Pomata Church

Santiago Apóstol de Pomata stands on a rise above the lake, built through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in a local pink sandstone that gives the whole building its colour. It is one of the finest examples of altiplano mestizo baroque: the portal and the side doorway are carved deeply with vines, grapes, birds, pumas and mermaids, and the carving continues inside on arches, the dome and the pendentives, so the interior is as worked as the front. The windows are filled with thin sheets of translucent alabaster rather than glass, which gives an unusual soft light. There are colonial paintings and a carved altarpiece. Pomata sits at nearly 4,000 metres and the churchyard looks straight down onto Titicaca. It is quieter than Juli and often has to be opened by a caretaker, so hours are unreliable.

The main sights

• The pink stone - the local sandstone that colours the whole building.
• The carving - vines, birds, pumas and mermaids on portals and inside.
• The alabaster windows - translucent stone sheets instead of glass.
• The position - a churchyard looking down onto Lake Titicaca.

When to go

April to November. Forty-five to ninety minutes. Ask in the town if it is closed; a caretaker usually holds the key.

Good to know

Opening hours are unreliable and the church is often locked. Photography inside is restricted. Cold at nearly 4,000 metres, with strong sun outside. Restoration work has closed sections in the past.

Nearby

Juli is north along the lake; Yunguyo and the Bolivian border are south.