Day 136 : Isla del Sol

Isla del Sol is located on Lake Titicaca, about 2 hours away by boat from Copacabana.  Boats usually land either on the northern part of the island (near the Inca ruins) or the southern part of the island (where town Yumani is based and where most accommodation are located).

The plan was to take a boat to the northern part of the island and trek for about 45 mins to the Inca ruins (Mesa Ceremonial & Roca Sagrada), and subsequently continue trekking for another 3 hours to the southern part of the island and find an accommodation for the night.

It was a cold and cloudy morning as I made my way on the boat at 8.30am towards the northern island of Isla del Sol, and sitting on top of the boat in the open air, we almost froze!  The view was great however for photo takings.

When we arrived at Isla del Sol, we were greeted by a small fishing style village, and directions were given on how to walk to the ruins.  So I made my way towards the entry point of the trek to purchase my tickets and the moment I entered, I was greeted by a beautiful view of a beach with clear water.

By this time, the weather has cleared up and it was bright and sunny with blue skies.  Perfect day to explore the island, considering that it was rather wet when I first arrived into Copacabana yesterday! 

I continued my trek up the hill, through farmlands and pastures, and every time I go up hill, I found myself getting out of breath just within 30 or 40 steps.  I felt like an old lady, but I guess it was extremely normal considering that we are located at about 4,000m above sea level. 

I soon arrived at Meca Ceremonial, which was a stone table type feature, surrounded by 12 stone blocks in a circle around the table, with a subsequent 4 additional blocks on the outer circle, placed in 4 different quadrants, to seemingly form the 12 digits on a clock and the direction North, East, South and West.  I wish I could have understood Spanish a little better in order to understand the history of the ruins and the importance, as there was a local guide who was providing the explanatory.

I continued on and not long later, came across a stone like fortress, which I assumed to be the Roca Sagrada.  As I walked around the various narrow stoned pathways, it seemed like a maze!  When I finally walked out to the other end of the stone fortress, I was captivated by a postcard scenery of the stillness of the blue water ahead of me, and couldn’t resist just sitting down and relaxing for a moment to take a breather as well as to soak in the view in front of me.

I continued on with my 3 hour trek, and the views that I encountered along the way was equally, if not more beautiful.  Passing through different villages and their lifestyle, seeing various farm animals such as llama, cow (I got head butted by a cow along the way, just because it thinks that it owns the whole pathway!), donkey, pig, lamb etc. 

The trek was not always easy as there were many uphill sections, but when I finally got to the end of the trek and arrived in Yumani, it was a sense of accomplishment.  It probably also serves as good training for my upcoming trek in Machu Picchu!

I walked through Yumani village, checking with the various hostels for room availability, before finally settling into one called “Templo del Sol”. 

There was still about 2hrs of light before the sun set, and spent the rest of the time settling down before walking through the village and catching the sunset.