After lapping up the sights and sounds of Peru, it was time to go to Bolivia. Truth be told, I had fallen in love with Peru and I didn’t want leave, but the prospect of visiting a new country filled me with excitement.
When I initially started researching how to get from Peru to Bolivia, I looked at various routes and modes of transportation: plane, train, taxi and bus. In order to save money, I opted for the bus.
While I expected to save money, what I got was so much more rewarding. To my surprise, the journey was comfortable, easy, and filled with sightseeing opportunities.
Sometimes I forget that the journey itself is the destination. Instead of ‘landing’ in a place, the slow build-up to the main event adds so much more value. You travel through those quiet, in-between places that you would never otherwise see.
If you’re thinking about getting the bus from Peru to Bolivia, and want to know what to expect, hopefully my trip report will help with your planning.
Bus from Peru to Bolivia: Cusco – Puno – Copacabana – La Paz
The plan was to get from Cusco in Peru to Copacabana in Bolivia via Lake Titicaca and travel onwards to La Paz. Lake Titicaca is huge and spans across both Peru and Bolivia. It holds the title for the highest navigable lake in the world, sitting at a lofty 3800 metres.
1st day: Cusco to Puno
It’s a long journey from Cusco that first requires stopping overnight in Puno located on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. This leg of the journey takes 10.5 hours.
We used the bus company Inka Express for the journey from Cusco to Puno. Inka Express is a specific company that only travels between Cusco and Puno and includes various stops in interesting places.
At around $50 it’s incredible value. Not only does it smoothly get you from point A to point B, it doubles as a sightseeing tour through the Andes.
2nd day: Puno to Copacabana
The following day there’s another 4-hour bus journey that takes you across the border through passport control and onward to Copacabana located on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca.
For this part of the journey we used Bolivia Hop, and we used the same company a few days later to get to La Paz.
Train info
I researched getting the train, but at a price tag of nearly $250, I simply couldn’t justify the price difference. I’m sure it’s nice though.
Another reason in favour of getting the bus is that the train only includes one short stop at La Raya Pass (the journey’s highest point), compared to the multiple stops included on the bus route.
Puno vs Copacabana
There are several places to stay on Lake Titicaca, with Puno being the largest town, followed by Copacabana. I knew I had to stay in Puno to break up the journey to Bolivia, but exactly how long should I stay? And should I also stop in Copacabana or go straight to La Paz?
After doing quite a lot of research, more people seemed to speak more positively about Copacabana. So even though it’s possible to go directly from Puno to La Paz in a day, I opted to spend more time in Lake Titicaca by stopping in Copacabana for a few days.
Now that I’ve been to both places, I can confirm that Copacabana is nicer. The atmosphere is more relaxing and the town has some great accommodation options. Adding to Copacabana’s allure is its proximity to Isla del Sol, located just 1-hour away by boat.
Isla del Sol was easily the highlight of my trip to Lake Titicaca. If you love nature, scenic panoramas and hiking, I’d recommend spending at least one night on the Island.
Journey from Cusco to Puno – attractions en route
The Inka Express bus was extremely clean and comfortable. If buses in the UK and Europe were like this, I wouldn’t have a problem travelling everywhere by bus!
The well-padded seats also reclined, perfect for napping between stops. Best of all, we had a guide that traveled with us from Cusco to Puno who provided expertise about the history and culture of each place we visited.
Surprisingly, there were only 8 people on the bus, and despite myself and my boyfriend being the only English speakers, our guide spoke perfectly in Spanish and English.
The bus departed from Cusco at 6.30am and arrived into Puno at around 5pm. The journey weaved together a mixture of archeological and touristic stops through the Andes Mountains.
In total, we made 5 stops: San Pedro Apostle Church, Raqchi Temple of Wiracocha, buffet lunch, La Raya Pass, and lastly, Pukara archeological site.
Here is more information about each stop in more detail:
1st stop | Saint Peter the Apostle of Andahuaylillas
Our first stop was the town of Andahuaylillas, located 45 km south of Cusco. The main attraction is San Pedro Apostle Church. Photos are not permitted inside, but I took a sneaky photo so you can catch a glimpse of the interior. To be honest, the photo doesn’t capture the incredible craftsmanship displayed inside the church.
Standing outside, you would never guess it was home to such a rich interior gilded with 22ct gold leaf. It’s over 400 years old and filled with incredible frescos with religious iconography that wouldn’t look out of place in Italy.
Our guide tells us it’s called the Sistine Chapel of the Andes, which might somewhat be an overstretch but I can definitely see it. The murals are gorgeous, and while they’ll only ever be one Michaelangelo, the artists were indeed a talented bunch. It’s by far the most beautiful church I visited in Peru.
During its heyday, the town’s main economic activity was silver-mining and during this time it prospered. While the town might now seem rather small and sleepy, it explains how and why such an important and ornate church was built.
2nd stop | Raqchi Temple of Wiracocha
Our next stop was another showstopper. I saw my fair share of archaeological sites in Peru – among the best I’ve ever seen anywhere in the world along with Petra, Angkor Wat and Tikal – so I was happy to visit one more before leaving the country.
Raqchi was a major Inca ceremonial and administrative complex, best known for the Temple of Wiracocha, dedicated to the creator god Viracocha. You could say Vircacocha is to Inca mythology what Zeus is to Greek mythology.
Unlike many Inca structures, this temple is strikingly tall. In fact, it’s the tallest surviving Inca structure known to exist today. The stats are impressive at 92-metres long, 25-metres-wide and 14-metres high.
The site also extends beyond the temple to include storehouses (qullqas) for food storage, residential areas, administrative buildings, defensive walls and agricultural terraces.
The storage houses, of which there are more than a 150 of them, were used to dehydrate meat using salt from Maras. There was no money during the Inca times so they traded and bartered and salt was the most important commodity to ensure the preservation of meat and potatoes.
Nowadays, only about 100 people live in the village, mainly making a living from growing corn, potatoes and beans.
3rd stop | buffet lunch in Sicuani
Mid-way through the tour we stopped for lunch in the countryside town of Sicuani. The meal was included in the price of the bus ticket – I told you this tour was great value for money!
In the UK most buffet food isn’t usually the best quality to I tend to avoid them if I can. However, to my surprise, the buffet was filled with a selection of fresh and tasty dishes.
4th stop | panorama at La Raya Pass
La Raya Pass is the highest point of the tour at 4300-metres. It’s the imaginary line that separates the Cusco region from Puno.
The stop was brief but memorable. The panorama speaks for itself; wide open spaces, mountains in every direction, and a shimmering lake. Adding to this is was the crisp, cold air, and a kind of raw, natural calm that often dwells in high-altitude places.
We also had the chance to buy some beautiful textiles made from alpaca wool. Since I was travelling with only a small rucksack I had to pass on the opportunity, but a couple brought some nice blankets to take home as gifts.
Elsewhere in the world, alpaca wool is generally very expensive so there really is no better place to buy it than in Peru (and Bolivia but to a lesser extent).
5th and last stop | Pukara
Pukara is a small town of around 2000 people, home to an archeological site and museum. Despite the town’s diminutive size there was quite a bit to see, also including the colonial Church of Santa Isabel and the various shops around the town square.
Unfortunately, the ruins were closed due to maintenance, so we spent the majority of time at the museum. Our guide explained the significance of the artefacts, drawing together history, culture and symbolism.
Long before the Incas, this region was home to the Pukara culture (c. 200 BCE – 300 CE), one of the earliest complex societies in the Titicaca Basin and one of the region’s major settlements. They built ceremonial centres and developed distinct sculpture styles.
The region was later swallowed up by the Incas, and today it is most well-known for creating bull ceramics. These bulls represent protection for the house so you will find them in many homes all around Peru. In the town itself you can spot bulls on top of roofs and illustrated in mosaic form across the walls.
Arrival in Puno
After a long day, we finally made it to Puno. I’ll be honest, the town itself was my least favourite place in Peru, but a necessary stopover to get to our next destination. Perhaps, if I had stayed longer, and visited the island of Uros, Taquile and Amantani I might have more to stay about it.
With not much of the day left, I walked around the town, strolled along the promenade overlooking Lake Titicaca, ate, and went to bed with my head filled with wonderful images I had seen from the bus.
Catching the bus to Copacabana in Bolivia
In the morning, we got up early and waited for our bus at a designated spot close to our hotel. For this leg of the journey we used Bolivia Hop which is the sister company to Peru Hop – the most popular tourist bus company in these countries.
The company was created by four friends – two Irish, one English and one Peruvian – who wanted to create a company that made travelling in Peru and Bolivia safe, easy, and fun. They succeeded. We used them several times without any hiccups.
Their service provides clear communication, and similar to Inka Express, every journey includes a local Spanish and English speaking guide.
They sent us links to fill out immigration forms before we arrived at passport control. This was easy and straight forward, using the free onboard Wifi to complete the forms. Honestly, if you’re unsure of anything – they take the hassle out of everything relating to crossing borders. It’s literally fool-proof and also a great way to meet other travellers.
Before long, we arrived in Copacabana and spent a few wonderful days there relaxing. It was the perfect backdrop before heading onwards to the busy streets of La Paz.
Overview of travelling from Peru to Bolivia by bus
I would absolutely recommend catching the bus across the border from Peru to Bolivia. Both Inka Express and Peru/Bolivia Hop operate with professionalism, ease, and a genuine desire to connect passengers with the local culture.
There’s something special about passing through the Peruvian Andes in this way. Fleeting snapshots of daily life, condos soaring through the sky, the sight of wild guinea pigs hopping among the grass and llamas and alpacas grazing on the vast expanse of land.
Country life unfolds with fields of maize, and farmers cultivating and gathering their harvest. It’s not easy work. The women wear thick colourful skirts and blouses, often hurling huge sacks across their back, carrying all kinds of materials.
Yes, it might take you a little longer, but the journey is part of a larger, more enriching experience. You catch wonderful glimpses of daily life that you would never see from a plane.
Even in the small towns that you pass through, there’s something to catch your eye. Walls adorned with colourful murals depicting ancestral stories filled with expression and symbolism.
