Copacabana, Bolivia
{{About|the town in Bolivia|other uses|Copacabana (disambiguation){{!}}Copacabana}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Copacabana
| native_name = Kotakawana
| settlement_type = City
| image_skyline = {{multiple image
| border = infobox
| align = center
| perrow = 1-2-2-1
| total_width= 280
| image1 = Copacabana, Bolivia at sunset.jpg
| image2 = Calle en Copacabana, Bolivia.jpg
| image3 = Fiesta Day in Copacabana - Bolivia (3776179295).jpg
| image4 = Copacabana, Bolivia (28687404250).jpg|
| image5 = Hombre Aymara y Lago Titicaca.jpg
| image6 = BASÍLICA DE COPACABANA.JPG
}}
| image_caption = Panorama of Copacabana and Lake Titicaca, 6 de agosto Avenue, parade in Copacabana, Eduardo Abaroa Naval Monument, an Aymara man and a totora boat, Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana
| image_flag =
| image_seal =
| nickname =
| image_map =
| mapsize = 250x200px
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = Bolivia
| coordinates = {{coord|16|10|S|69|05|W|region:BO|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flagicon|Bolivia}} Bolivia
| subdivision_type1 = Department
| subdivision_name1 = La Paz Department (Bolivia)
| subdivision_type2 = Province
| subdivision_name2 = Manco Kapac Province
| subdivision_type3 = Municipality
| subdivision_name3 = Copacabana Municipality
| established_date =
| government_type =
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name =
| area_total_km2 = 346.5
| area_total_sq_mi = 133.8
| area_land_km2 = 340.1
| area_land_sq_mi = 131.3
| area_water_km2 = 6.4
| area_water_sq_mi = 2.5
| elevation_m = 3841
| elevation_ft = 12602
| population_footnotes =
| population_total = 6,000
| population_as_of = 2006
| population_density_km2 = 358.5
| population_metro =
| timezone = BOT
| utc_offset = −4
| timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST =
| postal_code_type =
| postal_code =
| area_code = Area code 591
| blank1_name = FIPS code
| blank1_info = 45-16000{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}
| blank2_name = Climate
| blank2_info = Cwc
| blank3_name = GNIS feature ID
| blank3_info = 1245051{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=United States Geological Survey|date=2007-10-25}}
| website =
}}
Copacabana is the main Bolivian town on the shore of Lake Titicaca. The town has a large 17th-century shrine, the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana, dedicated to Our Lady of Copacabana, the patron saint of Bolivia. The town is a tourism destination in Bolivia. It is also known for its trout and quaint atmosphere. Built between Mount Calvario and Mount Niño Calvario, the town has approximately 6,000 inhabitants. Copacabana's religious celebrations, cultural heritage and traditional festivals are well known throughout Bolivia. Boats leave for Isla del Sol, the sacred Inca island, from Copacabana. Copacabana is served by Copacabana Airport.
History
File:Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Copacabana (Bolivia) 1877 George Squier.jpg in 1877]]
During the wars of independence, the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana was despoiled of most of its rich ornaments and gifts, and ruthless plundering by faithless custodians in the course of political disturbances has further contributed to impoverish it.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}{{original research inline|date=August 2013}} The edifices, originally very handsome, are in a state of sad neglect.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}{{original research inline|date=August 2013}} It is a shrine for pilgrims from Bolivia and southern Peru, and on 6 August, the feast of its patron saint, it is attended by thousands.
Before 1534, Copacabana was an outpost of Inca occupation among dozens of other sites in Bolivia. The Incas held it as the key to the very ancient shrine and oracle on the Island of Titicaca, which they had adopted as a place of worship, adopting the veneration with which it was held by the Aymaras from time immemorial. At Copacabana, there were minor shrines in which the ceremonies of the Incas were observed along with those of the original inhabitants. When the Spaniards first visited the Islands of Titicaca and Loati, in 1534 and 1538, the Andean Cosmovision were abandoned and the Dominicans made Copacabana the centre of their missions. Non-monastic priests then replaced them at the instigation of the Viceroy Francisco de Toledo, and finally the mission and its annexes were entrusted to the Augustinians in 1589.
In 1582, the grandson of Inca ruler Manco Kapac, struck by the sight of the statues of the Blessed Virgin which he saw in some of the churches at La Paz, tried to make one himself, and after many failures, succeeded in producing one of excellent quality, and it was placed at Copacabana as the statue of the tutelar protectress of the community. Many miracles have been attributed to it, and its fame has spread far beyond the limits of its surroundings to all five continents. It is kept in a special chapel, where local Aymaras, Bolivians and those from all over the world are untiring in their devotions.
During the Great Indigenous Uprising of 1781, while the church itself was desecrated, the "Camarin", as the chapel is called, remained untouched and exempt from spoiling. Copacabana is the scene of often boisterous indigenous celebrations. On 2 February and 6 August, Church festivals are celebrated with indigenous dances that the clergy have not been able to suppress entirely. Copacabana is surrounded by pre-Columbian ruins of considerable interest.
Climate
Copacabana has a cold subtropical highland climate (Cwc), a rare variant of this type of climate, but commonplace near most of Lake Titicaca. Similar to many areas with this climate, Copacabana features a markedly drier "low-sun" season. Because of the high altitude of Copacabana, the town is chilly throughout the course of the year. However, because Copacabana is located in the tropics, there are only slight variations in temperatures. While daytime temperatures hover around {{convert|15|C|F}} throughout the year, nighttime temperatures during the "low-sun" season are somewhat cooler than at other times of the year. It is not uncommon for temperatures to drop below freezing during the "low-sun" season.
{{Weather box
|location = Copacabana, Bolivia, elevation: {{convert|3,815|m}}, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1943–present
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 27.0
|Feb record high C = 23.0
|Mar record high C = 23.0
|Apr record high C = 28.0
|May record high C = 28.0
|Jun record high C = 28.0
|Jul record high C = 28.0
|Aug record high C = 27.0
|Sep record high C = 27.0
|Oct record high C = 23.5
|Nov record high C = 26.0
|Dec record high C = 25.6
|year record high C = 28.0
|Jan high C = 15.1
|Feb high C = 15.2
|Mar high C = 15.1
|Apr high C = 14.9
|May high C = 14.4
|Jun high C = 13.4
|Jul high C = 13.3
|Aug high C = 14.0
|Sep high C = 14.7
|Oct high C = 15.5
|Nov high C = 16.0
|Dec high C = 16.0
|year high C = 15.0
|Jan mean C = 10.2
|Feb mean C = 10.2
|Mar mean C = 10.2
|Apr mean C = 9.8
|May mean C = 8.9
|Jun mean C = 7.8
|Jul mean C = 7.7
|Aug mean C = 8.3
|Sep mean C = 8.9
|Oct mean C = 10.0
|Nov mean C = 10.5
|Dec mean C = 10.7
|year mean C = 9.5
|Jan low C = 5.3
|Feb low C = 5.2
|Mar low C = 5.3
|Apr low C = 4.8
|May low C = 3.4
|Jun low C = 2.2
|Jul low C = 2.1
|Aug low C = 2.7
|Sep low C = 3.2
|Oct low C = 4.5
|Nov low C = 5.1
|Dec low C = 5.4
|year low C = 4.0
|Jan record low C = -5.0
|Feb record low C = -4.0
|Mar record low C = -5.5
|Apr record low C = -6.5
|May record low C = -6.5
|Jun record low C = -7.5
|Jul record low C = -8.0
|Aug record low C = -9.0
|Sep record low C = -8.0
|Oct record low C = -7.0
|Nov record low C = -6.5
|Dec record low C = -4.5
|year record low C = -9.0
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 184.7
|Feb precipitation mm = 113.0
|Mar precipitation mm = 111.5
|Apr precipitation mm = 52.4
|May precipitation mm = 16.0
|Jun precipitation mm = 11.5
|Jul precipitation mm = 9.2
|Aug precipitation mm = 16.7
|Sep precipitation mm = 28.7
|Oct precipitation mm = 45.5
|Nov precipitation mm = 63.4
|Dec precipitation mm = 108.8
|year precipitation mm = 780.7
|Jan precipitation days = 19.4
|Feb precipitation days = 13.6
|Mar precipitation days = 13.3
|Apr precipitation days = 7.8
|May precipitation days = 2.4
|Jun precipitation days = 2.3
|Jul precipitation days = 1.7
|Aug precipitation days = 2.8
|Sep precipitation days = 5.2
|Oct precipitation days = 6.5
|Nov precipitation days = 8.1
|Dec precipitation days = 13.0
|year precipitation days = 97.1
|Jan snow days = 0.0
|Feb snow days = 0.0
|Mar snow days = 0.0
|Apr snow days = 0.0
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.0
|Dec snow days = 0.0
|year snow days = 0.0
|Jan humidity = 66.5
|Feb humidity = 66.0
|Mar humidity = 66.1
|Apr humidity = 62.7
|May humidity = 57.6
|Jun humidity = 56.7
|Jul humidity = 55.0
|Aug humidity = 56.2
|Sep humidity = 56.0
|Oct humidity = 56.6
|Nov humidity = 57.3
|Dec humidity = 60.7
|year humidity = 59.4
|source 1 = Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190921144951/http://senamhi.gob.bo/index.php/sismet
| archive-date = 21 September 2019
| url = http://senamhi.gob.bo/index.php/sismet
| title = Base de datos Sistema Meteorológico–SISMET
| publisher = Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia
| language = es
| access-date = 25 September 2019}}
}}
Gallery
File:Copacabana, Lake Titicaca (4088820782).jpg|View of Copacabana from Lake Titicaca
File:Church of copacabana.jpg|Copacabana's famous Basilica, Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana.
File:Copacabana cathedral.jpg|Copacabana with the Basilica.
File:Copacabana Bolivia Titicaca.jpg|Shopping street with Lake Titicaca in the background.
File:16.Copacabana (1).JPG|Copacabana.
File:Butcher shop Copacabana Bolivia.jpg|Street Butcher, Copacabana Bolivia
File:Copacabana-lago titicaca.jpg|Copacabana on the shore of Lake Ticicaca at night
Places of interest
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{wikivoyage|Copacabana}}
- [http://sites.google.com/site/boliviaweather/weather-in-la-paz/weather-in-copacabana Weather in Copacabana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006160121/http://sites.google.com/site/boliviaweather/weather-in-la-paz/weather-in-copacabana |date=2020-10-06 }}
- {{CathEncy|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04350d.htm|title=Copacavana}}
- Bolivia Weekly [https://web.archive.org/web/20100227183859/http://www.boliviaweekly.com/ Bolivia News]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130926043042/http://info.gruporosario.com/lake-titicaca-travel-guide Lake Titicaca travel guide]
{{La Paz Department}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Populated places in La Paz Department (Bolivia)