Nuestra Señora de la Asunción

Lake Titicaca

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The imposing 1557 church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción has an expansive courtyard approach that may awaken urges to oratory. Its interior is airy, and the pulpit is covered in gold leaf.

Other churches nearby include Santa Cruz, which has lost half its roof and remains closed for the foreseeable future, but its skeleton and facades are visible. The 1560 stone church of San Pedro, on the main plaza, is in the best condition, with carved ceilings and a marble baptismal font. Mass is celebrated here every Sunday at 8am.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Cathedral

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    The sparkling white mudéjar (Moorish–style) cathedral, with its domes and colorful azulejos (blue Portuguese-style ceramic tiles), dominates the town…

  • Sampaya

    Sampaya

    25.45 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…

  • Yumani

    Yumani

    23.87 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…

  • Horca del Inca

    Horca del Inca

    24.91 MILES

    This hillside gate (named 'the Incan Gallows' by the Spaniards) is a fascinating pre-Incan astronomical observatory, surrounded by pierced rocks that…

  • Cerro Calvario

    Cerro Calvario

    24.64 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…

  • Escalera del Inca

    Escalera del Inca

    24.01 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,…

  • Templo de las Vírgenes

    Templo de las Vírgenes

    28.39 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…

  • Copacabana Beach

    Copacabana Beach

    24.59 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…

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Nearby Lake Titicaca attractions

1. San Juan de Letrán

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Dating from 1570, the adobe baroque church of San Juan de Letrán contains richly framed escuela cuzqueña (Cuzco School) paintings that depict the lives of…

2. Templo de Pomata Santiago Apóstolo

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This Dominican church is totally out of proportion with the town of Pomata that it dominates, in terms of both size and splendor – dramatically located on…

3. Lighthouse

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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…

4. Ruins

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Some obsidian remnants among the ruins indicate contact with people as far away as Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Peru.

5. Mesa Ceremónica

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About 150m southeast of the Chincana ruins is the Mesa Ceremónica. It’s thought to have been the site of human and animal sacrifices and makes for a…

6. Chincana Ruins

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Isla del Sol's most spectacular ruins lie near the island’s northern tip. Its main feature is the Palacio del Inca, a maze of stone walls and tiny…

7. Templo del Inca

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Over the track, and in a field just southwest, from the Piedra Sagrada, are the ancient walls of the complex known as the Templo del Inca. Although little…

8. Marka Pampa

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At low tide an innocuous-looking column of rock peeps just a few centimeters above Lake Titicaca’s surface, north of Isla del Sol. Most locals dismiss it…