Lake Titicaca Day Trip: Explore Uros & Taquile Islands and their Pre-Incan Heritage

Embark on a captivating day trip to Lake Titicaca and discover the enchanting Uros and Taquile Islands. Immerse yourself in the pre-Incan heritage, explore the floating islands made of totora reeds, and experience the vibrant culture of the locals on Amantani Island.

Duration: 9 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Uros Floating Islands - We will be picking you up from your hotel within the historic centre of Puno between 0645 and 0700 in the morning. Before boarding the motor boat to Uros Island we will have a brief stop at the boat pier where you can buy some snacks and bottled water.

Once you would settle in the boat, a local musician would welcome you with an Andean Folkloric music. Our guide would then introduce himself and the captain of the boat before giving you a brief about the day’s itinerary on the World’s highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca.

Our first stop will be at the iconic floating islands of Uros. During the journey from the mainland to one of the Uros Islands, you can see totora plants that grow on Lake Titicaca. These constitute the basic source of food and, at the same time, they serve as a maintenance system that the Uros have to perpetuate the existence of the islands

As the boat would dock in, local women dressed in the local attire would extend a warm welcome to the place they call home.

The head of the island would then demonstrate how they build these islands using totora plants and would share a few words in their native language (Aymara).

Natives here are known for their handicrafts, so you may buy some if you would wish to. You will then have an option of sailing on the traditional totora reed boat (10 Soles) to the main island of Uros. If desired, you can get your passport stamped here as a souvenir.

From here, we will start our boat ride to Taquile islands. You may walk up to the open deck on the upper level of the boat and get some photos of the floating islands that you would be passing through.

What's Included
  • Transport
  • Bi-lingual tour guide (English and Spanish)
  • Entrance fees
  • Lunch
  • Puno hotel transfer (Within the historic centre)
  • Puno boat pier embarkation tax
What's Not Included
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner
  • Accommodation
  • Totora Reed Boat ride (optional) 15 Soles
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pick-up or drop-off outside the center of Puno (25 soles per way)
Additional Information

The shimmering blue waters of Lake Titicaca are home to the famous, man-made Floating Islands of Uros. These islands and their dwellings, which date back to a pre-Incan time, are made completely out of totora reeds, a native bulrush plant that grows in the lake. With a guided tour, get to know the inhabitants that have formed a small community and learn how these islands stay afloat. During the afternoon, visit the island of Amantani and experience the unique culture of the locals.

Location
Estacion Muelle Puno
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(194 Ratings)
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Mirko
Aug 14, 2024
A must for those in Puno - Perfect management. Taquile Island is a pearl that should not be missed on a trip to Puno! With this tour you will learn about this ancient culture. Fantastic organization, Neo and Fausto guides were very kind and engaging! Very attentive even to those who do not know Spanish, explanations always in English and Spanish. Comfortable boat and delicious lunch! PS. This is not our case but for those staying overnight on the Urus islands they come to pick you up and take you there again if necessary, without problems.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rebeccabeckypalmer
Jul 23, 2024
Great tour and boat trip! - Tour included transfers from most hotels. We stayed at Lake Titicaca Hotel which was outside of town so paid an extra fee. For the price, the tour was very reasonable and well done. We were served a delightful lunch on TaquiIe Island and were given a choice of taking a long scenic walk to the lunch or a shorter walk. The tour was about 8 hours and well worth every penny! I would highly recommend it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P7136irguillermoc
Jul 6, 2024
Sharing with the inhabitants of the Uros Islands and browsing Lake Titicaca, seeing all those islands is unique. - An unforgettable experience was visiting Lake Titicaca and its floating islands with very friendly people with whom you feel the love they give you in the moments we share, and always hand in hand with our guides “Mi Guía Machupichu” who at all times gave us all their knowledge to have the best time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Paradise430048
Jun 29, 2024
Nice experience - I loved the experience. However, it is nice to know how the islands are built and see how they work. Buy souvenirs to help the community
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pumaexplorer
Jun 27, 2024
titicaca lake - Lake Titicaca is located in the Andean Altiplano, in the Central Andes at an average altitude of 3812 meters, in an area shared by Peru and Bolivia.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julinhofonseca
Jun 17, 2024
Wonderful place - Excellent tour, I did it through the Peru hope agency, beautiful tours and a super competent guide too, it's really worth getting to know the floating islands especially
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bw260570
Jun 14, 2024
Two different island cultures in one day. - Puno is located directly on Lake Titicaca. We booked this tour to the Uros and then to Taquile. It was very nice. With the Uros, we stayed with a family on their island and learned a lot about their daily routine. We then took a reed boat to another island. Then we went to Taquile. There we walked for about an hour to the main town of San Antonio and experienced hand embroidery and folklore from the locals. Overall, we got a lot of insight into the two very different island cultures, which are also different from the mainland. If you go to Puno, then you should definitely do both of these things.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shakergirlja
Jun 11, 2024
Good trip! - Loved this trip. Couple of things could be improved. Make it clear that for several parts of the trip you are restricted to staying inside the boat cabin which makes photography pretty much impossible because of the dirty windows. It definitely needs to be explained in advance that there will be a steep 40 minute hike on the second island for lunch, and that you should bring water along. This is not easy for many, and not going is not really an option since that's where lunch is. Lunch was fabulous!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Luisgustavorodrigues
Jul 19, 2024
Uros Island... a commercial nonsense. - The city of Puno is disorganized and chaotic. The lake is sensational... but the trade with the "UROS".. Aggressive and annoying. Details... are not decent of the Uros, the last Uro died in 1978... now they are only tourist commercials. If this part of the tour (visiting the island of Uros) lasted 20 minutes... it would be great... but it lasts 1 hour and a half... chatissimo and aggressively commercial. The second part of the tour which is to visit a royal island and lunch.. is very good, especially if it is a sunny day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rolof_r
Jul 8, 2024
Titticaca Lake, a world of surprises! - Very well organized, punctual and friendly. Eventhough it was all rather commercial, it still was ït worth to meet their amaxing inhabitants.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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