Situated in the high plains that separate Bolivia and Peru, it is a natural frontier between the two countries. It is the highest navigable lake in the world at 3,810 m (12,500ft) above sea level and is the biggest in South America, with an area of 8,300 square kilometres (3,200 sq miles). Lake Titicaca has become the main witness to the rise of the Incan Empire, and its waters hold the legend of Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, who founded the Incan society high up in Cuzco, a task given to them by their father, the Sun. A story tells that the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th Century caused the indigenous people to hide their treasures at the bottom of the lake in desperation, just as there are rumours that some ruins of cities can also be found there. What is certain is that in the surrounding areas of Koa Island, to the north of Sun Island, they have found artefacts that, according to archaeologists, may indicate that there was a city below the water, but the evidence is too scarce to guarantee this. Not very far from there, in Copacabana, there is a festival that takes place in honor of the Miraculous Brunette Virgin. The immense, clear blue waters of Lake Titicaca are quite impressive.

*COPACABANA, At only 158 kilometres from La Paz and at 3,841 m.a.s.l.; the main attraction of this town is the Sanctuary of La Vírgen Morena, where people surrender cult to the Virgin of Copacabana, an image carved in wood in 1592, by Francisco Tito Yupanqui who was a descendant of the Incas