Copacabana Travel Guide
First let’s mention that there are two Copacabana in South America, one is a city in Bolivia near the lake Titicaca and one is a district of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. So if you are looking for information on the web be careful which Copacabana search result is coming out.
Copacabana is a small Bolivian town with approx. 6000 inhabitants and is part of the La Paz department in the Manco Kapac province. In the past it belonged to the Inca’s territory and was an important place of worship.
The weather is quite stable with an average high of 15/16°C and average low between -4/-9°C all year round. The rainy season is from December to March and the dry one is from May to August. We spent 4 days there in July 2019 and all were sunny.
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Lake Titicaca is a large and deep lake in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It is famous as the world highest lake on earth and is the largest lake in South America.
It has an elevation of 3 812m and is as big as 58 000km² with a length of 190km and a width of 80km.
The best accommodation in Copacabana is simply: LA CUPULA. Years after that travel, we are dreaming of this accommodation, its fireplace, and incredible view of lake Titicaca.
Getting there
From Peru:
- From Puno: Using a tourist bus
- From Cuzco, Puno, Arequipa: Flight to la Paz than “From la Paz”
From la Paz:
- Local bus
- Tourist bus
- Van
Things to do in town
The town of Copacabana is not the prettiest town ever and only a few things are to be seen in it. Spending 1/2 day going around would be more than enough and spending more than one day in town wouldn’t be worth it.
Except chilling at your hotel with a view, here are what you can see in town:
- Walking along the beach: Great things to do to see how locals are living.
- Explore the main street: there is only one lively street in Copacabana with shops, restaurants…
- Visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana: a 16th century Spanish colonial shrine homes of the Virgen de Copacabana. It was built between 1669 and 1679 and was robbed in April 2013, was robbed and the image of the Virgen de Copacabana was stripped of her gold and silver accessories.
- Hiking the viewpoint “Cerro Calvario”, more details below.
Grocery & snacks
Snacky snack time! If you are looking for food and grocery, the street parallel to the main one has many little shops and even a supermarket where you can buy canned food, wine, pasta, crackers, rice and a few vegetables.
If you are looking to find more veggies and fruits, try the local market located in the same street but a bit closer to the Basilica. There are more choices but don’t expect a huge choice.
You can also find peanuts and snacks on the street near the local market.
Some price indication, we are not sure they are the best one but that’s what we got:
Supermarket:
- Red wine: 30 bs
Local market:
- 4 Tomatoes: 3 bs
- 2 Avocados: 10 bs
- 5 Bananas: 2.5 bs
Street:
- 2 jars of banana chips: 10bs
- 2 jars of peanuts: 10bs
- 5 Breads: 2.5bs
Hiking the viewpoint
To reach the viewpoint, start from le central square, where you will take see stairs going up, pass by the “LA CUPULA” hotel and hike up for 45min.
The hike brings you through religious lands and sites and is not the easiest one. It is really sloppy and goes up-hill so better plan some spare time not to miss the sunset.
After passing the many religious monuments, you will arrive on a platform where other people will be. At the time we were there, locals were drinking beer and listening to music.
If you forget your beer, you can always by them on your way!
How to spend 3 days in Copacabana, Bolivia
Day 1: Arrive in Copacabana, check-in your accommodation and go explore the town. Hike to the viewpoints for sunset.
Day 2: Spend the whole day on Isla Del Sol
Day 3: Hike the whole day from Yampupata
Day 4: Take the bus from Copacabana to La Paz and then from La Paz to Uyuni to embark on an EPIC 3 Day Uyuni Salt Flat Tour in Bolivia.
“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” – Wendell Berry
