Our visit to Puno: Part 2 - Taquile Island
posted on 25th May 2014Everybody knows the Titicaca Lake (yes, that one which is the highest navigation-friendly lake in the world) but not a lot has been said about the islands which are in the lake. Well, probably that is not fair for the Moon and Sun islands in the bolivian part of the lake, but it is a fact that islands like Amantani or Taquile are a bit ignored or just unknown for the most.
A lot of people knows the Uros islands (artificial islands made of totora plant) which are really nice, and the people who live there are friendly and at the same time a bit shy. The habitants of these artificial islands are people who live basically in a parallel world, since they do the basic things like cook, eat and fish, not a lot more. In the bigger Uros islands, sometimes you can find schools, but that's it.
The shore
Back to the Taquile island, it is a marvelous place. The landscape from the top of the island reminds me to the Caribbean sea in some way. Even if the Titicaca is a lake, it is so huge that you feel you are in front of the sea! You have to walk a bit to arrive to the central square of the island. At the middle of our trekking, we stop to eat a delicious quinua soup, and the must have to eat fried trout. You can go to the Taquile island in one of the small boats that cover the route (they also stop at the Uros islands as part of the tour). It takes around 3 hours to arrive.
This is the place where the boats arrive
As in Puno, you can find some alpacas in the island, as well as sheep. Since this is a really far island from what we could call "civilization" (let's call that way the city of Puno) it is a pretty natural place and where some traditions have stayed along the centuries, like the hats which differentiate the civil state of men, for example.
Another view from the bottom of the island
A view from the top of the island. Just impressive!
The center square of Taquile island
If you go to Peru, give a chance to Puno. You won't be disappointed at all!
Until next time!