Bolivia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 175

ACCOMMODAT ION
Owing to its role as a pilgrimage centre, Copacabana has
an enormous number of places to stay, though they fill up
fast and prices double or triple during the main fiestas.
La Casa del Sol Ballivián T 71586731. Owned by a
former mayor of Copacabana (who can impart plentiful
insights into local life, should you so wish), this peaceful
hotel on the edge of town upholds high stand ards and
irrevocable cleanliness at budget prices. Doubles B$50
Hostal Emperador Murillo 235 T 02 8622083. A good
budget option - the place is bright and friendly, though
the narrow beds have seen far better days. Rarely has hot
water. Breakfast is B$10-15 extra. Doubles B$40
Hostal Intihuatana Ballivián 649 T 02 72071169.
There's an Inca theme-park feel here, but it's great value
with top-quality bedding and some rooms (all l en s uite)
that overlook the town's eastern edge. Doubles B$60
Hostal Leyenda Av Costanera, at Busch T 07350 8898.
The place looks incongruous in its beachside setting,
decorated with cement bas-relief sculpture depicting Inca
motifs or indigenous characters, and galleried upper
floors. The gothic feel is rounded off by a front garden full
of stone slabs and ro se bus hes. Prices include breakfast.
Doubles (all en suite) B$150
Hostal Sonia Murillo 256 T 07196 8441, E hostalsonia
[e-mail]. A notch up from nearby Emperador ,
this place has hot water (albeit sporadic), wi-fi, en-suite
bathrooms and kitch en fa cilities. The rooftop terrace has
lovely views. Doubles B$80
Utama Hotel Michel Pérez, at San Antonio T 02 8622013,
W utamahotel.com. The modern central courtyard has an
odd ambience, glowing yellow from the plastic corrugated
roof and decorated with huge international flags. But this
is a friendly place, with free tea and fru it, en-suite rooms,
and breakfast included. Doubles B$200

Ì TREAT YOURSELF
These equally charming hillside
neighbours have the same owner,
but quite different atmospheres.
La Cúpula Michel Pérez 1-3 T 02
8622029, W hotelcupula.com. A delightful
hotel built in neo-Moorish style,
overlooking the town and lake. It offers
light and airy rooms, a nice garden
overlooking the bay, plus hammocks,
kitchen, laundry and a somewhat
inconsistent restaurant. Breakfast is
included and reservation s are
recommended. Doubles

2

B$160
Hostal Las Olas T 02 8622112,
W hostallasolas.com. Eccentrically
constructed and decorated apartments
with wonderful views of the lake,
kitchenet tes an d tranquil outdoor spaces.
Doubles B$295

Café Bistrot C Zapana. This first-floor café-restaurant is
a great hangout, decorated with all manner of trinkets
from hats to musical instruments, though the cooking
(plenty of veggie fare on offer) is inconsistent. Wi-fi avail-
able to customers who spend over B$15. Daily 7.30am-
2pm & 5.30-9pm.
Ì El Condor and the Eagle Av 6 de Agosto, entered
through Residencial Paris. Deservedly popular, with the
home-made baked beans on toasted soda bread (B$15)
a delight after measly Bolivian breakfasts. The strong
coffee (cappuccino B$16) and punchy chocolate cake
(B$10) are a treat too. Wed-Mon 7.30am-3pm.
Nemos Av 6 de Agosto. A simple little bar with a good
playlist run by a Brit and an Argentine, with Bolivian
microbrewery beers including Saya and Ted's Cervecería,
plus international favourites like Erdinger. Daily from 5pm.
La Orilla Av 6 de Agosto. They use filtered water here,
so you can order their signature stuffed trout safe in the
knowledge it won't come back to haunt you. Mon-Sat
from 5pm.

EATING AND DRINKING
There's no shortage of restaurants in Copacabana, most
catering to travellers and pilgrims, and some doubling as
bars and evening hangouts. There are also a number of
stalls along the waterfront selling decent and cheap local
almuerzos . At the market you can get a coffee, plus a pastel
(a bloated, bubbled morsel of fried dough) or buñuelos
(a sort of doughnut) for around B$3. There are also food
stalls that sell wallaque fish soup (B$8), a regional delicacy
bulked up with dried chuño potatoes (most definitely an
acquired taste). Despite its tourist hub status, Copacabana
is not a party town.
Aransaya Av 6 de Agosto. Said to be the oldest restaurant
in town and still serving traditional offerings, from the
breaded meat dish silpancho (B$30) and pique a lo macho
(B$40) to good-value fried trout (B$20) and almuerzos
(B$15). The courtyard improves the otherwise canteen-
like atmosphere.

ISLA DEL SOL
Just of the northern tip of the
Copacabana Peninsula about 12km
northwest of Copacabana, the Isla del Sol
(Island of the Sun) has been attracting
pilgrims and visitors for many hundreds
of years. Now a quiet backwater, the
island was one of the most important
religious sites in the Andean world in the
sixteenth century, revered as the place
where the sun and moon were created