Tiwanaku, Lake Titicaca and Coroico (TE05-01-TLC)

Day 2 - Page 4

13:00-14:15 Challapampa – Chinkana (2 km – 1.3 mi)

From Challapampa we will depart for a short hike to the most extensive Incan ruins in the area, Chinkana. The path is not difficult, but it gently climbs up to the ridge line of the Island of the Sun. If the weather is good, then there are magnificent views from the path. The path passes through terraced fields and as it rises, views of coves with beaches open up with snowed up peaks of Cordillera Real as backdrop. If the sun is shinning, then the lake has amazing hues of blue green colour. As we approach Chinkana, we pass over rock formation called “Sun’s Footprints”, according to the local legend, sun left these foot prints behind. Then we arrive to the focal point of solar worship for the Inca and other pre-Columbian cultures on the Island of the Sun, the Sacred Rock, from which according to the legend the sun first rose.


14:15-14:45 Chinkana

Chinkana is a relatively large site, the multiple passageways and internally connected rooms lend a maze-like feeling to this complex (hence its name, which means labyrinth). We can spend some time here, to fully appreciate the magnificent sceneries of the Lake Titicaca, and to fully explore the complex. Then we return back to our boat. Return leg of the hike is less demanding since it is all (well nearly all) down hill.

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