This morning, 9th day of our trip to Peru, we leave our family of Amantani without any regret and will join the other tourists at the pier to take the boat to the island of Taquile for 2 hours crossing. This is how we spent our day visiting one of the most beautiful islands of Lake Titicaca: the island of Taquile.
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Taquile one of the most beautiful islands of Lake Titicaca – Map
Taquile one of the most beautiful islands of Lake Titicaca – Arrival and hike
Arrived on Taquile Island, two choices are offered to us: take a path for a short hike or leave with the guide directly to the restaurant where we will lunch at noon. The choice was quickly made: the hike! It lasted 2 small hours and gave us the opportunity to discover many facets of the island.
At 3 900 m, this small island of 1.6 km long has only 2 200 inhabitants and is preserved (for the moment) of mass tourism. In general, tourists make only a small stopover of a few hours.
Taquile one of the most beautiful islands of Lake Titicaca – Lunch on Taquile
At noon, we take the meal together on a large table with all the other tourists on the island. We will only pay 20 soles for this meal (not included in the tour price).
From the restaurant located on the highest point of the island, the view of the lake is simply superb!
Taquile one of the most beautiful islands of Lake Titicaca – weaving of wool
We are entitled to a demonstration of wool weaving. On Taquile island, it is the women who practice this activity while the men are knitting. Indeed, here men knit all the time as soon as they have 5 minutes and even walking … This art is inscribed in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO.
Taquile one of the most beautiful islands of Lake Titicaca – Return to Puno
We descend quietly to join the boat and return in the middle of the afternoon to Puno after 3 hours of navigation.
Arriving in Puno, we ask our hotel to order a taxi for the next morning at 6:30 for the bus station. Our bus will leave at 7 o’clock sharp. I booked on the website TOURISMO MER a tourist bus to make the trip PUNO – CUZCO (60 USD per person).
Overnight in Puno “Hostal Virgen de las Nieves” Av Del Puerto, Puno, T +51 51 369565
Taquile one of the most beautiful islands of Lake Titicaca – What did I like?
The similar “Mediterranean” landscapes, the discovery of the island while walking, the meal especially for its succulent fish and the remarkable and preserved site.
Tour of Taquile Island – What I did not like?
Being always between tourists and not having free time on Taquile but also on Uros and Amantani.
Regarding Lake Titicaca and the 3 islands visited, I liked the “easy” side of access through agencies in Puno very well organized.
But I did not appreciate their way of exploiting tourists. In addition, the permanent staged side really bothers me. By having more time, I would have preferred to make a trip on the ISLA DEL SOL on Lake Titicaca but on the Bolivian side …
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