Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If it's open, snacks and hot drinks are available at Club Andino's lodge; if you want
anything more substantial, bring it from town. Also bring warm (and windproof) clothing,
sunglasses (100% UV proof) and sunscreen.
For overnight stays at Chacaltaya, you can crash in Club Andino's ski lodge, a '50s-
style stone ski lodge. A warm sleeping bag, food and lots of water are essential for an
overnight stay.
Those who fly into La Paz from the lowlands will want to wait a few days before visit-
ing Chacaltaya or other high-altitude places.
Getting There & Away
There's no public transportation to Chacaltaya. Most La Paz tour agencies take groups to
Chacaltaya for around B$50 to B$80 per person.
Tiwanaku
While it's no Machu Picchu or Tikal, a visit to the ruins of Tiwanaku (sometimes spelled
Tiahuanaco or Tihuanaco) makes for a good day trip from La Paz. The site itself is less
than outstanding, with a few carved monoliths, archways and arcades, and a decent mu-
seum, but history buffs will love diving into the myths and mysteries of this lost civiliza-
tion. In the eponymous village, there are a number of hotels, restaurants, a fun little plaza
with excellent sculptures inspired by Tiwanaku styles and a 16th-century church, built, no
doubt, with stones from the Tiwanaku site.
Little is actually known about the people who constructed the ceremonial center on the
southern shore of Lake Titicaca more than a thousand years ago. Archaeologists generally
agree that the civilization that spawned Tiwanaku rose around 600 BC. Construction on
the ceremonial site was under way by about AD 700, but around 1200 the group had
melted into obscurity, becoming another 'lost' civilization. Evidence of its influence, par-
ticularly its religion, has been found throughout the vast area that later became the Inca
empire.
The treasures of Tiwanaku have literally been scattered to the four corners of the earth.
Its gold was looted by the Spanish, and early stone and pottery finds were sometimes des-
troyed by religious zealots who considered them pagan idols. Some of the work found its
way to European museums; farmers destroyed pieces of it as they turned the surrounding
