Puno and Lake Titicaca (Peru)

Cusco to Puno

For once, we didn't take a night bus to travel to Puno. The route Cusco-Puno is full of ancient sites from both Inka and pre-Inka times, so we took a special bus that stops at the main interesting places. That bus included a cool overenthousiastic guide who tried to speak English with an American accent. Very funny...

We saw the magnificent Jesuit church of Andahuaylillas with its frescos and golden decorations. We also stopped in Raqchi, where the ruins of the Vinacocha temple are located. This huge temple was historically more important than Machu Picchu and was located on the same Inka trail. One man was responsible for this: Pachacuteq. Unbelievable what this man achieved: he expanded the Inka empire to an area reaching from Colombia to the deserts of northern Chili, taking over much of the central Andes and the most important temples and trails were built under his government. The fact that he achieved all this through cruel and bloody wars... well, let's not talk about that...

Before arriving in Puno, we passed through Juliaca, by far the most ugly city we've ever seen. With its 300.000 inhabitants, it's one of the biggest cities in southern Peru, but it's a complete chaos. Unfinished buildings, unpaved roads, no garbage recollection, lots of crime and the main economic activity is illegal trade of cheap Bolivian products. The reason of all this is that nobody pays taxes... We were so glad that we skipped this city on our tour.

The first impression of Puno was a bit dissapointing. There's absolutely nothing to see so we were told by the friendly lady of the hostel. The only reason people travel to Puno is to visit some islands on Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. So that's what we did...

Floating Uros islands and Taquila island

The floating islands of Uros became famous after research done by Jacques Cousteau. In the late 60's, he discovered around 60 new species in this area of the lake. This was a reason for the government to make this part a national reserve.
After 30 minutes by boat, we arrived on the Uros islands, welcomed by the inhabitants who still live as they did for the past thousands of years. These islands are made by the people themselves, which makes them 'floating'. We got a nice explanation on how they use reeds to build these islands, boats, furniture, etc... Very strange feeling to stand on 'fake' islands made out of plants. It certainly is a unique place in the world...

We also visited the Taquila island, two and a half hours by boat. Entering this island is like going back in time: no cars, no bikes, no paved roads, etc... We had to climb this island (which is actually a small mountain), which was not easy in the afternoon heath. After enjoying breathtaking views on the lake, we had to descend 500 steps to go back to the boat.

There are other nice islands, but they're closer to the Bolivian side. Tomorrow we cross the border to Copacabana...