Ancient traditions and stunning scenery

Lake Titicaca - The Must-See of Peru Besides Machu Picchu

by Jonathan Clarke

Add color to your Machu Picchu holiday by spending a few days in this beautiful area on top of the world. Lake Titicaca with its ancient traditions, stunning scenery and wild festivals is an excellent choice for any cultural Peru vacation.

What Is Lake Titicaca?
Lake Titikaka is generally regarded as the highest navigable lake in the world ; meaning you can travel by boat on it. At 170km long and 3,800 meters (12,500 ft) high, magnificent Lake Titicaca is sure to take your breath away.

Where is Lake Titicaca in relation to Machu Picchu?
Lake Titicaca straddles the border of Bolivia and Peru. The city of Puno is the jump off point for visits to the islands of Lake Titicaca. From Cusco and Machu Picchu you can travel in Orient Express style across the high plains on the Andean Explorer train. The journey takes 10 hours by train or 8 by bus. Flights between Puno and Lima take 95 minutes and between Cusco and Puno take 55 minutes.

Why Visit Lake Titicaca on Your Peru Vacation?
Simply put, it's gorgeous. Huge open skies surrounded by high plains and the sierras of the Andes all around. There is an otherworldliness around Lake Titicaca ; it is no surprise, then, that for the Incas, this lake was the birthplace of civilization.

Places to Visit on Lake Titicaca

Uros Floating Islands
Uros is a whole community of islands hand-made from reeds with people still living on them. The islands are made of layer upon layer of reeds placed on top of each other creating an odd, springy floor. The people of the Uros islands are Aymara, a tribe that was traditionally dominant in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia. They have homes, a school, boats and everything you would expect in a regular community. It's just that they live on man-made islands!

Taquile Island
On this really unique little island you'll see men sitting around knitting their hats; the colour of the hat indicates the man's status. The island has been given UNESCO status because of the high quality textiles produced here. Taquile Island's 1,700 people still organize their society in a collective way and have somehow managed to preserve their Quechua culture including the traditional dress. No dogs, no cars, just big skies and Inca terraces.

Amantani Island
The least visited of the main Lake Titicaca islands, Amantani is a small, quiet and very beautiful island. There are various stone temples and wonderful views of Lake Titicaca from the two peaks on the island.

Puno
Puno is known as the folklore capital of Peru, partly for its riotous festivals. The biggest of these is the Candelaria Festival held in the first week of February. On these days Puno fills with brightly colored costumes of the dancers displaying the 300 dances of the area - in a seemingly endless series of swirls and whoops.

What Not to Miss Around Lake Titicaca: Yavari
Yavaris is a beautifully restored passenger boat moored just outside Puno. In 1862 the Yavari was sent from England and finally arrived at Lake Titikaka 8 years later after a dramatic journey by mule across the Andes.

Other sites around Lake Titikaka
Silustani and Cutimbo: Pre Inca Funeral Towers on a dramatic windswept plain.
On the Bolivian side: Copacabana and the Islands of the Sun and the Moon are just a short drive over the border.

Have you been to Lake Titicaca? What did you do there?

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Lake Titicaca Spiritual Tour

11/11/11 at Portal of Aramu Muru near Lake Titicaca, Peru. Journey with elders, wisdom keepers, shamans and spiritual leaders. Witness the opening of the inter-dimensional Portal. Led by Jorge Luis Delgado, one of Peru's foremost experts in spiritual Peruvian culture and history. Offered by Body Mind Spirit Journeys, the leader in sacred travel experiences. Tour dates are November 6 - 12, 2011. Also includes Uros Floating Island and much more. See Peru Spiritual Tour details.