Your Peru Guide

The vast, shimmering Lake Titicaca is rightfully celebrated as one of Peru’s top travel destinations, but there is only one Lake Titicaca hotel that can offer a truly unique experience.

Imagine stepping off a speed boat at a hotel onto a private island of beautifully manicured gardens to a main reception area decorated by local art. After you are formally welcomed you are guided to your room, suite or private cottage.

Visit the Uros Islands before arriving at your Lake Titicaca hotel on Isla Suasi

Your door is opened to reveal a fresh and clean room made of rustic local materials with breath takings views of the Lake. But this isn’t a dream. This is Casa Andina’s Luxury Private Collection Isla Suasi, located on the only private island on Lake Titicaca, in the Puno region of Peru.

Not only does this hotel offer the highest standards of luxury, it does so without leaving a carbon foot print. Casa Andina Isla Suasi was designed, constructed and decorated by celebrated professionals to be fully powered by solar energy. Traditional materials are used to conserve heat and each room is outfitted with chimneys lit at night by staff members to ensure the comfort of guests on the chilly Lake Titicaca evenings.

Your luxury Lake Titicaca experience begins long before you arrive at the hotel. After being greeted at the docks of the Casa Andina Private Collection Puno by your boat captain, you will first cruise to visit the Uros Islands.

Upon arrival you will be introduced to a unique culture of people who live on man made reed islands that float on the lake. After visiting with the kind and colorful locals of the Uros Island you will make one last stop to meet the Alsuno community located on Taquile Island.

This community of weavers host customs that are in sharp contract to those found on the Uros Islands. You will most certainly enjoy the hospitality and company of the locals and the wealth of culture you will encounter. Your morning of learning about the customs, traditions and history of the people of Lake Titicaca will come to a close as you take one final boat journey to the private Isla Suasi, arriving just in time for lunch.

The Isla Suasi Lake Titicaca hotel is perfect for enjoying the lake's profound tranquillity

After settling in to your room you will have the option of eating in the gourmet restaurant featuring the many flavors of Andean cuisine or you can request to have specialty pizzas made in the artisan clay oven.

Following lunch you are welcome to relax and acclimate to the altitude by laying in a hammock or you can visit the cultural hut and library, enjoy the bar and game salon, schedule a massage, unwind in the sauna, sit by the lakeside BBQ pit or take part in one of the many activities Casa Andina has available to you. Canoeing, boating and nature walks are among the most popular daytime activities.

In the evening you can enjoy a candle lit dinner before stargazing and enjoying the nightly bonfires along the lakeshore. Mornings will welcome you with a custom omelet bar and a full breakfast buffet to fuel you for another day of activities or leisure. Your experience at the Casa Andina Luxury Private Collection Isla Suasi will set a new standard of gastronomy and luxury travel.

For more information on staying at Isla Suasi, visit: Lake Titicaca hotels or visit Peru hotels for a full range of accommodation options during your vacation.

Not more than ten hours drive from Lima and I was in a different world to the busy and grimy city I had left behind me. With the thin mountain air demanding deep breaths and the 1am cold working its way through several layers of clothing I stepped out of our hired combi and onto the cobbled streets of Huancaya.

Still within the Lima region, Huancaya is a tiny settlement tucked away in the central Andes. A land of puna grasslands, stark valleys and, its most famous attraction, stunning cascades of thundering water as the Río Cañete pours its way from the snowcapped mountains towards the Pacific Ocean several hundred kilometres downstream.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

The falls outside of Huancaya are particularly impressive. The river broadens out and forms a series of steps, ordered almost as though they’d been deliberately carved by the forces of erosion over the millennia. A long and ancient stone bridge crosses the falls and leads towards an ancient trail that follows the valley upstream and into the mountains.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

As the valley levels off the river begins to flow more calmly, occasionally welling up to form lagoons and lakes of various sizes. Some no more than small pools, others as large as vast man-made reservoirs.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

The river picks up pace again as the trail leads to another small settlement that dates to pre-Inca times, Vilca.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

Even up in the mountains, the upcoming elections are never far from sight. This young campaigner uses her horse to reach voters living away from paved roads.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

The falls at Vilca are as impressive as those at Huancaya, drawing crowds of bathers from the surrounding communities and travellers come to spend a weekend away from Lima. This local woman in traditional headwear watches day trippers enjoying the ice cold waters on a sun-baked day.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

Locals compare election fliers. It’s not yet clear who the horses are voting for.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

Following the trail back down to Huancaya, the river is peppered with occasional falls hidden by the steep valley. The falls are spectacular enough to warrant clambering down the hillsides to get a closer look.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

In Huancaya, the village’s sole evening entertainment is the nightly community bonfire. Youngsters strum old Andean songs on modern guitars and their sisters sing along. The crowd passes around bottles of a warm cocktail, Calientito; a potent mix of pisco, syrup and honey.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

The people of Tupe speak a unique language, distantly connected to Aymara, and no relation to either Quechua or Spanish. The existence of this foreign language (mostly spoken in Bolivia) is an ancient throwback to the Inca system of moving populations around their empire to prevent any ethnic group becoming settled and powerful.

Getting to Huancaya requires a 10 hour drive from Lima, either booked with a local tour operator or on public transport. Buses leave every Saturday from the San Juan de Yauyos terminal in San Luis (4pm) or the Bus Reyes terminal in La Victoria (6:30pm).

There are plenty of basic hostels and hospedajes in Huancaya, cold water and large shared rooms are the norm, but all will serve good, hot food and are guaranteed to offer friendly, local service.

Peruvians, like most Latin Americans, have an inflated reputation for dishonesty and a propensity for ripping off unwitting travellers. The reality is that for every dishonest con artists, there is a genuine Peruvian who wouldn’t dream of taking advantage of a visitor to their country.

The problem is, it’s almost impossible to tell who is who – until it’s too late.

But rather than viewing everyone through suspicious eyes (unfortunately common among travellers in Peru), there are some simple steps you can take to avoid paying “Gringo Price,” with the spare change going straight into some shyster’s pocket. The following points are worth bearing in mind when planning an overland journey in Peru.

Ask Around

Before handing over any cash, ask a local what the going rate should be. This works well for taxis, but also with bus companies – even those that appear reputable can inflate prices for unsuspecting passengers. Transporte Molina is guilty of this, and based on personal experience, they’re best avoided. Oltursa is a good, well priced alternative company.

Check your Ticket

Double check transport tickets before paying up – especially if you’re buying tickets for a future journey. Ensure the company name, travel dates and departure/arrival destinations are correct. It’s not unheard of for unscrupulous companies to sell tickets for non-existent buses but with a valid ticket you can at least insist on a refund. Threatening to bring a cop with you should encourage them to give you your cash back.

Get Receipts

Despite the misplaced warnings of most guidebooks, it’s fine to put baggage below in the trunk and expect it to still be there at your destination, but always make sure you get a ticket to reclaim your bag. Stuff going missing is a rare occurrence, but without a receipt you won’t be able to claim for anything when you get there.