bus station and know exactly which booth is the company I bought from as there are so many different ones to choose from. Then the street food hit hard and I needn’t go into any more details there. From the bus terminal I walked to Mirador Killi Killi, a high point above one of the neighborhoods with good views of the city in the basin and the houses that line the surrounding hills. This is a similar geographical layout as other South American cities like Medellin, Bogota, Quito, and even Santiago to some degree.
I began walking back toward the center and it started dumping rain. Luckily I wasn’t at the mirador anymore and I found cover in a shop. After ten minutes of rain the sky cleared and it was a beautiful bluebird day again. I passed by a restaurant selling cheap juice and decided to stop for a refreshing beverage. The jugo de tumbo (banana passion fruit) was so good I had to try another so I got a carambola (star fruit) and for 30 cents each how could I not? I don’t know why I hadn’t tried tumbo yet but it was one of the best juices I’ve had and I will definitely get another one soon.
I continued my personal walking tour to Sopocachi, a bohemian hipster neighborhood with lots of coffee shops and the university (also where my hotel was so it was a good last stop). I still had a few hours to kill before my bus so I went to Cafe Typica which was very vibey with friendly staff, nice outdoor seating, and a record store attached to it. I didn’t want an afternoon coffee because I was hoping to sleep for most of the overnight bus ride so I went the cocktail route instead. I wanted to order Tumbo sour now that I discovered one of my new favorite fruits but sadly they didn’t have any. I asked the barista m what she recommended and she said the Api papi was also local and very good. It was made of gin, rum, triple sec, and house api (traditional Bolivian purple corn beverage) syrup. The drink was so tasty that I ordered a second. It was nice to get a good cocktail for $5. Also to find plugs in a public place in South America is quite rare. So I took this opportunity to fully charge my phone before the overnight bus to Uyuni (the buses usually have usb ports but you just never know). I spent a few hours hanging out at the cafe and catching up on the blog.
I was kind of buzzed from my two api papis when I left and went to a restaurant down the street which had good reviews called Manq’a. I didn’t even look at any details to realize that it was a fine dining restaurant. After my street food adventures of the day I wasn’t ready for this fancy environment, but they already seated me so I just ordered an appetizer. The llamita tataki was incredibly good and such a cheap price for the quality. It was thinly sliced llama pieces in a cream sauce, potatoes, quinoa, salsa, and herbs. What I got for $6 would have been $20 at any other fine dining restaurant. If I was in a foodie mood with a group of friends this would have been the place to be. But alas I had been eating street food all day and was satisfied with having just a small taste of class. I leveled myself back down and bought a $2 chicken pesto sandwich for the bus to Uyuni then got my bag from the hotel and Ubered to the terminal.
I checked most of the boxes of things I wanted to do in La Paz. Realistically I only need one more day in the city but the main reason to come back is for its access to high altitude hiking. Plus there were a few other cool day trips that could be done during rest days between hiking.