Amantani Homestay Tour: Uros, Amantani and Taquile in 2 Days
$67 4,150 m
Overview
5 stops
Chucuito to Juli
160 km
Along the south shore
8:00 AM
Pickup in Puno
4,000 m
Highest point, at Molloco
Most visitors to Puno go out onto the water. The Uros, Taquile and Amantani are islands, and the boats leave from the port. This tour goes the other way, south along the shore by road, into the country of the Aymara. They were here before the Incas and they are still here. The lakeside towns between Puno and the Bolivian border speak their language.
The road passes five things worth stopping for. At Chucuito, an enclosure of carved stone sold as an Inca fertility temple. It may be a modern arrangement of old stones. At Molloco, a group of funerary towers built by the Colla, who also built Sillustani. They stand on a hill almost nobody visits. Between them, the raised fields called waru waru. It is a farming system older than the Incas, and the communities are bringing it back.
Then Aramu Muru, a doorway carved into a cliff of red rock, seven metres square, leading nowhere. Nobody knows who cut it or why, and the stories that have grown up around it are recent. The guide will tell you the legends and the archaeology, and keep them apart. And finally Juli, a town the Jesuits made their base in the sixteenth century. That is why a place of ten thousand people has four stone churches.
None of these is famous. That is the point of the day. The stops are quiet and the road is empty. The lake sits beside you for eighty kilometres, with the snow of the Cordillera Real on the far side when the air is clear.
A road day, with honest gaps in it.
This is five stops and about four hours in a vehicle. The sites are small and some are contested. The stones at Chucuito were rearranged in living memory, and the guide will say so. Two of the four churches in Juli may be closed for restoration on the day you visit. If you want a day of big ruins, this is not it. If you want the country behind the lake, and a guide who separates what is known from what is not, it is.
Tour Highlights
- ✓ Eighty kilometres of shoreline by road, with the water beside you the whole way. No crowded port at either end.
- ✓ The same builders as Sillustani, on a hill above the lake, without the coaches. Most days you have them to yourselves.
- ✓ A carved doorway in a red cliff. The guide gives you the stories, the archaeology, and the difference between them. The meditation is optional.
- ✓ The stones at Chucuito, the purpose of the door, the age of the fields. Where the answer is uncertain, the guide says so.
- ✓ Chucuito, Molloco, Aramu Muru and the Juli churches are paid for. The only money you need is for lunch and a tip.
- ✓ One van, one guide. The stops are small enough that a bigger group would spoil them.
What to Expect
The van collects you at eight and is out of Puno in ten minutes. The road follows the western shore south. Chucuito comes first, a colonial town with a plaza and two churches, and the enclosure of carved stones behind them. The guide explains what the stones are, what the sign says they are, and the difference. Half an hour.
Molloco is a turn off the main road, then a short climb to a group of stone towers on open ground. Nobody else is there. The lake is below, the towers are tall, and the wind is cold. This is the stop people remember. About forty minutes, then back to the road and a stop at the raised fields. The guide walks you along the ridges and explains how they kept frost off the crops.
Aramu Muru is late morning. A red cliff with a carved doorway in it, and a flat area in front. The guide leads a short meditation there for anyone who wants one. The rest can walk the base of the cliff and look at the lake. Nobody is made to do anything. About an hour.
Juli is lunch and churches. The town sits on a bay with a plaza, and the churches are a short walk apart. You eat at a local restaurant on the square, at your own cost. Then the guide takes you to whichever churches are open that day. Then the road back north, the lake on your right, and Puno by about half past five.
Choosing between them
The South Shore, or the Islands
Three ways to spend a full day from Puno. Two are on the water and one is on the road. Green marks the better option on that row.
Ruta Aymara
Uros and Taquile
Uros and Sillustani
How you travel
Road, along the shore
Boat, three hours each way
Boat, then road
What you see
Five sites, four cultures, one lake
Two islands
One island and the towers
Walking
Short walks at five stops
A climb on Taquile
Short walks at two stops
Crowds
Almost none
Busy on the islands
Busy at both
Length
8:00 AM to 5:30 PM
7:00 AM to 5:00 PM
About nine hours
Lunch
Your own, in Juli
Included, on Taquile
Included
Price
$40
$44
$60
Best for
A second day in Puno
The lake itself
One day with the islands and the towers
In short. Choose the Ruta Aymara if you have already been on the lake, or the islands are not why you came. Choose Uros and Taquile if it is your only day in Puno. The water is what the town is for. Choose Uros and Sillustani if you want the famous towers. The Molloco towers on this route are by the same builders, with nobody else there.
Timing
Best Time to Go
Green is the season we recommend Red is the wet season, when the fields flood and there is mud at Molloco
May to October
Best
What to expect
Dry, clear, cold in the wind at Molloco, the lake at its bluest
Our view
The season. The Cordillera Real shows across the water on most mornings, and the road is dry.
April and November
What to expect
Shoulder. Green fields, some cloud, the lake high
Our view
Good odds. The raised fields are at their best with water in the channels.
December to March
What to expect
Rain most afternoons, the fields flooded, mud at Molloco
Our view
Runs, and the sites are small enough to see between showers. Bring a rain layer and shoes you can clean.
i
Sunday matters more than the month
Plan around a Sunday if you can, for Juli.
This day depends on the road, not on light or snow, so it runs all year. The dry season gives you the clearest view across the lake and the coldest wind at Molloco. The wet season gives you the raised fields as they were designed to be seen, full of water. The one thing to plan around is a Sunday. The churches in Juli hold mass and are open, and the plaza has a market.
Tour Itinerary
1
8:00 AM — Departure from Puno
The van collects you from your hotel and leaves the city on the road south. The lake is on the left within minutes and stays there.
Altitude 3,827 m
2
8:30 AM — Chucuito | Temple of Fertility (Inca Uyo)
3
9:20 AM — Molloco | Chullpas de Molloco
4
10:20 AM — Waru Warus | Ancient Raised Field Agriculture
5
11:20 AM — Aramu Muro | Sacred Portal & Meditation Center
6
1:00 PM — Juli | Lunch & Colonial Heritage
7
2:40 PM — Return Journey to Puno
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Good to know
On the stones at Chucuito.
The enclosure behind the church is sold as an Inca temple of fertility. Some of the carved stones are old. Their arrangement in rows is not, and was done in living memory. Our guides say so at the gate, because we would rather you knew than found out from a guidebook afterwards. The site is still worth the half hour, for the church and the plaza. And for the story of how the stones got there.
✓
Inclusions
- ✓ Hotel pickup and drop off in Puno
- ✓ A small group vehicle for the whole day
- ✓ A bilingual guide, English and Spanish, from pickup to
- ✓ Entrance fees at every site on the route
X
Not Included
- X Lunch in Juli, 20 to 35 soles at a local restaurant
- X The coca leaf reading at Aramu Muru, optional and paid on the spot
- X Personal expenses and tips
- X Travel insurance
i
About the exclusions
On lunch.
We leave lunch out so that you eat in Juli, at a restaurant on the plaza. A meal is 20 to 35 soles. Trout from the lake, quinoa soup and chairo are on most menus. Including a fixed meal would mean one restaurant for everyone and a higher price for the day. Bring soles in small notes, because nowhere in Juli takes a card.
Departure Information
Available: Daily departures
Group Size: Up to 9 people
Start Time: 08:00 AM
Pickup: Hotel in Puno
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ruta Aymara tour from Puno?
A full day by road along the southern shore of Lake Titicaca, through Aymara towns and sites. Chucuito, the Molloco chullpas, the raised fields, Aramu Muru and Juli, with a bilingual guide. From 8:00 AM to about 5:30 PM.
How long is the day, and how far south does it go?
How much does the Ruta Aymara cost?
What is Aramu Muru?
Is the Inca Uyo at Chucuito genuine?
How high is the Ruta Aymara?
Is the Ruta Aymara suitable for beginners or first-time visitors to Peru?
What are the Chullpas de Molloco?
What are Waru Warus?
When is the best time to visit the Ruta Aymara?
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