Facilities

The ecolodge was built on the principles of sustainable tourism. From an economic and social point of view it supports the local Aymara community by providing them with permanent and temporary jobs, after appropriate training.

With regard to environmental considerations, the cottages have been built over restored pre-Inca agricultural terraces (tacanas), blending in well with the surrounding landscape and local architecture. Solar energy is used to heat the water and passive solar heating in the cottages, which are at an altitude of nearly 4,000 m. Waste water is treated and recycled and native plants have been reintroduced.

The ecolodge features:

• 15 cottages built in the local Andean architectural style, with adobe bricks and thatch roofs. All rooms have spectacular views of the lake and the Cordillera Real of the Andes.
• Comfortable restaurant and bar, with a great view of the lake and snow-capped mountains.
• Capacity for 40 people, all rooms with private bathrooms.
• Restoration of pre-Inca terraces to maintain the local landscape.
• Use of passive solar energy, using the Trombe method, with black boxes attached to the cottages for heating by natural methods.
• Hot water provided from solar energy panels.
• Recycling of waste water three times.
• Garden, with plans to reintroduce native plants and build a greenhouse to produce vegetables for use at the ecolodge.
• Involvement of the Aymara community of La Estancia in the lodge's work.
• Community micro-enterprises in the process of development, focussing on crafts, agricultural production, fishing and Andean mythology.