Of the more than 80 Inca ruins on the island, most date to the 15th century AD. You could spend a week looking at them all.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
10.07 MILES
The sparkling white mudéjar (Moorish–style) cathedral, with its domes and colorful azulejos (blue Portuguese-style ceramic tiles), dominates the town…
4.8 MILES
This is a beautifully preserved village where the homes are built with flat stones joined in an earthen mortar. There is a stone church on the hilltop…
0.5 MILES
Yumani is the main village at the south end of the island. Most boats drop you at the village’s dock, about 200m downhill from the town proper. The small…
10.31 MILES
This hillside gate (named 'the Incan Gallows' by the Spaniards) is a fascinating pre-Incan astronomical observatory, surrounded by pierced rocks that…
9.61 MILES
The summit can be reached in half an hour and is well worth the climb, especially for a view of the sunset. The trail begins near the church at the end of…
0.78 MILES
Just uphill from the ferry dock at Yumani, along the beautifully reconstructed Escalera del Inca (Inca stairway), you’ll pass plenty of terraced gardens,…
5.7 MILES
The ruins of an Inca nunnery and temple dedicated to the Virgins of the Sun – also known as Ajlla Wasi or Iñak Uyu – occupy an amphitheater-like valley…
10.01 MILES
While Bolivia’s only public beach can’t hold a candle to its better-known counterpart in Rio de Janeiro, on weekends the festive atmosphere is a magnet…
Nearby Isla del Sol attractions
0.5 MILES
Yumani is the main village at the south end of the island. Most boats drop you at the village’s dock, about 200m downhill from the town proper. The small…
0.59 MILES
Follow the well-signposted path from Yumani's ridgeline up to this small stone lookout atop Cerro Palla Khasa (4065m) for sweeping sunset views over the…
0.75 MILES
Early Spaniards believed Yumani’s spring was a fountain of youth and for the Incas the three streams represented their national motto: Ama sua, Ama llulla…
0.78 MILES
Just uphill from the ferry dock at Yumani, along the beautifully reconstructed Escalera del Inca (Inca stairway), you’ll pass plenty of terraced gardens,…
1.19 MILES
This prominent ruins complex near the southern tip of the island is about 30 minutes (2km) south by foot from Yumani. It sits well camouflaged against a…
1.32 MILES
This lighthouse on the tip of Kakayo-Queña Ridge is technically in an area tourists are allowed to visit, though access by land has been cut off by the…
1.35 MILES
This agreeable little village stretches along a magnificent sandy beach that could be straight out of a holiday brochure for the Greek islands. The…
2.07 MILES
Some obsidian remnants among the ruins indicate contact with people as far away as Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Peru.