Uros Floating Islands Tour from Puno
$23 Half Day
Overview
2 days
One on the water, one on the hill
3 sites
Uros, Taquile and Sillustani
3,840 m
Sillustani, above Lake Umayo
$68
Per person, lunch included
Puno sells the lake and forgets the land. Almost everyone who comes here takes a boat to the reed islands. Almost nobody drives twenty minutes the other way, to the burial towers above Lake Umayo. This tour does both, with a night in Puno between them. That is why we sell the two days as one booking.
Day one is the water. An hour out to the Uros islands, which float on layered totora reed. They are rebuilt from the surface down every few months. Our post on the Uros people explains how the islands hold together. Then a long crossing to Taquile, where the men knit and the island runs on a cooperative. Lunch is trout on a terrace above the water line. Our post on Taquile and its textiles is worth reading on the boat. Another describes a day on Taquile hour by hour.
Day two is the opposite in every way. No boat, no crowd and no reeds. A half hour drive north west from Puno takes you to a peninsula above Lake Umayo. The Colla, and later the Inca, buried their nobility there in stone towers up to twelve metres high. The chullpas are older than Machu Picchu and cut better than anything else in the region. Most visitors to Puno never see them. Our post on the Colla chullpas at Sillustani has the history. Our guide to historical sites near Lake Titicaca covers the rest.
The honest part is the shape of the two days. This is one full day and one afternoon, not two full days. The night in between is in a hotel you book yourself. Want everything in one day instead? Our Uros and Sillustani full day pairs the reed islands with the towers and skips Taquile. If you would rather sleep on the lake, the Amantani homestay is the two days to book instead.
Two days, but one free morning in the middle of them.
Day one runs seven in the morning to five in the evening. Day two does not start until two in the afternoon. That leaves you a whole morning in Puno with nothing booked. Knowing it is coming makes it the best part of the itinerary. Sleep in, walk the market on Jiron Lima, or try the museums in Puno. Lunch is worth planning, and our post on the food of Puno says where to go. Our post on things to do in Puno will fill it. What you should not do is book another tour into it. The altitude catches up with people on their second day here.
Tour Highlights
- ✓ Nearly every visitor to Puno sees the reed islands. Far fewer see the towers at Sillustani, which are older, stranger and almost empty.
- ✓ Not a photograph from the dock. Half an hour up, a walk through the square and a plate of lake trout on a terrace.
- ✓ Day two does not begin until two in the afternoon. That morning is the gentlest way to spend a second day at 3,827 metres.
- ✓ The island landing fees, the Sillustani entrance and the lunch are in the price. The only cash you need is for the reed boat if you want it.
- ✓ Our Puno team runs these two days all year. They know which family to visit on Uros, and our post on meeting Aymara communities is worth reading first.
- ✓ No room is bundled in, so you sleep where you like and pay what you like. We collect you from any hotel in the centre.
What to Expect
Day one starts early and quietly. We collect you between seven and quarter past, and the boat leaves the Puno dock soon after. The first forty five minutes cross the shallow bay through channels cut in the reed beds. Then the Uros islands appear, forty or so of them tied in place. You spend about an hour on one with a family and the guide, learning how the layers are replaced. The reed boat ride is extra and paid to the family, which we think is the right way round.
Then the long crossing. Two hours of open water to Taquile, and the best part of the day if the weather is kind. The light on this lake is unlike anywhere else, and the horizon has Bolivia on it. Taquile rises out of it in terraces. The walk up from the dock takes about half an hour and everyone feels it. By the arch you are at 3,950 metres.
Lunch is on a terrace above the water. Quinoa soup, lake trout, rice and a herb tea, cooked by the community and included in the price. Our post on the trout of Lake Titicaca explains where it comes from. After lunch the guide walks you through the square and the weaving cooperative. Then back down, and across to Puno for about five.
Day two is a short, easy afternoon. Pickup at two, thirty four kilometres of altiplano road, and Sillustani on its peninsula at 3,840 metres. The site takes about ninety minutes to walk, including the loop around the towers and the view across Lake Umayo. If the chullpas take hold of you, there are more at Molloco. The best light of the day is on the way back down. We have you at your hotel in the early evening, in time for dinner and an early night.
Choosing between them
Two Days Here, One Long Day, or a Night on an Island
Three ways we show people Titicaca from Puno. The prices are close, so choose on shape rather than cost. Green marks the better option on that row.
This two day tour
Uros and Sillustani in one day
Two day Amantani homestay
Time needed
Two days, one free morning
One day
Two days and a night
Uros islands
About an hour
About an hour
About an hour
Taquile
Lunch and the village
Not included
A morning walk
Sillustani
A full afternoon
A full afternoon
Not included
Where you sleep
Your own Puno hotel
Your own Puno hotel
With a family on Amantani
Meals
Lunch on Taquile
Lunch
Lunch, dinner, breakfast and lunch
Hours on a boat
About five
About two
About seven over two days
Price
$68
$60
$67
Best for
Seeing the lake and the land properly
One day in Puno and no time to lose
Travellers who want the night, not the hotel
In short. Take these two days if you have them and want both halves of the region. Take the one day version if your bus leaves tomorrow, and accept that Taquile is the thing you give up. Take the Amantani homestay if the night on the lake is the point. Only want one half? Both parts sell on their own, as the Uros and Taquile full day and the Sillustani half day.
Timing
Best Time to Go
Green is the season we recommend Red is Candelaria in early February, when Puno hotels sell out weeks ahead
May to October
Best
What to expect
Flat water most mornings, hard light on the lake, freezing nights
Our view
Our pick. The crossing to Taquile is smoothest now and Sillustani is clear. Cold before eight and after five.
November to March
What to expect
Afternoon rain, green hills, choppier water, warmer nights
Our view
The mornings usually hold. A rough crossing can shorten the Taquile stop. Sillustani in the wet is greener and almost empty.
Early February
What to expect
Candelaria. Every room taken, the town at capacity
Our view
Reserve ahead. The tour runs right through the festival, but traffic to the dock crawls and beds are gone weeks before.
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The lake decides the month
Calm mornings from May to October, and Candelaria to plan around.
The lake decides this one. From May to October the water is calmest in the morning, which matters on a long crossing. The light at Sillustani is at its best then too. The trade is the cold, which on the altiplano is serious before sunrise and after sunset in any month. The wet season is greener and quieter, and the towers in the rain are worth having to yourself. A windy afternoon can cut the Taquile stop short. Candelaria in early February is the one date to plan around, when every bed in Puno is taken. Our Puno climate guide goes month by month. Our post on sunset on Lake Titicaca says where to stand at the end of either day.
Tour Itinerary
1
Uros, Taquile and back
- 7:00 AM · Pickup in Puno, 3,827 m. Collected from any hotel in the centre and driven the ten minutes to the dock.
- 8:00 AM · Uros floating islands, 3,812 m. Forty five minutes out through the reed channels, then about an hour on one island with a family. The totora boat is optional and paid to them directly.
- 11:00 AM · The crossing to Taquile. Two hours of open water with Bolivia on the horizon. The longest sit of the two days.
- 1:00 PM · Taquile, 3,950 m. Half an hour up from the dock, then lunch on a terrace. Trout, soup and the view. The village square and the weaving cooperative after it.
- 5:00 PM · Dropped back at the hotel. Around 35 kilometres covered and a long day in the sun.
Meals Lunch on Taquile.
Altitude 3,812 m to 3,950 m
2
A free morning, then Sillustani
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Good to know
On the second day.
Most people feel the altitude on day two rather than day one. That is exactly when this tour asks least of you. That is not an accident. If you wake up with a headache, use the free morning and take it slowly. Water, a light breakfast and no rush. Sillustani is a walk on a hill, and the guide sets the pace. If the morning does not fix it, say so at pickup. We would rather move the afternoon than drive you up there feeling ill.
✓
Inclusions
- ✓ Hotel pick-up and drop-off in Puno. (Limited to hotels within the centre of Puno)
- ✓ Transportation to the islands by motorboat.
- ✓ Guided tours of Uros, Taquile Islands and Sillustani archaeological site.
- ✓ Professional bilingual guide (English/Spanish).
- ✓ Entrance fees to the islands and Sillustani site.
- ✓ Lunch on Taquile Island.
X
Not Included
- X Meals and drinks, unless specified.
- X Optional boat ride at Uros Floating Islands.
- X Personal expenses such as souvenirs or additional snacks and beverages.
- X Tips and gratuities for the tour guide and driver.
- X Travel insurance.
- X Accommodation in Puno
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About the exclusions
On the reed boat and the fees.
Every landing fee and entrance sits in the price. Nothing is collected from you at a dock or a gate. The one exception is the totora reed boat at Uros. That is optional and costs 20 soles, paid straight to the family who rows it rather than to us. We keep it that way because the money should go to the island. Bring small notes in soles, since there is no machine on the water. Our post on the totora boats explains what you would be riding in.
Departure Information
Available: Daily departures
Group Size: Up to 9 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
