Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America. Shared between Peru and Bolivia and situated at an altitude of 3,8012 meters, it is known as the highest navigable lake (for commercial craft). 

Travel from Cusco to Puno

Lake Titicaca was in a convenient location between Cusco and La Paz (Bolivia). My plan was to travel overnight from Cusco to Puno, visit floating islands and then cross over to Bolivia to reach Copacabana. Visit Isla del Sol (Island of Sun) and then proceed to La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia.

 

The overnight bus journey from Cusco to Puno was uneventful though the bus broke down in the middle of the journey. But the drivers were able to handle it and I think most people inside bus did not even knew about it. That resulted in a delay of about 30 minutes to reach Puno. We had to hurry up to pick up the breakfast before heading to the Floating islands tour.

Floating islands

Our tour started at 6:30 in the morning. It was very early and Puno town was still waking up. But our guide mentioned that it was the best time to visit the floating islands as it would get crowded in the day. Anyway, it was a pleasant weather and I had no complaints.

 

The floating islands are the small man made islands made from reeds that grow in the shallow areas of the lake. When Incas grew powerful, Uros, the local people decided to move away from them by building these floating islands in Titicaca and living independently. Today, their main source of income is tourism.

 

A family of Uros stayed in the floating island we visited. They showcased us how the islands were made, their culture and other things. It was very interesting to see how people stayed in such places!! This was something similar to Tonle Sap in Cambodia (Link here). Today, Uros have accepted modern technology and many people have moved to mainland.

Border crossing

The tour lasted about 2 hours and we were back in Puno and moved towards Bolivia border. The border crossing was very quick and easy. I have explained about Bolivia visa in my earlier post. The bus from Peru would not continue into Bolivia. We had to take all our belongings, complete immigration in Peru, walk for 5 minutes and enter into Bolivia and get into another bus. It was also possible to exchange Peru currency to Bolivian money.

At Copacabana

It just took 10 minutes to reach Copacabana from the border. Copacabana seemed to be a very small town next to the lake. I still had time before the tour of Isla del Sol and hence went for lunch. Most restaurants had vegetarian options and I had a decent lunch.

Isla del Sol

At 2 in the afternoon, we started towards Isla del Sol (Island of Sun). It took about 100 minutes to reach the island. The journey was lively thanks to an American traveller who was very good at talking and also made others talk to him. He could talk about many topics and kept us engaged. Nice person!!

 

The boat dropped us at a place in the island. We had to walk for about an hour and reach the Jetty which was on the other side of the island. At 3,800 meters, I had initial difficulty in climbing up but I kept going at normal pace and gained momentum.

 

As I climbed up, the scenery of Lake Titicaca came was ushered in front of us. The distant snow capped mountains of Andes range were visible. I think this place provides one of the best views of Lake Titicaca. 

 

This island also has a bit of history. Incas considered this island as the birthplace of the sun. The “Pilcokaina sun temple” though in ruins stands as a testament to the Inca civilisation. The Inca stairway and the fountains are still seen in the island.

To La Paz

We were back at Copacabana at 6 in the evening and started our journey towards La Paz. We had to cross the lake at the the strait of Tiquina on boat in the night. It was another experience of travelling on boat in the night. Dinner was at road side shacks near the crossing. We reached La Paz at 10:30 in the night. I was dropped in front of my hotel as it was located in the central area. It was almost 24 hours since I left Cusco!! After some rest, I had to get up early in the morning and get ready for next adventure. “Death Road” was waiting!!

Last points

• I took “Peru/Bolivia Hop” service between Cusco and La Paz. They did a very good job in handling the complex logistics of this journey. I would strongly recommend them.
• Depending on your interest, you can do this journey in a relaxed manner by staying at Puno, Copacabana and Isla del Sol.
• Since this journey has border crossing, look at the requirements of Bolivia visa (My experience can be found here)
• Lake Titicaca is at a high altitude of 3,812 meters. The risk of altitude sickness are high. It is not an issue if you have spent enough time at Cusco (3,399 meters) or La Paz (3,700 meters).
• As of today (24 November 2019), Bolivia is in a middle of political turmoil and it may take a while for the country to get out of it. Check the news before travelling to Bolivia.