Puno and Lake Titicaca
Travel Advice for Seniors: Puno and Lake Titicaca
At long last! A chance to mark one of Mom’s bucket list items off! She had read a book as a child about Lake Titicaca and had always wanted to go there.
It was a long drive and a full day from Aguas Calientes to Puno, but we had a couple of stops on the way to keep things interesting.
Raqchi Incan Ruins are definitely worth a stop. This archeological site is impressive for its completeness. Raqchi was a village of houses and temples dedicated to Wiracocha (or Huiracocha), the creator of the world, according to Andean culture. The Temple of Wirachocha has remaining walls that are about 45 feet tall. Several ruins of homes for the nobility remain as do several round storage facilities known as qolqas. The grounds did have gravel pathways and seemed fairly flat, but the site is not largely accessible.
Our second stop was at La Raya Pass which is at an elevation of 14,300 feet and provides outstanding views. After a nice leg-stretching walk, we were on to Puno.
Ah! Finally made it to Puno! First order of business was a cruise on Lake Titicaca. It is a truly beautiful lake. Our hotel was immediately up from a boat launch, so we didn’t have far to walk. Our boat took us through rushes to the main part of the lake.
Lake Titicaca is on the border between Peru and Bolivia. It is the largest freshwater lake (3200 square miles) in South America and the highest of the world’s large lakes at 12,500 feet above sea level. The lake is said to be the birthplace of the Incas and thought to be three million years old. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Our cruise on the lake included a stop at the Uros Islands, which are man-made islands constructed and bound together with reed rushes. The people we spoke with said that they lived on the Islands, but the evidence appeared slim that that was actually so. However, it was interesting to hear their stories about life on the lake. Not accessible due to uneven and mushy ground.
We also stopped by Taquile Island, whose cultural traditions are recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Our final stop once we left the lake was Sillustani, a pre-Incan cemetery. The tombs are built above ground in cone-like structures called chullpas. These graves are from the Qulla people, who were conquered by the Incas in the 15th century. There are about ninety chullpas on the site. It is said that the high authorities were placed in the tombs along with some of their belongings to carry them into the afterlife.Did not appear to be accessible.
We did enjoy our stay in Titicaca and saw a couple of outstanding sunsets. The star gazing was also exceptional. While the lake was indeed beautiful, the floating islands of locals were not that interesting and seemed staged.
Overall, our trip to Peru was everything we had hoped for. We were disappointed that there was so little of the Amazon left to see at the beginning of the tour and that the floating islands of Like Titicaca seemed staged, but between the beginning and the end was the rich history of the Inca in Peru, which is what we came for!
Where we stayed: GHL Hotel Lago Titicaca. Accessible ramps and elevators. Nice hotel. Breakfast included.
How we got there: About a 250-mile bus ride from Aguas Calientes to Puno. This was part of a two-week small group tour through Peru.
General Accessibility Information: See notes above. While the hotel was accessible, most of the places we visited were not. The reeds on the floating islands are very unstable and the ground at the sights was rocky and uneven.Some larger cities and areas, have major hotels, sights and some transportation that is accessible. Call in advance to verify and make specialty arrangements. See our sections on specialty apps and accessible travel for more on accessibility assistance.
