The Island of the Sun is the
legendary Inca creation site and is the birthplace
of the sun in Inca mythology. It was here that the
bearded white god Viracocha and the first Incas,
Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Huaca (or
Mama Ocllo), made their mystical appearances. With
a population of around 5,000, Isla del Sol is
dotted with several villages, of which Yumani and
Cha'llapampa are the largest. The island's Inca
ruins include Pilko Kaina at the southern end and
the Chincana complex in the north, which is the
site of the sacred rock where the Inca creation
legend began. At Cha'llapampa, there's a museum
with gold artifacts from the underwater
excavations near Isla Koa, north of Isla del Sol.
The Museo Templo de Sol near Cha'lla features a
collection of all things Aymara, one of Bolivia's
largest indigenous groups.