Puno, Sillustani, and Lake Titicaca
We left Cuzco for Puno (3800 meters or 12500 feet) a couple of days after returning from the trek. The bus ride from Cuzco to Puno takes 6 hours on Cruz del Sur and was rather pleasant. Unfortunately, the return bus ride on Cruz del Sur was cancelled and we took the local bus, which although costs less than half the price, was rather uncomfortable and took an hour longer.
While in Puno, we took a local boat tour out to the Islas Flotantes on Lake Titicaca where the Uros people live. The Islas Flotantes are artificial reed islands that the Uros have lived on for some centuries. Lake Titicaca is South America's largest lake and also the largest lake in the world above 2000 meters. The next day, we hired a taxi to take us to Sillustani, which has many funerary towers called Chullpas that were created by the Colla people. The Collas were eventually absorbed into the Inca empire.
Lake Titicaca and the Islas Flotantes.
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| Date added: 29 Dec 2004
The boat ride out to the floating islands was pleasant and we enjoyed nice views of the lake from the boat.
Sillustani
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| Date added: 29 Dec 2004
Sillustani is about 45 minutes by taxi from Puno and is well worth the trip. Sillustani is partly encircled by Lago Umayo and has an elevation of 3890 meters (12800 feet). I was impressed by the sight of the chullpas next to a sparkling blue lake.