Peru: Puno and the Titicaca Lake

and Malin Nylander

Puno, a sea in the sky

Location
Southern Andes at 3,827 meters above sea level.

Climate
It’s dry and extremely cold, with bright sunshine during the day and temperature dropping under zero at night. The rainy season is between September and April.

Landscape
Highlands, there is Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world (3,810 meters above sea level) with natural islands like “Taquile” and artificial ones like “Uros” made with totora (a kind of straw) by the people who live there.

History
The territories of Puno were inhabited by cultures before Incas, especially by the Tiahuanaco Empire, which had expanded through the whole Peruvian-Bolivian highlands. The most important archaeological sites is the Sillustani Incas tombs called “chulpas”.

Activities
You can do excursions and camps around Lake Titicaca. You can also take boat trips on the lake itself.

Lake Titicaca, a night with its inhabitants

In the Titicaca Lake are two big islands, Taquile and Amantani. Taquile is unique for many reasons. First, its inhabitants wear distinctive clothes: for men, black pants, white shirt and colorful, woven sash called “chumpi”; for women, traditional skirts and long black tunics called “llicllas”. On the islands there are no vehicles, roads, police or electricity, and, curiously enough, no dogs. Perhaps, the most interesting characteristic of the people of Taquile is their solid sense of community, and their belief that to be lazy is a sin.

On our two day trip to the Titicaca Lake, we stayed one night at the quiet and peaceful island named Amantani. We got there in the early afternoon and the family, who let us stay with them at their home, met us at the port and took us to their house, where we had lunch. In the late afternoon we could watch a lovely sunset from the top of a hill at the temple of Mamapacha (the mother earth). In the evening, after dinner, we went to the community house, where the people of the island played music and danced with us, like we were members of the town.

Note: There is a train that goes to Puno from Cusco and also from Arequipa, although the night train from Arequipa to Puno is not considered safe because of bandits along the way.

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