The Lake At The Top of the World: Visiting Lake Titicaca

It is hard to express the feeling one gets from visiting Lake Titicaca for the first time. By all logic it just should not be there. 3800m up, an inlet of the sea lies among bleached, drought stricken lands. 

These hypnotically blue waters were believed by the Incas to be the origin of all life, and remain sacred to indigenous communities today.

The waters are freckled with islands, some solid and home to important Inca ruins and others artificial, the home of the Uros people who have lived on floating islands made of reeds for centuries. I cannot think of anywhere quite like this geographical anomaly anywhere in the world.

Why visit Lake Titicaca

The most famous aspect of Lake Titicaca is undoubtedly the floating Uros Islands. In the bars and hostels of Cusco you will hear travellers recounting their homestays on the Uros, one of those rare places that you can truly engage with a different way of seeing the world and living life.

These people have lived suspended on Titicaca for centuries, and their floating villages have to be seen to be believed. They have something of a fairytale about them, but this is just reality in Peru. That Titicaca was believed to be the birthplace of the sun and the origin of human life by the Incas and earlier people adds to this sense that you are transported into a mythic dimension when arriving on these shores. 

As well as being one of the most interesting places in Peru, it is also just jaw-droppingly beautiful. The water is of the deepest blue, and standing on the islands, you can gaze at the brilliantly white Cordilliera Real mountain range razoring their way through the heavens. 

How to get there

Lake Titicaca fits very nicely into typical routes between Peru and Bolivia. For those travelling up or down the Andes, your route will pass right by Puno or Copacabana, the two popular lakeside towns in Peru and Bolivia respectively. It would be rude not to pop in!

It is also not a massive detour from the gringo haunts of Arequipa and Cusco. Read more about bus travel across Peru if you’re planning a bigger itinerary.

The MOST scenic route 

Most travellers look to get from A to B in the cheapest, quickest way possible, and that is fair enough, but if you are travelling to and from Puno and Cusco, you should consider taking the train. 

Train station and church perched at Abra La Raya, the high point of the Peruvian Andes (Janek/iStock)

The tracks cross the Andes and offer incredible views of the altiplano, soaring peaks and herds of vicuñas. It also includes a luxury dining experience and a stop at the Abra la Raya Mirador. Just the fact that the line exists is a brilliant feat of engineering. 

If this is out of your budget, I would recommend taking the bus during the day, as the road to Cusco often runs parallel to the train tracks, so you can see some of the views without coughing up for the train! 

Should you stay on an island?

This is the question that preoccupies most visitors: should Lake Titicaca be a whistlestop tour or something to build a few days travelling around? 

For me, staying at least a night on an island has three advantages:

1. You do not feel rushed when taking in the sights by a tour guide or a boat schedule, also allowing for stress-free hikes
2. You can interact with locals more naturally than in a market setting or a choreographed dance routine
3. Island sunsets and sunrises are the best.

Staying a night is the only real way to hike across the island and see all of the immensely historical ruins. The accommodation options were also the most numerous and comfortable. Overall, staying on an island is the best option for those who prefer to visit sites independently.

I visited the Uros Islands and Isla Taquile in a one day trip, which did feel fairly rushed at times, but I felt like I got a decent sense of what both islands were about – even managing to hike on Taquile.

Though feeling as if I was in a fantasy novel on the Uros Islands did make me wish I opted for a homestay. Perhaps on my third time in Peru! 

2-Day island hopping itinerary from Puno or Copacabana

From Puno 

Uros Islands

Uros islanders watching a boat arriving to the floating reed island of Kontiki on Lake Titicaca, Peru

The floating Uros Islands are the main tourist attraction in Titicaca. These are islands made of reeds by the indigenous Uru people. Far from a gimmick, these people have existed on the waters for centuries, avoiding both the Inca conquerors and later the Spanish by just moving their settlements to another part of the lake whenever one demanded taxes or similar. 

(SimonShepheard/iStock)

The Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl even speculated that the Uru people are the last remnant of an ancient oceangoing civilisation that once crossed the Atlantic on these crafts. He sailed from Morocco to Barbados on an Uru raft to prove his point. While his theory did not catch on, the voyage is a testament to the craftsmanship of these people. 

The sensation of stepping foot on one of these organic islands is truly bizarre. It slightly sags with each step, you are very conscious that you are not on solid ground, yet some people do not feel land beneath their feet for years.

There are schools, churches and hotels bobbing out on the water, everything you need to lead an offshore life. The Tortora reeds are also edible, so these ingenious people truly have little need for the outside world. 

(dani3315/iStock)

The biggest question that I hear asked about the Uros Islands is whether it is a tourist trap. On a whistlestop day trip, it is certainly hard to naturally interact with the islanders, but honestly there was not much of a hard sell or of artificial displays of dance performances or similar.

They essentially just greet you and go about their day, which is quite unlike any other in Peru!

The islands can also be reached by kayak from Puno on a four hour round trip. Pulling up to these islands at eye level will be a pretty spectacular view.

Isla Taquile 

Taquile just about sits in Peru’s half of Lake Titicaca, and takes about half an hour to walk across. The views across to Bolivia, particularly of distant snow capped mountains against the glimmering azure of the lake were incredible. 

The most fascinating part was the living culture. The locals sustain themselves largely by selling fine handicrafts. It is traditional for men to demonstrate their value in a marriage by their ability at weaving, so these items are very high quality! The terraces with potatoes and maize have been farmed continuously since the Spanish conquest, so the island feels like a beautiful time warp.  

(Pe3check/iStock)

Visit Sillustari Cemetery

40km from Puno, on the shores of the smaller Lake Umayo, are the ruins of a 1500 year old cemetery. Comprised of huge stone blocks and up to 12m tall, Sillustari is a stunning monument to the architectural achievement of the indigenous Peruvians. I visited at sunset and experienced brilliant hues of amber and indigo reflected in the lake with the ambience of ancient mysteries in the air. 

Join La Candelaria Festival, 2-12 February 

Puno is widely regarded as the folklore capital of Peru, with an assertive indigenous culture which often manifests itself in street parades.

When I was there in August, the townspeople celebrated the founding of a notable school with a day-long street party featuring fireworks and costumes! Think then of the lengths they will go to celebrate their patron saint, La Virgen de Candelaria. Expect traditional masks, dancing and chicha fuelled revellery for 10 days on end. 

From Copacabana

Visit Isla del Sol 

This is the largest of Titicaca’s islands, accessible by a 90-minute boat from Copacabana. It is the historical centrepiece of this Great Lake and was the crown in my experience of Titicaca. It is just staggeringly beautiful.

Walking along Inca roads with the deep luminous blues of the lake tapering to the snowy peaks and then kicking back with a beer in the evening to watch some of the best sunsets going was one of my Bolivia highlights. 

What is more is the mythic significance of the island. In Inca mythology, drawing on far more ancient Andean traditions, the sun, Inti and the moon, Quilla, came forth from primordial darkness on the shores of Isla del Sol. Later, the first humans, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, children of the sun, emerged from the waters. Inti gave them a golden staff, and where this slid into the earth would be the site to found their new capital. This was Cusco.

In memory of creation, Isla del Sol drew pilgrims from across the Inca Empire, and it remains one of the most sacred sites in Peru today. Seeing each of the Inca ruins suffused with a millennia old tradition gave so much meaning to my visit.

There are two main towns on the island, both accessible by ferry, Yumani in the South and Challaparpa in the North.

Yumani is the larger of the two and has the most accommodation and food options, though Challaparpa also has wonderful beaches, tranquility and a small museum housing golden artefacts found on the island. 

View of Lake Titicaca from Isla del Sol

Full Island hike

This 18km hike is a must do. Although there is the occasional steep section it is not difficult, which is just as well as you can focus on the lakeside views and traditional villages the route passes through.

Assuming that you stay in Yumani, take the “Camino al Norte” to Chinacara, a sprawling complex of Inca ruins. Continue onto Challapampa for some lunch, and begin the 2-3 hour walk back to Yumani. Much of the route is on Inca roads, imagine the pilgrims that once crisscrossed this island, the birthplace of their sun. 

Explore Chinacara 

This enigmatic ruin is the most extensive on the island. It literally translates from Quechua as “the place where one gets lost”, alluding to the sprawling maze of rooms which also gave it the later name of “El Laberinto”. Every line of sight is oriented to the lake and the mountain backdrop, and it is possible to climb a hill above the complex for panoramic views of the island. 

The site also includes an ancient fountain fed by a spring which supposedly has healing properties, and what are supposedly the footprints of the sun, I am unsure how that happened, but they are certainly worth a look! It is a 20 minute walk from Challapampa, and can be reached by boat from Yumani if you do not fancy the 3 hour walk from the South.

Visit the Templo del Sol

This is the most important ruin on the island, the precise birthplace of the sun and still the center of traditional religious ceremonies on the solstices. The Inca temple complex here is sprawling and exceptionally well preserved. It is centered on a crag from where the sun emerged.

Located on the southern extremity of the island, it is just a 20 minute walk from Yumani and does not require an entry fee.

Eat trout by the lake 

The introduction of trout into Lake Titicaca in the 1930s was pretty disastrous for the native fish species, but it is a boon for diners.

Do your bit for the embattled indigenous catfish by dining on the lake’s distinctive delicacy on Copacabana’s waterfront. The dishes are served with quinoa and potatoes grown on the lakefront, so it is as if the vista of the lake and mountain is on your plate. 

Climb Cerró Calvario for a sunset 

The typical marketing photo for Copacabana is the sweeping bay dotted with fishing boats and far off mountains. To see it yourself, do this 30 minute, steep hike from the village below.

Named for the hill in Jerusalem where Christ was crucified, it recreates the route he took to the cross with various stations where pilgrims will pray. I would recommend a sunset visit, it gets pretty beautiful.

Unreal postcard shot of Copacabana during sunset

Tour Tiwanaku 

Before the Incas were the Tiwanaku. This Andean empire fell in 1000AD and left ruins that stunned both the Incas and the Spanish. Tiwanaku was their capital, comprised of pyramids, moats, sunken courtyards, arches and supersized statues, you get a sense of the power these people once projected through the Andes. 

La Puerta del Sol is a particular standout – this enormous stone gate shows their creator god, Viracocha, clutching two staffs wielding the power of the sun with hundreds of condor-human hybrids behind him. This image was replicated throughout the Andes.

The brilliant museum also houses artefacts found throughout the site and discusses themes like Tiwanaku astronomy and human sacrifice. Easily accessible via day trip from Copacabana, I would highly recommend this dive into the lake’s past.