Fun fact: Quechuan language consists mainly of phonetics.
And of course everyone in the world has different sense of hearing the sound. Someone in the depth of Andes somehow decided titi is sound to represent grey color and caca is rock or puma, hence it is told by locals today Lake Titcaca (or Lago Titicaca if you take the español route) means grey puma. Why? Because it’s shape kinda looks like puma if you stare at the picture hard enough or have a big sip of shaman ritual beverage.
After 8 days of incredible trekking adventure to Machu Picchu, I took a night bus from Cuzco to Puno. It was about 7 hours of travel where I drifted in and out of sleep until arriving at shanty bus terminal in Puno. Puno is a small city located on the shore of Lake Titicaca on Peru side. I wasn’t particularly impressed by Puno especially after experiencing amazing Cuzco, but decided to take a stroll while waiting for my tour van to arrive at the visitor’s center.
Same as Sacred Valley, I haven’t made advance booking for the Lake Titicaca tour. It was last minute decision I made the day before my departure from Cuzco. I figured, Lake Titicaca is very popular site and likely many tour companies are competing businesses to pouring tide of tourists at comparable price. This turned out to be true and tour booking was as easy as I imagined.
One thing I would suggest to you is to avoid the overnight stay in Juliaca which is Puno’s neighboring city equipped with airport that connects flights from Lima and Cuzco. Juliaca is not the safest city and does not have major appeal to tourists. If your main point of interest is Lake Titicaca (which probably is the case) then you have no business in Juliaca. Just hitch a ride and go straight to Puno to stay there.
Lake Titicaca and amazing islands by boat.
The tour itinerary may vary depending on your time frame and booking agency, but the most common Lake Titicaca experience is 2 days excursion that starts from Puno to visit Uros (man-made floating island), Amantani, and Taquile. In Amantani, the group meets families of the island and will be hosted at their homes.
Here’s my experience with Lake Titicaca tour:
Day 1: Joined the boat with handful of travelers (mainly consisting of European university students amidst gap year and working professionals who came to realization and urgency to travel the world). Although it was a random mix of people, the tour started on high note with crystal clear blue sky and perfect weather for leisurely cruise. We left the port of Puno and arrived at Uros island in less than an hour.
Uros
Uros island greeted us with beige blocks of straws and big smiles. Uros was inhibited by families who built the island by their hands.
It was quite fascinating to see the demonstration (as you can see in the video) how thin threads of straw are assembled into enormous blocks to support the island’s foundation. A mere one hour stop on the picturesque Uros was amazing to say the least.
Amantani
After Uros, the boat continued to cruise on ocean-like Lake Titicaca for about 3 hours to reach the island of Amantani. In Amantani, the group was welcomed by families dressed in traditional attires and split into smaller groups to be part of their family for a day.
I was welcomed by Mama Maria to her house with two other travelers from Germany.
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Once we don our backpacks and layered up for windy weather, we commenced on sunset hike to Temple of Pachamama (Earth Mother) and Temple of Pachatata (Earth Father).
Two temples over the hills are important ritual sites for Inca belief and has amazing view of Lake Titicaca when the weather is clear. The peak of Pachamama stands far away from the residential part of the island and is surrounded by delicately decorated trails of stone walls and arches. Even here the intricate stone works of ancient Inca was visible.
Pachatata which rests at the end of ascending hill trail displays much masculine exterior and strongly built facade. We sat with our backs against the walls and gazed at Lake Titicaca slowly burning into crimson and eventually into deep blue. Quiet and peaceful. The summit of Pachatata was the sanctuary of setting sun.
Get the taste of Lake Titicaca Experience on moving pictures.
Lake Titicaca and the Legend of Inca
In the evening Mama Maria and her husband dressed us with traditional attire and took us to the town hall where festivity was held. Inca legend tells us that people of Peru first came from Lake Titicaca as spiritual form and migrated north towards Cuzco. While the legend is usually spoken in mythological terms and metaphors, I certainly felt the legend was coming true at that night of cultural experience in Amantani through pagan music, feverish dance, and bottles of Cusqueña cervezas.
Taquile
Day 2: Morning in Amantani started early with light stroll to the port to catch the boat. We bade farewell to host families and waved goodbye to wonderful break from civilization. After a few cranking sound of engine and poignant smell of gasoline, the boat cruised on to the next day of adventure. We are now headed to Taquile island, the island known for UNESCO world heritage for hand knitting men’s refined textile works.
Taquile is otherwise small and negligible island if not for the acknowledgment of superb textiles. While looming workshop in Sacred Valley was given by women, textile works in Taquile are done solely by the hands of men. Each hat has unique patterns and its color and shape represents the social position and marital status of men to appeal to women seeking for partners. It’s kind of interesting to see such dynamic of masculinity/femininity in this isolated region of Peru. After an early lunch on the roof of someone’s house (which bear a sign “Restaurante”) we headed back to the boat.
2 days of tour went by fast like a wind, but the experience of staying with families in Amantani island and nighttime festivities at the town hall was among the most memorable events I had in my trip to Peru. If you have an opportunity to venture the beautiful Lake Titicaca you should definitely give tour a shot. The next chapter of Peruvian expedition covers the mystical old city of Arequipa and Colca Canyon.
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