Photos By Location| The Other Side of Lake Titicaca | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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Isla del Sol — An hour-and-a-half boat ride away from Copacabana lies the island of the sun, the site where Incan legend says the first Incan was born. Visitors to the island are initially met by a long Incan staircase (the "sacred steps") that they have 45 minutes to climb, look around, and return down. (They don't want no sissy tourists on this tour.) |
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Sacred Springs — At the top of the staircase — which is about ten times more tiring than it looks because of the altitude — are the three sacred springs. To drink from it brings good luck and fortune, a stark contrast from the sacred fountains in Peru that give you children. |
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Isla del Sol — Steep terraced landscapes lead all the way down to the waterfront, just as with other islands we've visited on the Peruvian side of the lake. |
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Resort, Isla del Sol — The one and only resort on Isla del Sol, viewed from the top of the hill. In this case, "resort" means the rooms have a door and a roof. |
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Lake Titicaca — Looking east from the top of Isla del Sol, across the lake toward Copacabana. On the left is Isla del Luna, a sort-of companion island to Isla del Sol, but whose Incan ruins are much less maintained. |
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Temple of the Sun — The most prominent ruin on Isla del Sol is the Temple of the Sun. Even now, hundreds of years after it was built, a small window at the top level is perfectly aligned so that it captures the first rays of sunlight on the summer equinox. |
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Temple of the Sun — The temple follows a strict motif of threes, as seen in the parallel arches here. To the Incans, the three levels represented the heavens, the earth (the surface, where we walk), and the ground. |
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On Lake Titicaca — Keith and Erin pose on their hamster-powered boat, en route to Isla del Sol. |
