Travel Peru – Floating on Lake Titicaca

The town of Puno is located on the Peru side of Lake Titicaca, and one of its main points of tourism are the Uros Floating Islands and Taquile Islands Tours. In this post you will find our experiences, some fun information and history, and some important things to know before you travel to Peru and book your floating islands adventure tour.

Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake, is found at 3812m (12 507 ft) above sea level. Navigable meaning “able to be sailed on by ships or boats,” (dictionary.com). At 8372 ㎢, its basin crosses the border between Peru and Bolivia.

We visited during the cold season, which was surprisingly warmer than Cusco, despite being at a higher altitude. The weather is decently consistent year round, slightly chilly but full of sunshine. So if you’re planning a trip to Lake Titicaca, any time of the year is great. Just be sure to buy some warm Alpaca wool gear from one of the many markets on Lima Street.

How to Book a Lake Titicaca Floating Islands Tour

There are many options out there to book tours online, but our travels through Central and South America have taught us that booking with local agents once we arrive in a city is the cheapest and most reliable way.

Most online tour companies offer the same tours at many times the price. They have the power to do this to the online generation because so many of the little guys have no idea how to use online advertising. But don’t be fooled by online presence, or lack thereof. Especially in these parts of the world, a good rule of thumb is “just because something doesn’t show up on Google Maps doesn’t mean it’s not there or it’s not great.”

We stayed near the Plaza de Armas in Puno, and if you head there, you will begin to find an endless number of travel agencies, each offering the same thing at relatively the same price. If you head down to Puerto del Puno, you’ll find even more! Take your pick, they all work with the same tour operators, so you just want to find the place that feels right to you.

Most agents will have someone who speaks a small amount of a English, but having some knowledge of the Spanish language is hugely helpful while navigating Puno. Almost all tour guides will speak both English and Spanish and you’ll know that at the time of booking.

You can shop around a bit too and get the best bang for your buck. That being said, before you go on a tour it’s hard to know what a good deal is or not, and whose reviews to trust.

Getting a Deal on Your Tour

You have more leverage the more tours you book and the more people you are booking for, but in Peru, no price given is ever final. Sometimes the price given is too good to bother bartering, but if you’re really into the barter game, you probably can knock a sole or two off just for the win.

The tour we went on was a full day, 7am – 530pm, visiting the Uros Floating Islands and Taquile Island. We paid the travel agent $40 Soles per person (roughly $12USD). This included:

• boat transport to the islands
• entrance fees to all islands
• bilingual tour guide
• vehicle transfer back to our hotel in the evening

There were a few extra hidden costs, which I will discuss in depth below, but lunch cost $20 Soles and there was a $10 Sole reed boat ride, totaling our day at $70 Soles pp, or $22 USD, so not too bad even with the extras.

The Uros Floating Islands

Interesting Information About the Islands

The Uros are an indigenous people of Peru and Bolivia and according to the descendants still living on the floating islands, they have been creating the floating islands to live on for nearly 500 years. The used to be thought of as having “black blood,” because they didn’t feel the cold.

The islands are made out of Totora reeds, housing between 5-10 families per island, and are anchored down to prevent them from floating away. We learned that during special ceremonies, like weddings or graduations, they can fit up to 600 people on one island – but they do reinforce it like crazy prior to the party!

Many of the Uros people live on the mainland now, but approximately 1200 still live on the islands and head into Puno for school or work – even though there is are 2 islands with a primary school and crèche on them! An island with proper maintenance should last approximately 30 years.

Each island has a communal cooking area made of stone. You wouldn’t want to start a fire in one of the reed houses!

Before the reed islands were made, the reed boats were being created – and families used to live on the boats themselves.

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Things to Know Before Your Tour

There are already a few reviews and blog posts on this subject, and with what we’ve read, they all seem to reflect the experiences we had. So please, read this before you go:

• Your day will start early (ours was at 7am at the Port), but we didn’t board our boat until 730am, and didn’t take off until 750am. Be prepared to wait a lot, bring a book or a game or your napping hat.
• After the presentation on how the islands are made, the Uros people separate your group as best as they can to “show you the living quarters.” Do not let them separate you and do not be fooled. This is a sales pitch.
• Inside the living quarters, they sit you down and show you their artisan work. It is beautiful, and expensive. If you want something, barter. If not, do not feel bad. We speak Spanish so we were asking questions about their lifestyle and they didn’t really want to answer us unless we were going to buy. It was super uncomfortable and by far one of the strangest tour experiences we’ve had.
• After the sales pitch, you get herded onto the reed boat, almost with no option. Be firm and don’t take the ride if you do not want to, you do have an option and it was $10 Soles pp (and there’s nearly 50 people, which is why you should not feel bad for not purchasing trinkets). The ride is about 5 minutes from one floating island to another.
• The second island is for coffee or passport stamps. Meh.
• After island 2, you hop back on your boat and head to Taquile Island, which is a 2.45hr journey. Hope you brought that napping hat.

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Review of the Uros Floating Islands

If you know the stuff above going into it, you can avoid all the awkwardness and enjoy your morning on the floating islands. It was such a beautiful place, with wonderful history, but the people have lost sight of what the tourism should represent. It is to share their history and culture, but they are trying to do this through pressure and tricks into purchasing their goods.

This happens from time to time on tours, but this was exceptionally intense. Don’t let this deter you from the unique experience, just be cautious of the dollar sign they see imprinted on your forehead.

Taquile Island

After your nap (let’s face it, even if you have something to do, 2.45hrs on a gently rocking boat will put you to sleep), you will arrive at Taquile Island.

Interesting Information About the Island

At its topmost point, it is another 238m above sea level. If you want to get to the top, you have no choice but to walk! The island has modern technologies – but no motorized vehicles or large livestock. Even today, the habitants use only their own two feet for transport.

There are many interesting customs of the Taquileños people, many relating to the textiles they wear and create. Their handwoven textiles are regarded as some of the highest quality in Peru, and are knitted solely by men, who begin to learn in early boyhood.

Colorful skirts are worn by girls and single women, black by the married.

There are no police on the island, but there are “sheriffs” voted in each year by the communities, and they wear colorful beanies with a black hat on top.

They wash all of their textiles with a natural soap that comes from the grinding of plant! They modeled this by washing a dirty ball of natural wool, and it worked like magic.

There are 6 communities on the island, and as you walk along the cobblestone paths, you will walk under an arch from time to time, which signifies the border between communities. Each community provides a different agriculture to the other communities, and it seems to be a harmonious communal model. The food they serve is simple but tastes amazing, including lots of fresh trout from the lake.

Our favorite custom was the daily greetings. Each person carries a leather satchel of coca leaves (not to be confused with cocoa, coca is the same plant that cocaine is derived from but it leaf form it is used as a medicine for altitude sickness) and instead of shaking one another’s hand when greeting, they reach into their bag of leaves, grab a handful, pass it into the other’s satchel, then reach back into their own bag, grab a handful and start chewing on them!

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Things to Know Before Your Tour

• We had a few people on our tour who were extremely concerned about the walk up the hill, so they had the option of staying on the boat and having lunch brought to them. In the end, the whole tour decided to make the trek (at our own paces), and we are pleased to say that everyone made it up with a smile!
• Many homes are vacant because a lot of the families have moved to the mainland and come back just for holidays.
• There is a medical centre in the town square (at the top of the island), should you feel any effects of altitude sickness or anything else.
• Money from your tour does not go directly to the people of the island. Anyone selling trinkets or food at the tiendas here legitimately could use the business, but they are not pushy at all.
• Public toilets on the island cost $1 Sole to use and are not well maintained. You can use the toilet on your boat before disembarking if you’re particular about toilet use.
• Lunch can range between $10-20 Soles, plan for $20. You do have the option of opting out, but we recommend eating the beautifully preparedness meal. It was at a house, not a restaurant and during lunch is where they teach you all the interesting facts.
• Tipping your guide and boat captain is not mandatory, but it is a nice thing to do if you’ve had a great day.

Review of Taquile Island

This was the highlight of our day, and our time in Puno. It was informative, authentic, and full of incredibly warm and welcoming people. The walk was a bit tough at times but making it to the top filled us with a sense of pride and wonderment. We were 4050m above sea level, on the highest navigable lake in the world. And the food was great!

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The boat ride to and from was a bit taxing but there were a lot of wonderful sights, and if you remember where you are, you’ll be in awe the entire time.

Enjoy Your Time in Puno

The city itself needs a bit of work on the tourism front, as they depend so heavily on the floating islands for tourism, but there are still a number of great restaurants and museums to check out. That being said, our number one recommendation after a long day on the water is the Inca Sauna.

We were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves from 630-930pm, but we’d recommend booking it privately if you have a decent sized group. You need to book in advance either way so they can make sure to have the temperatures right. They have a hot tub, dry sauna, wet sauna, cold immersion showers and hot showers. But the best part is their menu. Traditional French crepes (the owner and manager are legitimately from a dance), toasted sandwiches, and the best Pisco Sour we found in all of Peru.

Learning about traditions, and witnessing the cultural preservation of the Peruvians and people of Lake Titicaca was absolutely amazing. But I’d be lying if I said the heat of a modern spa pool and the French cultural culinary experience weren’t the icing on the cake.