There’s plenty to see on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. While Puno itself doesn’t have the best reputation, it makes a great base for exploring both the floating reed islands of the Uros people and the permanent islands of Amantani and Taquile.
It’s great fun visiting the reed islands and dressing up like the locals, but these have become highly commercialised, so it’s well worth visiting the other islands as well. Since it takes at least 3 hours to reach Amantani or Taquile by boat, the best option is to do an overnight homestay on Amantani. This also gives you the chance to immerse yourself in local traditions and to experience the warm hospitality of the locals.
A day trip to the floating islands and Taquile (the closer and more touristy of the two) costs about S/50, while staying overnight on Amantani allows you to visit all three places and only costs about S/90. You’d pay about S/30 a night in Puno anyway, so it makes much more sense to do the 2-day trip.
My friends and I decided to go independently to try to save a bit of money. This turned out to be very simple. We met some men at the port who sold us return tickets to Amantani via the floating islands for S/30 and asked us to pay another S/30 each to our host family.
After bouncing around on the floating islands and learning how they were constructed, the boat to Amantani took 3 hours. I tried to do some Spanish audio lessons, but a combination of the intense sun and the early morning meant that I fell asleep mid-phrase. It was a good thing I’d brought and applied copious amounts of factor 50+ ‘kids’ sun block!
Don’t be fooled by the gorgeous weather and blue skies. Both the windy boat and the dark nights on the lake are freezing.
We arrived on Amantani at about 2pm and were greeted by a large group of local women wearing massive, brightly coloured skirts and embroidered black shawls. We immediately spotted one woman with a cheeky look about her who kept cackling with laughter and we hoped she’d be the one to host us.
Our luck was in and, along with two Spanish women and a guy from Colombia, she invited us to her home on the hillside. It was a quaint adobe house with red painted doors and colourful blankets strewn everywhere.
Our host’s name was Silveria and she showed us to our cosy bedrooms before cooking up a feast on the tiny kitchen stove.
Our only complaint was that she made far too much! The massive bowl of quinoa and potato soup we had as a starter was more than enough to fill us. This was followed by a big plate of rice, potatoes and a giant piece of fried halloumi.
As we forced it down, she fried more cheese and we had to ask her to stop before we burst. Later, we found out that another group had received barely any food, so I guess it’s pot luck, and a good idea to take snacks just in case.
After lunch, my friend Christina and I helped wash up the dishes in the courtyard. Silveria sat with us and giggled when we failed to wash all the little specks of quinoa from the bowls. She seemed to really appreciate the help and brought out a bag of woollen items so she could show us how she knitted them.
When we were done, she walked us all to the main plaza and we waited for the other groups before setting off up the hill to check out the temples. There are two – Pachamama and Pachatata. The latter is slightly lower in elevation, but both are over 4100 m, which it’s easy to forget when you’re by the side of a lake. Pachatata has better views of the sunset. Either way, it’s a breathless climb because of the altitude, although there are donkey ‘taxis’ if you really struggle.
On January 20 each year, all the locals come up to the temples (half to each), and they leave offerings. This is the only time the temples are open. Each group nominates someone to run a race to a midway point between the two and, if the person from Pachamama is the winner, it is believed to bring luck for the next year’s harvest.
You can see the temples through the gate, and it’s more or less just a patch of grass inside some stone walls. As is tradition, we all walked round Pachatata three times and I left a rock there that I’d carried up the hillside and made a wish. We took photos of the sunset and posed creating silly silhouettes against the lake backdrop.
On the way back down, there were many women selling handicrafts. There were some of the best knitted hats I’d seen, as well as jumpers, slippers, bracelets and toys. They even had chocolate bars, beer and wine for those desperate enough not to wait until they returned to the village. Children ran along with us trying to sell bracelets or play tunes on pipes for money.
We reached the house again just after 6 and it was almost time for dinner. None of us was hungry, but we didn’t want to seem rude. Silveria’s husband, Romolo, joined us at the table and he grilled us (in Spanish) about our lives – where we were from, our ages, our relationships and professions. He said he would try to find me a husband that evening at the ‘party’! He also told us, in front of Silveria, that he had had a girlfriend from school who he’d moved to Lima with, but that his father had brought Silveria to Lima and forced him to marry her! At least they seemed to be happy now, 25 years later.
After dinner, some people dressed up again in the local clothes, but I was too cold to part with my llama jumper and wooly hat. We went to a barn in the town, where everyone had congregated for the party. It reminded me of school discos – with chairs around the sides and no one dancing or speaking to each other.
To my relief, the band started playing and local men and women pounced on the tourists inviting them up to dance.
Some of the tourists acted like they hadn’t been to a party in years. One old lady was throwing such wild moves she looked like she was having a fit, and another asked her husband to film her as she waved her arms in the air and circled the room alone, before kissing the floor and raising her hands to the Gods. She was more mesmerising than the local dancers.
It was only 9 when the party ended, and no one had been drinking, but the early start, tiredness and cold made us all long for our beds. We brushed our teeth outside and crawled onto very hard mattresses with even harder pillows. Just before we fell asleep, Silveria appeared in the doorway to tell us that there were bed pans for our use under the beds!
Our wake-up call was at 6:20am and we were greeted downstairs with a plateful of pancakes. We exchanged contact details with the family and promised to send them some photos. Silveria walked us to the port so we could catch the 8am boat. The official guided trip went to Taquile, but we had arranged to take a boat back to the peninsula and then a minibus to Puno so that we could catch the last bus to Copacabana in Bolivia (which leaves at 2:30pm).
There was a baby lamb on our boat and Christina and I took turns holding it. The woman with the lamb also joined us on the minibus and as we passed a field of sheep, she pointed and said to her lamb ‘Look, it’s your mother!’
I’ll never forget the warmth and sense of humour of the inhabitants of Amantani.
Honestly, a great write up and lots of detail, sometimes these can seem like it’s too much of a “show” but this didn’t at all, just insightful to their way of life.
Cute lamb! And I freaking LUV halloumi cheese! nom nom nom!
Haha. I don’t like the way the cheese squeaks when you bite into it. But otherwise it was delicious!
Hello there!
My friend and I are looking to do the same trip you took to Puno and the Floating Islands. Your itinerary seems very similar to something that we are trying to plan. Would you be able to tell us a bit more about how you booked?
Did you book in Puno? We are definitely trying to spend more time away from tours and the overwhelming bustle of tourists. You list a lot of prices in your blog post, but I was curious about how much you paid for your travel and homestay expenses.
Thanks for all of the help!
Cheers!
That trip is a fantastic one! Good choice! And it is commendable that you are trying to avoid the tour groups and have a more authentic experience.
We literally got up early one morning and walked down to the port. We asked some locals who were loading their boats if any of them was heading to Amantani and said we’d like to stay with a family over night. One of the men we asked said his mother lived on Amantani and we paid him to arrange a boat for us. We ended up on the same boat as a bunch of tourists who had paid agencies to organise it for them, but that wasn’t such a bad thing because it meant we had an English-speaking guide telling us all about the history of the lake.
When we arrived on Amantani, they divided us into groups and we were placed with a family. We paid our hosts directly when we said goodbye. She even tried to refuse the money but we insisted. They really were the loveliest people.
I heard stories about some of the tour companies taking money for the entire tour but not paying the host families, so it is best to arrange things independently to ensure they receive their money. We paid S/30 each for the return boat and S/30 each for the night with the family.
One more thing: Ask around the port to see if you can stay with Silveria. She is such a wonderful woman with an infectious cackle. If you say a friend of yours stayed with her and you’d like to meet her, you never know your luck! It’s a small village on a small island after all!! She probably won’t remember me, but if you meet her, give her a hug from me!
Great insight. Do you think I’d be safe to do the boat trip/homestay as a single female? I’ve just started learning Spanish but read Quechuan is what they speak in this area of Peru.
Absolutely! It was a great trip and the people were lovely. Even though we organised it independently, we ended up taking the same tour as people who’d used a guide. Our way just ensured that the hosts got their money! There was quite a large group of tourists all heading over with us, and I can imagine you wouldn’t ever find yourself alone on this trip – it’s too popular. I’ve rarely met friendlier people than the inhabitants of Amantani. We stayed with a couple. The woman spoke Quechuan but we still managed to communicate through gestures. Her husband grilled us all in Spanish over dinner, so it was good to have a basic grasp of it. I think you will be very safe and I think you will be missing out on something amazing if you don’t do it :)
Thank you so much. I will have a go then and I’ll be sure to mention you to her if I’m lucky enough to stay with her.
I doubt she’ll remember me! I hope you get to stay with her. She was such a sweet and funny lady. And she had the best house in my opinion! Enjoy!
Excellent, will definitely try & stay with her. Maybe if I point & giggle I may get lucky, lol!!
That’s a good tactic. I can’t wait to hear how it went :)
I’ll keep you posted.
Did you get to choose her as I’ve read it’s 1st come 1st served at the Jetty, or did you know from the boat guys you bought the tickets from?
We all arrived and the women were waiting at the peer. They just grouped us together and designated a host. I think if you talk to the guide on the way over and say you have a friend who stayed with Silveria and that you’d love to meet her, they might put you in her house… Worth a try!
If you want to stay on Taquile without a tour group, and skip Amantani, which tends to get most of the tourists, it is really easy to grab the locals’ collectivo to Taquile if you arrive on the Puno dock around 7:45am. Tell the captain you want a homestay and he’ll set you up. More details here: http://www.est2010.com/taquile-island-homestay/
Thank you! That’s great advice. I wish I’d seen Taquile too, although I have to say that Amantani still didn’t seem particularly touristy, even if it did have the majority of travellers.
Great Details about your Trip!! When you say S30 per boat return & S30 for night stay paid to the home owner, are you speaking in Dollars or Soles? I am looking to do this in October and am sourcing out tourist websites, etc. I am also traveling as a single female so tips are great!!
That’s soles. It’s pretty easy to organise tours and most hostels will give you all the information you need. If you have any other questions, though, just let me know!
Thanks! I’ve looked into the tour operations and they range from about $120-$150 for a 3 night/4 day tour (2 nights in Puno & 1 Homestay) along with the Reed Islands tour. Do you think this is a good price or would I do better to book my own hostels, and try my hand at booking with a boat/direct homestay for S60?
That sounds quite expensive to me. The S60 was for a one-night stay and the boat. We set off in the morning, visited the reed islands, crossed to Amantani and spent the night, then travelled back to the mainland the next day. If you add the cost of two night’s accommodation in Puno to that, it shouldn’t be more than S100. We just found our own hostel on HostelWorld (I’m afraid I can’t remember the name), but if you don’t need anything too flash, you should be able to get something for about S20 a night. I wouldn’t bother with any tour operators that include accommodation in places where you could easily find your own place. You’ll just spend more and have little choice where they put you. Having said that, I guess there’s not that much difference in cost. It depends if you want to remove the hassle of planning it yourself.
Hello! This sounds like a great trip. I am curious about the total cost. You mentioned 30s for the return ticket, plus 30s for the homestay. Did you pay 30s for the boat ride to the islands on day 1? so 90s total?
I am also a solo female traveler, so this was really exciting to find. Thanks for your help!
Hi Maya! The 30S for the ‘return’ boat ride was for the entire boat ride. You visit the floating islands on the way to Amantani so it’s included in the trip. You do need to pay a small fee to get off the boat at the reed islands though. Your best bet is to ask at the port how much they can do it for, and to double check if there are any hidden costs before you pay. Prices might have changed since I was there and they might also depend on who you speak to… One thing I can say, though, is that the trip was more than worth what I paid. I would have spent a lot more, so I’d recommend you do it regardless of cost! Have a great time!
I am taking a 2 day trip to Puno/Lake Titicaca as part of a 10 day trip to Peru. We are coming to Puno directly from the airport and plan to do a homestay on Amantani island. Do you know if there is any place to leave your luggage in Puno if you don’t want to carry it all on the boat tour? We won’t be staying in a hotel in Puno, but rather the homestay and then leaving the next day directly to Cusco. So I’m not sure if we have any other options besides carrying all our luggage around with us.
That’s a tough one! I know a lot of hostels look after your bags if you leave for a while, but usually only if you actually stayed with them already. Hostels are quite cheap so perhaps you could just offer a respectable-looking one money to store your bags. It wouldn’t be so bad if you took them with you as the homes on Amantani aren’t too far from the little port. Then you could leave your main luggage in a room while you explore. If you leave your bags in Puno, you need to make sure you go back there after the tour for long enough to pick up your bags and make the transport to Cusco. This could be extra stress you don’t need. Also, if you’re organising this independently, be aware that the boats to Amantani from Puno leave early in the morning.
There are are a family of five so concerned about turning up and there being no beds – going in August ?
Would prefer top go and pay the family direct. What do you think ?
Excited !
I was travelling with two friends and the three of us just turned up. I can’t say for sure, but I think you will be fine to just show up early in the morning and ask around. If you’re worried about missing out, you could probably book a tour in advance and then ask the family how much they get from the tour company. If you think they deserve more you can always give them extra. They’re wonderful hosts who deserve every penny, and the tour itself isn’t very expensive for how much you get to experience. I hope you have a wonderful time.
Hi Arianwen.
I have a little something to share with you if you could kindly send me an email so as can send you one back. I did send you an email to the address Silveria provided me with (that you left with them in 2012), but having not had a reply I gather this is no longer in use.
Thanks.
Sorry for my late reply. I did receive your email, but I’m travelling in remote Laos at the moment and only just had the chance to connect to the internet. Thank you so much! It’s one of the loveliest emails I’ve ever received. I will reply now! :)
Hi Arianwen!
I just got in your blog and I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling, you reminded me lot of things I did, you are great! I promise I will follow you from now on!
Well, because, as you said, I have itchy feet as well, I just came back from a solo backpack in eastern asia and I am now leaving (in one week) to peru and bolivia.
Reading this blog post I am curious about one thing: how did you arrange the boat back to Puno straight from Amantani? is that really easy… like there are lots of people and boats and it’s easy to arrange or we need lots of luck to find a passage straight to the peninsula?
My plan is pretty much the same as yours, I want to go back from Amantani to Puno before 2.30pm to catch the bus to Copacabana…
thank you in advance
keep smiling and keep travelling, not all those who wander are lost, right?
All the best
Angelo
Thanks for your kind words Angelo! This was over three years ago, but from what I recall, we asked at the port on the morning of the first day and they said we could join a local boat that was shipping a few people and goats to Puno. You’d have to double check when you’re there as I don’t know if this was a regular service or just a boat that happened to be going that day. It definitely wasn’t a tourist boat. Having said that, usually anything’s possible for a price. If you were really desperate to get back for the bus that day, I would imagine you could convince someone to take you… Good luck and have a wonderful time!
Hey! I’m from Brazil and I’m planning a trip with other 3 female friends. I’ve already written down the name of your host (Silveria) and we’ll definitely ask for her when we get to the port! I know it has been 3 years ago but do you remember if you visited the Uros Island? We’d like to visit the three of them (Uros, Amantani and Taquile) but we’ll probably have the same problem you had because we want to leave to Copacabana on the day after we arrive in Puno. Do you know how to arrange it independently?
That’s great that you’re planning to visit Silveria! Yes, the boats stop at the Uros (floating) islands on the way to Amantani. Most people then go on to Amantani for the night and visit Taquile the next day. If you’re trying to leave the day after you arrive in Puno (as I did), you’ll probably have to skip Taquile. I don’t think there’s enough time to fit it all in. From what I heard Taquile was quite similar to Amantani though. I guess you could ask at the port to see if anyone with a boat would be willing to take you across super early, but I think you’d have a more enjoyable time if you weren’t too rushed. Have a great trip!