The Strait of Tiquina

Here you'll find:

• Location
• How to get there
• Facilities
• Activities
• Tips

The Lake Titicaca is divided into two parts: the Upper Lake and the Lower Lake, the Strait of Tiquina unites the both of them. Located in Bolivia, in the La Paz Department, Tiquina is the gateway to Copacabana, one of the main touristic attractions in Bolivia. Two twin towns can be found on each side of the strait: San Pablo de Tiquina and San Pedro de Tiquina.

The best way, and perharps the only one, to get there is from the city of La Paz, starting from the city’s main Cemetery, where public transport is available, in different shapes: trufis (taxi style transport), minibuses (mini carriers) and buses, the fare’s price starts at 15 Bs. but can always be increased according to demand. If you have the possibility to rent a car or to book a private transport from your hotel in La Paz, that would be of course, the best option. It’s a two hour ride, approximately, in which you will cross the city of El Alto and part of the bolivian Altiplano, a high plateau in the Andes, and some minor settlements along the road. Then you will finally arrive to San Pablo of Tiquina. Public transport will always take you to the main Square. All vehicles on the way to Copacabana make a pause there too, in order to cross the strait.

Many people from La Paz go to this place to spend some hours and have a meal. The whole area is famous for its fish, there are some restaurants in San Pablo of Tiquina, but they’re not open with regularity, street food on the other hand can be found usually from 9 am to 8 pm. There are a couple of small grocery stores, mainly used by people on the way to Copacabana, to restock.

There are also public rest rooms that cost around 1 Bs. per use, they are not the best but may come handy when in need. If you happen to have your own car, there are a couple of hostels around 15 minutes before getting to San Pablo and also a place where the natives make some constructions with totora plants that grow in the lake, unfortunately they do this rarely nowadays, but if you’re lucky you may see them building a totora boat. The way to cross to San Pedro of Tiquina is via a ferry system, divided into two parts, one for vehicles and the other one for passengers. The fare is 2 Bs. for people and if you are on the way to Copacabana on a public transport, this fare is never included. There’s a booth next to the boats where you can buy the tickets, the trip takes around 10 minutes.

On the opposite side is San Pedro of Tiquina, which is slightly bigger than San Pablo, it has a very popular comedor, a dining hall, where the locals have their meals, it’s open from 7 am to 8 pm, they offer breakfast, lunch, hot beverages and dinner.

Outside there are some other small grocery stores and a restaurant on the corner of the main Square where you can eat some frog legs from the Titicaca. There are a couple of public restrooms too on this side of the strait. From there you can find trufis to Copacabana for around 10 Bs., or continue with the transport you took from La Paz to Copacabana. The estimated time to Copacabana is 1 hour. This area is near the border with Peru, therefore there’s a lot of police control, make sure you have your papers at the ready. Part of the border control routine is to check luggage manually or with the help of sniffer dogs, this could be unexpected for many tourists. Tiquina is not considered a dangerous place, but of course, like in any other part of the world, tourists must be aware.

Related articles:

• Copacabana
• La Paz Cemetery
• The City of La Paz
• What is a trufi?
• What is a minibus?