Day 1: Puno – Uros – Amantani
This tour starts with hotel pickup and transfer to the Port of Puno. From there, the boat trip to the floating islands of Uros lasts 40 minutes. Uros is one of the most unique attractions in tourism worldwide. They are floating islands made of compacted layers of cattail shoots (totora) bound with “llachu”; also called “khili”. In order to keep the islands afloat, inhabitants weave the totora every three months. In this way, they avoid the disintegration of the island floor. The historical population of Uros was a society dedicated to hunting and fishing. Today, they keep their customs alive, but due to the influence of tourists, they have added activities such as the dissection of birds and fish, the making of small totora rafts, and the crafting of woven textiles and carpets as their primary handicrafts. Even the walls and roves of their houses are built with intertwined totora.


After our visit to Uros, we’ll navigate for two hours toward the Island of Amantani, as this visit will allow us to explore the customs of its inhabitants while interacting with them in their homes. As such, you won’t feel as though you’re simply observing, but that you are participating in the daily lives of a local family. What’s more, we’ll take a short trek to the island’s two main ceremonial centers: Pachamama and Pachatata. Along the way, we’ll encounter beautiful landscapes and observe local Andean customs and way of life. Pachatata is the mountain’s sacred ceremonial center where ritual offerings are deposited once a year. Pachamama, the other ceremonial center, faces Pachatata and is the place where the cult to Tutelary Gods is given and ritual ceremonies are offered to Cosmic Deities. Through their offerings, the people of the island were allowed to live in harmony with nature, the universal source of happiness and prosperity.


After our visit, we’ll have the opportunity to spend a night in family houses and will enjoy a dinner prepared and served by our hosts, as well as a circle of friendship offered by their children (optional).


Day 2: Amantani – Taquile – Puno
After our morning breakfast, we’ll return to our boat, now bound for the island of Taquile. The island community lives on the upper part of the island, at 4,050m above sea level and 240m above the lake’s water level. The island’s most outstanding feature is its Quechua-speaking inhabitants and the manifestations of their language through their clothing and sophisticated woven textiles. The textiles themselves preserve traditions of their pre-Columbian history by their quality, design and usage of symbolism. Taquile is an island of great interest where landscapes and culture are concerned, and its inhabitants mainly dedicate themselves to agriculture, crafts and fishing; they continue to live according to their ancestral traditions and laws.


On the island, we’ll have the option to choose among a wide variety of foods, and we’ll be able to eat whichever we like best.


Includes:
• Transportation
• Guide
• Entry to the islands
• Meals: One breakfast, one lunch and one dinner.