Bolivia Guide
Around La Paz
Tiwanaku
Set on the Altiplano 71km west of La Paz, the ancient ruined city of TIWANAKU (also spelt Tiahuanaco) is one of the most monumental and intriguing archeological sites in South America. Founded some three millennia ago, Tiwanaku became the capital of a massive empire that lasted almost a thousand years, developing into a sophisticated urban-ceremonial complex that at its peak was home to some 50,000 people. The city was in many ways the cradle of Andean civilization, making an enormous cultural impact throughout the region and providing the fundamental inspiration for the better-known Inca empire. And though the society that built it disappeared many centuries before the first Europeans arrived in the Andes, Tiwanaku remains a place of exceptional symbolic meaning for the Aymara of the Altiplano, who still come here to make ceremonial offerings to the achachilas – the gods of the mountains. The most spectacular of these takes place on the winter solstice in June, when hundreds of yatiris (traditional priests) from all over the region congregate to watch the sun rise and celebrate the Aymara New Year with music, dancing, elaborate rituals and copious quantities of coca and alcohol.
Minibuses to Tiwanaku depart from the corner of Aliaga and Eyzaguirre in the cemetery district in La Paz (every 30min; 1hr 30min; $3.10); on the way back they leave from the square in Tiwanaku town, though you can flag them down as they pass the entrance to the ruins. Most tour agencies in La Paz run one-day tours to the site for about $20 per person. You can hire a guide outside the museum to show you around the ruins for about $2 an hour, but if you want a guided tour you're better off coming with an agency from La Paz.
For most people a one-day visit to Tiwanaku is enough, but if you want to overnight, reasonable accommodation is available at the Hotel Tiahuanaco ( 
02/2898541; Price: US$25-40), on Calle Bolivar 803. There are a couple of slightly overpriced restaurants next to the museum, and several more basic places to eat on the main square in Tiwanaku town. You can buy copies of Tiwanaku sculpture and pottery outside the entrance to the site.