Lake Titicaca & Puno (Uros, Taquile) · lodge
A lakeshore lodge on Titicaca
On the lakeshore outside Puno, with heated rooms, big windows on the water and an early boat to the islands.
The Southern Andes
Lake Titicaca & Puno (Uros, Taquile)
Floating reed islands and island weavers on a lake at about 3,800 metres
- Altitude
- ~3,830 m (12,566 ft)verify
- Altitude band
- Very high
- Time needed
- 2 nights
The lake is so big it makes its own weather, and so high the sunlight feels sharper. The Uros families live on islands built from totora reeds. On Taquile, knitting is men's work and the stone paths look out to Bolivia. Nights here are among the highest of any trip, so we put them after Cusco or Colca, not before.
Altitude note: Puno and the lake surface are about 3,800–3,830 m (verify).
Sleep here only after acclimatising lower down. Go slowly. Altitude, explained
Highlights
- The Uros reed islands
- Taquile Island
- Community homestays on Amantaní
- Sillustani burial towers
What to eat here
Lake trout
Trout from Titicaca and the mountain lakes, fried whole or cooked as a ceviche.
Quinoa
Grown around Lake Titicaca for thousands of years. Try it in a soup, or puffed as a breakfast cereal.
Chuño
Potatoes freeze-dried by frost and sun on the altiplano, a technique far older than the Incas. Keeps for years.
Native potatoes
Peru grows thousands of potato varieties: purple, yellow, knobbly, striped. Ask for papas nativas and see how many you can tell apart.
Mate de coca
Coca-leaf tea, offered on arrival at many Andean hotels. A traditional mild remedy for the altitude, though not a substitute for acclimatising.
Accommodation
Where to stay in Lake Titicaca & Puno
Journeys
Journeys that go here
7 daysTiticaca & the High Plains
Arequipa, Colca Canyon and Lake Titicaca, climbing step by step to about 3,800 metres.
From US$2,900 pp
The Southern Andes
Nearby too
Arequipa & Colca Canyon
~2,335 mA white-stone city under volcanoes, and condors over one of the world's deepest canyons
Add Lake Titicaca & Puno to your trip
Tell us when you'd like to go and what you'd love to see. Your Peru Specialist will come back with ideas, honest advice on altitude and timing, and a clear price.