Tiwanaku

Tiwanaku was the centre of a state that dominated the southern Andes for centuries before the Inca, at nearly 3,900 metres on the altiplano near Lake Titicaca. What survives is monumental and strange: the Akapana stepped platform, the semi-subterranean temple with carved stone heads set into its walls, the Kalasasaya enclosure, and the Gateway of the Sun, cut from a single block of andesite and carved with a central staff-bearing figure surrounded by winged attendants. The stonework in places is cut with a precision that has attracted a great deal of speculation and rather less evidence. Two site museums hold the Bennett monolith and other sculpture. The site is exposed, high and cold in the wind.

What you actually see

• The Gateway of the Sun - the monolithic andesite doorway with its carved central figure.
• The semi-subterranean temple - sunken court with carved stone heads set in the walls.
• Kalasasaya and the Ponce monolith - the main enclosure and its standing figure.
• The site museums - the Bennett monolith and finds from the excavations.

When to go

May to October for dry weather. The altiplano sun is fierce and the wind is cold at the same time, so sun protection and layers both matter. The site is quietest early; tour groups from La Paz arrive mid-morning.

Honest expectations

A great deal was quarried away over the centuries for building material and railway ballast, so what stands is a fraction of the original, and reconstruction of some walls has been criticised as speculative. At 3,900 metres, walking the site is tiring for anyone not acclimatised. There is no shade at all. A guide is close to essential given the sparse signage.

Nearby

Lake Titicaca and Copacabana lie northwest; La Paz is an hour and a half east.