Day 10 – Sucre to La Paz to Copacabana

Most travelers take the overnight bus from Sucre to La Paz that costs Bs 60 and takes about 12 hours in a comfortable bus that has sleeping beds with blankets. But I decided to look for some last minute online deals and found out that Amaszonas has an early morning flight from Sucre to La Paz for Bs 300, so booked it and leave Sucre early this morning.

Bus from Sucre to La Paz Not many buses run nightly from Sucre to La Paz (or Potosi to La Paz, via Sucre). They start at 9:30pm from Sucre Bus terminal and reach at 10am to La Paz bus terminal. It’s generally advisable to book a seat in advance considering that most tourists book this bus through private tour companies like Koala Tours. It costs Bs 60 one way and the buses are comfortable having 180-degree sleeping bed with blankets. There are no toilets on the buses but they make 2-3 stops on the way.

Hailed a taxi outside of Wasi Masi hostel in Sucre for a 30 minute ride to the airport (SRE) that costs Bs 25. The flight departed at 10:30am for a 40-minute flight to La Paz reaching at 11:10am. A taxi ride of 30 minutes from the airport and I was at the La Paz Cemetery.

Buses to Copacabana leave the cemetery every 30-60 minutes depending on when they get filled. I was in luck because the next bus was leaving at 12:30pm. Having acquired a seat instantly, I was on a 4-hour bus ride to Copacabana.

All vehicles heading to the island of Copacabana on Lake Titicaca, pass through the town of Tiquina, where the road splits by the lake. Everyone has to step out of the bus, pay Bs 2 for the ferry and cross the lake to the other side of the town. The buses or any other vehicles are ferried across on flat, transportation cargo boats.

Buses and other vehicles are transported

Passenger boats

Upon reaching the other side of the Tiquina, the bus navigates through curvy roads and high hills with splendid views of Lake Titicaca, eventually reaching Copacabana’s main square, Plaza Sucre, in just over 4 hours.

I had pre-booked a single room for three nights in Hotel Utama in Copacabana, which was three blocks uphill from the main square.

Utama Hotel, Copacabana Value Location Cleanliness Rooms Service Breakfast included: Yes Address: Calle Michell Perez, Copacabana, Bolivia Phone: +59128622013 Website: www.utamahotel.com Great hotel with a lot of rooms (24 of them), some of which face Lake Titicaca. When you book this hotel through Booking.com, make sure to place a request for a room facing the lake as they get filled in real fast. Rooms 101-102, 111-112, 201-202 & 211-212 don’t have any windows and are the worst in terms of space and amenities. You get double beds or two single beds and each room has its own bathroom. The hotel provides towels and hot water (not available between 10pm and 6am). Breakfast is available between 7:15am-9:30am and is a hearty one with toasts (butter & jam), eggs, one slice of bacon & one slice of cheese, cereal, yogurt, coffee/tea, that will fill you up for the day. Prices on booking.com are US$20/$30 per night for single/double, but we know someone who checked-in on the spot and they were give a similar room for US$11. Depending on the season, they may have rooms available for on-the-spot booking. Wifi is available throughout the hotel and is good quality, but it is turned off between 10pm and 7am. There is a computer in the locker room which also has no access to internet between the same times. The staff are friendly and helpful, especially the man in evenings and nights as he speaks English. They have luggage storage room where you can leave your bags if you decide to stay at Isla del Sol for a few nights or decide to go to Cusco or Puno. The hotel provides free transfers to and from bus station so yo don’t have to walk the uphill road leading to the hotel. Just inform them of your arrivals beforehand. All in all a great location, good rooms, hot showers, friendly-cum-family run staff and value for money.

After a quick check-in, I started my treacherous climb up Cerro Calvario for some amazing view of the sunset. The summit of Cerro Calvario can be reached in 30-45 minutes in the late afternoon and the climb is well worth for its splendid views of the sunset over Lake Titicaca. The trail to the summit begins near the church at the end of Calle Destacamento 211 and climbs past 14 Stations of the Cross.

It was past 6pm by the time I reached back in the town and headed for Ave 6 de Agosto, the main drag for all restaurants. Walking along the street and reading all the menus displayed outside the restaurants, I observed that most of them were either empty or didn’t actually bothered to receive any guests! The only one restaurant that looked busy was Pueblo El Viejo and as they say, go where it’s busy, I walked in, grabbed a seat and ordered dinner. This restaurant is not the best in Copacabana, but with good wifi, great sports channel and friendly staff, it makes a good impression for first timers. The food though… quite bad! french fries were the worst I have ever had, but the rest of the basic food like steamed trout and spaghetti napolitana were not so bad.

A long and not-so-awful dinner later, I headed to the hotel for a quiet night, looking forward to explore Isla del Sol and Isla del Luna the next day.

Note: All values in USD, unless otherwise mentioned, are approximate and based on the exchange rate at the time of publishing. Each cost is for one adult. The exchange rate at the time of publishing is assumed to be USD 1= BOB 6.90.