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At Lake Titicaca, La Paz on Foot offers several different type of experiences, from multi-day home-stays in a very traditional lakeside fishing village, Santiago de Okola, to one- to three-day sailing trips on our 30 ft sailboat, to city and countryside tours of the sacred village of Copacabana and to day-hikes on the Island of the Sun. All of our outings include professional, bi-lingual guides who interpret the cultural and natural landscapes you encounter. It is possible (and recommended, as Lake Titicaca is a very diverse and complex eco-region) to combine several of our outings into one, multi-day experience.
The following descriptions are summaries. For more detailed information, such as itineraries, costs, and what to bring, please send us an email: info@lapazonfoot.com. |
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Santiago de Okola is a traditional lakeside fishing village located 3 hours from La Paz (closer than Copacabana!) at the base of the “Sleeping Dragon,” an unusual geological formation that resembles the head (or head and body, depending how you look at it) of a dragon resting its chin upon the edge of Lake Titicaca. La Paz on Foot is working with the community to develop a community-based agro-eco-ethno-tourism project (in partnership with Bolivian and international NGOs) in Okola. Together with the community we offer single to multi-day home stays with families from the community. If you choose a multi-day visit (one night or more), you will live with a family in a separate room they have dedicated to receiving visitors and participate in daily life, from joining your family on a fishing trip to planting or harvesting potatoes, quinoa or other Andean crops to helping in the kitchen. You will also have time to climb the Sleeping Dragon or take a quiet walk along the beautiful beaches that surround the community and observe lake fauna. |
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New in 2008, La Paz on Foot is now offering one to three day sailing trips on Lake Titicaca on our 30-foot schooner. Setting out from the “World’s Highest Yacht Club” in Huatahata, 1.5 hours from La Paz, you can choose from a one-day sail to and from the strait of Tiquina, a two day sail that includes an overnight in the small lakeside community of Sampaya and drop-off in Copacabana to a three day trip that includes a day-hike on the Island of the Sun and a visit to Santiago de Okola (see above). Sailing across the highest navigable lake in the world is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and is the best way to experience life on Lake Titicaca. Fishing poles included!
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Copacabana rightly holds the place as a must-see Lake Titicaca community—it is truly a spectacular setting. An important present-day spiritual and economic center for Titicaca communities long before Spanish conquerors arrived (they caught on quickly and established a presence there in 15XX), Copacabana has morphed into a quirky combination of traditional lakeside farming and fishing activities, international tourism (it is one of the few places you’ll hear Bob Marley in Bolivia), and a contemporary religious mecca for Peruvian and Bolivian Catholics, many of whom make an annual multi-day pilgrimage (on foot) to pay respects to the Virgin of Copacabana (who grants your every desire). In Copacabana, La Paz on Foot offers city tours as well as a half-day off-the-beaten-track “country walk” through very traditional villages just a stone’s throw away from Copa |
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Like Copacabana, the Island of the Sun has long been an important spiritual and economic center for various culture-groups from the Central Andes. Perhaps because the island receives more rainfall than anywhere else in the region (and hence is more productive agriculturally) or perhaps because it is almost impossible to visit the island without having at least one or two spiritual epiphanies, the Isla del Sol is believed to have been the birthplace of the Inca people. La Paz on Foot offers one or 1.5-day guided tours of the Island, with interpretation of the natural and cultural landscapes you pass through, that can be combined with other outings in Copacabana or Santiago de Okola, or as part of our new sailing trips (see above).
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