On what used to be close to the Southern shore of Lake Titicaca, you will find the ruins of Tiwanaku. Billed by some Bolivians as Bolivian Tikal, you will find a small pre colombian and pre inka archeological site whose history reaches back to 1500 BCE.

For a long time the area was very fertile. But climate change and deforestation severely hit. Nowadays, the shores of Lake Titicaca are a distant 10km away and the area is covered by strubs and bushes.

The site shows some nice stone works. The original pyramid is gone and hard to imagine based on the ruins that remain. As is often the case with pre columbian ruins the Spanish removed stones  and used them for buildings in the nearby village, specifically the Spanish colonial church.

On site several museums display excavation finds. The big stela is quite impressive. In the end, this is a fairly simple site and not much to dial home about.

Getting There

From La Paz you can do this on your own via colectivo. I can't confirm all the details of the how to, but I can confirm that there were colectivos waiting in Tiwanaku to take you back to La Paz.

Due to being a bit time stressed and the organized tours being fairly cheap (below 20 USD) I opted for an organized tour. As is often the case most agencies seem to be selling the same tour. I booked via Diana Tours due to their speedy service. They were also just around the corner from my hotel.

You can also do this while transferring from Puno to La Paz. I saw several tourist agencies in Puno offering the trip. However, you should always visit Isla del Sol and that to me seems like the better stopvover on a transfer ride.

Notes

The site (or parts thereof) is part of the Qhapaq Nan nomination. I did not spot any concrete remains of the trails though.