Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [167]
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BOLIVIAN SHORE
If you find yourself irresistibly drawn to the idea of staying longer in Bolivia, Lonely Planet’s Bolivia guidebook has more comprehensive information.
Copacabana
02 / pop 15,900 / elev 3841m
Just across the border from Yunguyo, Copacabana is a restful Bolivian town on Lake Titicaca’s south shore. Neither literally nor figuratively ‘the hottest place north of Havana,’ it’s quiet, pretty, and a handy base for visiting the famous Islas del Sol and de la Luna. On the weekend it’s full of visitors from La Paz; during the week, it goes to sleep.
In the 16th century the town was presented with an image of the Virgen de la Candelaria (now Bolivia’s patron saint), sparking a slew of miracles. Copacabana’s Moorish cathedral, where the Virgen is housed in a mystifyingly unsalubrious chapel, is still a pilgrimage site.
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BORDER CROSSING: BOLIVIA
There are three routes from Puno to Bolivia. The north shore route is very much off the beaten track and rarely used. There are two ways to go via the south shore: through either Yunguyo or Desaguadero. The only reason to go via Desaguadero is if you’re pressed for time. The Yunguyo route is safer, prettier and far more popular, and passes through the chilled-out Bolivian lakeshore town of Copacabana, from where Isla del Sol – arguably the most significant site in Andean mythology – can be visited.
There’s a Bolivian consulate in Puno (Click here). Remember that Bolivian time is one hour ahead of Peruvian time.
US citizens have to pay US$100 cash in US dollars for a tourist visa to enter Bolivia. This can be done at the border.
Via Yunguyo
There are two ways to do this.
The quickest and easiest way is with a cross-border bus company such as Perú Tour or Ormeño (36-8176; www.grupo-ormeno.com.pe). These buses leave from Puno’s terminal terrestre at 7am and 7:30am respectively. You should buy your tickets at the terminal at least one day in advance. The service stops at a casa de cambio (exchange bureau) at the border, shows you where to go for exit and entrance formalities, waits for you to get through, and then drives you to Copacabana (S20, two hours). Here another bus awaits to take you straight to La Paz (B$25, 3½ hours), if you so desire.
The other alternative is catching local transport – micros – from the Terminal Zonál. This is the only way to go if you want to stop at some or all of Peru’s south-shore towns (Click here), since long-distance buses don’t stop between Puno and Yunguyo. Leaving early (say 8am) gives you time to see most or all of the towns listed. When you’re ready to move on, just jump on the next micro – they come along all the time, especially on Sunday, which is market day in Juli and Yunguyo. This is a great way to get off the beaten track, save a packet and rub shoulders with locals.
Yunguyo is the end of the line. Catch a triciclo (three-wheeled cycle) to Kasani for S2, or walk it – it’s a pleasant 2km. Continue along Av Ejército – out of town, past a school with the coolest playground equipment in the world, around the bend to the left, and up the hill to Kasani. Change money here; the casas de cambio here offer better exchange rates than those on the Bolivian side.
Show your passport to the policía (police) in the aqua building, and then to the Control Migratorio (Immigration Office) on the left. Peruvian formalities thus completed, walk up the road and under the arch. To your left, under the ‘Welcome to Bolivia’ sign, you’ll see the Bolivian immigration office – getting your passport stamped here is the final stage in the border-crossing process.
Now catch a combi to Copacabana for B$2 – or, if you’re so inclined, walk a very pleasant, straightforward 8km around the lake. Combis leave more