6 Day Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca Tour Package
$822 Full Day
Overview
5 hrs
On the boat, in total
7:00 AM
Departure from Puno
40 min
Climb on Taquile
3,950 m
Top of Taquile
This day pairs the two islands on the Peruvian side of the lake that visitors most want to see. The pairing works because they could not be more different. Uros is reed, close to shore, built and rebuilt by hand, commercial and inhabited at once. Taquile is rock and terraces and is thirty five kilometres out. It is a community of about two thousand people who run their own tourism and have done for decades.
The lake between them is the part nobody advertises. Two hours of open water at 3,810 metres, with the snow peaks of the Cordillera Real standing on the Bolivian side on a clear morning. It is cold, it is bright, and it is the most time most visitors will ever spend on the largest lake in South America.
Taquile itself is a long hill with a village on top. You land at the harbour, climb about forty minutes on a stepped path to the square, and there the island’s textile tradition is on show. Men do the knitting and women the weaving. Meanwhile, the colour of a man’s hat says whether he is single or married. UNESCO recognised the tradition in 2005. Lunch is in a community kitchen and the island’s cooperative decides which family serves which group.
You leave by a different path down the far side, which is gentler, and the boat takes the long way home across the afternoon.
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Worth knowing before you arrive
Taquile runs its own tourism.
Visitors are shared between families by rota, the restaurants are cooperatives, and what you pay for lunch and crafts stays on the island. It is the reason the day feels orderly rather than pushy, and it is worth knowing before you arrive.
Tour Highlights
- ✓ Uros for the reed and Taquile for the weaving, in one day, with the lake crossing between them that neither half day gives you.
- ✓ Trout or an omelette, quinoa soup, muña tea, in a community kitchen with the lake below. It is the meal people remember from Puno.
- ✓ Uros and Taquile fees are included. You reach for cash only for the reed boat ride and the cooperative shop.
- ✓ Taquile's textiles were recognised in 2005. The men knit, the women weave, and the patterns carry information about who made them and why.
- ✓ Cold, bright and enormous. On a clear day you see the Bolivian cordillera from the middle of the lake.
- ✓ Taquile decides who hosts, who cooks and who sells. The day is calmer for it, and the money stays on the island.
What to Expect
A long day on the water, a short hard climb, and lunch with a view most restaurants would charge triple for.
Expect a pickup at seven and a shared boat out of Puno harbour by about eight. Expect the Uros stop to be brisk, around an hour, with the demonstration, a house and the handicrafts. Expect to be back on the boat by nine thirty with two hours of open water ahead.
Expect the crossing to be cold and bright. Sit on the roof if the boat has one and the wind allows. Expect Taquile to appear as a long green ridge and to grow slowly for the last half hour.
Expect the climb from the harbour to be the hardest part of the day. Forty minutes of steps at nearly four thousand metres, and everyone on the boat feels it. Expect the village square at the top to be quiet, with men knitting in the doorways and the cooperative shop open. Expect lunch to be simple, hot and good.
Expect the walk down the far side to be easy and the boat home to be long. Most people sleep. Expect to be at your hotel around five.
Best Time to Go
Green is the season we recommend Red is the wet season, when the return crossing can be rough
May to September
Best
What to expect
Dry and bright, with cold early crossings and flat water
Our view
The season. Clear crossings and the Bolivian peaks visible from the middle of the lake.
April and October
What to expect
Shoulder. Some cloud, occasional afternoon wind
Our view
Usually fine. The morning crossing is calmer than the afternoon return.
November to March
What to expect
Afternoon rain and wind, choppy returns
Our view
Runs all year. Bring a waterproof and expect the return crossing to be rougher than the outward one.
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Why we leave at seven
What the wet season changes is the water.
The islands do not depend on light the way the mountains do, and Taquile is worth seeing under any sky. Wind builds through the afternoon in those months, and the return crossing can be slow. We leave at seven partly to keep the long crossing in the calm half of the day.
Choosing between them
One Day or Two on the Lake
This is the middle option of three. The question is whether you have a night to give. Green marks the better option on that row.
Uros and Taquile full day
Uros half day
Uros, Amantani and Taquile, 2 days
Time
About 10 hours
About 4 hours
Two days
Boat time
Around 5 hours
50 min total
Around 6 hours over two days
Islands
Uros and Taquile
Uros only
Uros, Amantani and Taquile
Climbing
40 min on Taquile
None
Two climbs, one to 4,150 m
Meals
Lunch on Taquile
None
Four meals with families
Night on the lake
No
No
Homestay on Amantani
Best for
One full day, no night
Half a day
A night with a family on an island
In short. Take the full day if you have exactly one day on the lake and want Taquile, which most people should. Take the two day version if you have a night, because Amantani is the island the day trippers never see. Take the half day if a ten hour day is too much.
Tour Itinerary
1
Pickup in Puno
Pickup is from hotels in central Puno, then a short drive to the harbour. The boat leaves once everyone is aboard, usually by eight. Bring layers. It is cold on the water until mid morning.
Altitude 3,827 m
2
Through the reeds to Uros
3
The Uros islands
4
The crossing
5
The climb to the village
6
Taquile village and lunch
7
Down the far side
8
Back to Puno
✓
Inclusions
- ✓ Hotel pickup and drop-off in Puno.
- ✓ Guided boat tour to Uros Floating Islands and Taquile Island.
- ✓ Experienced English-speaking tour guide.
- ✓ Entrance fees to Uros and Taquile Islands.
- ✓ Lunch on Taquile Island.
- ✓ Visit to local communities on both islands.
- ✓ Opportunity to participate in traditional activities on the islands.
- ✓ Detailed information about the local culture, history, and ecology of the Lake Titicaca region.
X
Not Included
- X Optional totora reed boat ride at Uros Floating Islands.
- X Additional food and beverages not specified in the itinerary.
- X Personal expenses and tips for guide and boat crew.
- X Travel insurance.
- X Any additional activities not included in the itinerary.
- X Pckup and drop-off outside of Puno city.
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About the exclusions
Bring cash in small notes.
For the reed boat ride, for the cooperative shop on Taquile, and for a drink on the boat. Nothing on either island takes a card and there is no cash machine once you leave Puno.
Departure Information
Available: Daily departures
Group Size: Up to 25 people
Start Time: 7:00 – 7:15 AM
Pickup: Puno Hotel Transfer
Frequently Asked Questions
What time does the Full Day Tour to Lake Titicaca start and end?
The tour starts at approximately 7:00 AM with a hotel pickup in Puno and ends around 5:00 PM at the same location.
Is there a lot of walking involved in the tour?
What is the weather like at Lake Titicaca?
Is lunch provided on the Full Day Tour?
Can I participate in the tour if I have dietary restrictions?
Is it possible to ride on a traditional totora reed boat?
Is the tour suitable for children?
What are the payment methods for the tour?
Do I need to tip the guide or the boat captain?
What will I see on the Full Day Tour?
Gallery
