Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HIGH SEASON
June to August is driest, but very cold.
ALTITUDE
ADJUSTMENT
The area is very high up. Allow extra time to acclimatize.
For
further coverage,
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.
Lake Titicaca Don't Miss
List
BY BEN ORLOVE, ANTHROPOLOGIST RESEARCHING THE ANDES SINCE
THE '70S AND AUTHOR OF
LINES IN THE WATER: NATURE AND CULTURE AT
LAKE TITICACA
1 HIT THE ISLANDS INDEPENDENTLY
If you go on a tour, you're going to be with lots of people, making it difficult to ex-
plore. If you can, hire a boat independently. In addition to seeing less-visited islands,
you'll be able to poke in and out of the reeds, where you'll find incredible birdlife -
such as the flightless grebe, which is endemic to the area. They can hold their breath
underwater for what seems like an impossible length of time. But they will surface -
keep an eye out for them!
2 TAKE A MORNING WALK AROUND CHUCUITO
If you start at the main plaza in Chucuito (
Click here
)
, you can hike up Cerro Atoja.
It's not a hard walk and there are plenty of trails. You'll get views of the lake, but the
best part is this extraordinary contrast of densely settled agricultural areas with the
more isolated pastures higher up. Within hours, you can experience different worlds.
3 VISIT LAMPA
This is an extraordinary little town (
Click here
) to the northwest of Puno, via Juliaca.
It's one of those places that is preserved in amber - the center of town is lined with
low, two-story buildings with balconies. It offers a real flavor for how things once were
in the Andes.
4 EAT ADVENTUROUSLY
