Lake Titicaca; The Birthplace of The Sun in Andean People belief, is between Bolivia and Peru. There are other important (The Most) features of the lake. For example, The Largest Lake in South America and The Highest Navigable Lake in the World.
And Lake Titicaca has a role in unifying the highland culture of the Andes for centuries.
If you look around, you can see the traces of Pukara, Tiwanaku, Collas and of course Incas.
And you can see in this world, farmers wear bowler hats, planting and harvesting the crops really by hand.
The enthralling days here are very bright but contrast with the nights bitterly cold.
Islas Uros Trip
Islas Uros
Today we will take a trip to fascinating Islas Uros. Islas Uros consists of small islets.
They are lying just 6 km east of Puno and the most visited site of Lake Titicaca. These islets are human-made and constructed from buoyant totora reeds grow abundantly on the lake’s banks.
Uros families live in their own floating islets. There is one till ten families on an islet. They all make his life from totora reeds. The traditional craftsmanship and customs of these communities are so exciting.
Uras families not only earn money from the totora reeds, but also make their boats and even their houses from totora reeds. The reeds provide material for houses, public transportation, and until their food.
But there is an important problem. The totora reeds are rotting over time. Therefore, the reeds are constantly renewed by Uros families. The Uros harvest the reeds and by continuously add them to the surface of their ıslets.
Money
Currency is here Peruvian Sol (S) and S1=0,3$
How to get here (Lake Titicaca)
-Puno
First of all, you must stay at Puno, Peru’s port, to visit Lake Titicaca. There is an airport in Juliaca, 51 km far from Puno. You can come here in an hour with a safe shuttle bus for S15 or normal bus for S3,5.
You can come to Puno also by bus from the cities around; it lasts from Arequipa 5 hours (S25-75), from Cuzco 8 hours (S30-80), Lima 21 hours (S150-170).
-Islas Uros
You can come here from Puno with a half-day trip and see Uros families and learn the way of their life. It costs 56 $ and lasts 5 hours. There are two alternative time for tours, in the morning or in the afternoon, up to you.
Depending on your decision, the tour will pick you up from your hotel around 09:00 am or 12:00 pm. The boats leave the port of Puno around 10:00 am or 13:00 pm. It takes 30 mn to get to Islets and you can see Uros’ hunting, weaving and aquatic life on ıslets. As an optional choise, you can take a ride on the typical totora boats also..
Where to stay here (Lake Titicaca)
There is so many options in Puno. Parque Pino or the Plaza de Armas are the right region. It is very easy to reach the port from these regions. To tell you the truth, tours are taking you from your hotel.
As for hotel prices; the diary of a low-budget hotel is around S35–150, the diary of a budget hotel is around S150–300 and the diary of a high-budget hotel is around S300–435.
Where to eat here (Lake Titicaca)
You can eat in several places on Calle Oquendo. Main dishes at a midrange restaurant costs around S40. If you want to eat a fine restaurant dinner, it costs you around S60-100.
As a traveler you should try api (sweet and hot corn juice) and pollo a la brasa (roasted chicken) and don’t forget to take a look at the lively nightlife geared toward tourists.
Don’t forget to check Peru Travel Guide for our other articles about Peru.