It is situated in Lake Titicaca, east of Isla del Sol ("Island of the Sun").

Legends in Inca mythology refer to the island as the location where Viracocha commanded the rising of the moon.

[1] During the 20th century, the Bolivian Ministry of the Interior used the Isla de la Luna as a detention center for political prisoners.

In September 1949, Hernan Siles Zuazo, Emilio Sfeir, and others escaped, obtaining political asylum in Peru.

[3] [4] On November 2, 1972, between 50 and 60 political prisoners, detained by the government of General Hugo Banzer following the August 1972 coup against General Juan Jose Torres, escaped from the prison and reached Peru.