Trip of the week: the enchanting isles of Titicaca
Lake Titicaca has a stark, near-hallucinatory beauty

There is something thrilling about the thought of Lake Titicaca – a vast body of water, 200 miles across, 900ft deep, wreathed in legends of sunken Inca gold and perched at an unimaginable altitude in the Andes mountains. And with its stark, near-hallucinatory beauty, it lives up to the reverie, says Paul Richardson in the FT. Even getting there can be a delightful adventure: on the PeruRail train from Cusco, guests dine to the strains of a cocktail piano as they’re transported across the “bleak” plains of the Altiplano. And while the terminus – the city of Puno – is “charmless”, it is not far from there to a hotel that offers “mind-expanding” views of the lake.
Set on a lonely promontory, Titilaka is an angular structure made of glass and concrete, with eclectic interiors and a fine restaurant. Activities include cycling trips and tours of Baroque churches – but most exciting is the chance to kayak around the lake’s coastline of low, “bare-faced” granite hills and visit its “curious” islands. The air at this altitude – 12,507ft above sea level – is “diamond bright”, the water is “gin clear”, and the sky is simply “enormous”. First stop is Amanecer, one of 50 or so floating islands inhabited by the Uros ethnic group. Made from blocks of totora root covered with a thick layer of cut reed, it yields beneath your feet like a mattress – but it is strong enough to carry a stove, a vegetable patch, and five huts, whose inhabitants will tell you of the dangers they face, from drowning (“common”) to fires.
The larger, natural island of Taquile has “Through the Looking Glass” charm, with its complex dress code (which includes black Homburg hats and colourful pom-poms), slopes of pinkish rock, sapphire-blue bays, knee-high garden walls, “gaudy” flowers and dwarf sheep. It is an excellent place to stop for a lunch of lake trout and uchucuta sauce with a friendly local family.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Scott Dunn (scottdunn.com) has a nine-night trip from £8,935pp, including flights.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Quiz of The Week: 5 – 11 July
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
How many people are working illegally in the UK?
The Explainer Government vows 'nationwide blitz' on illicit workforce believed to number in the hundreds of thousands
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A devastating flood, a hungry manatee, and more
-
Kiefer / Van Gogh: a 'remarkable double act'
The Week Recommends Visit this 'heroic' and 'absurd' exhibition at the Royal Academy until 26 October
-
Mark Billingham shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The novelist and actor shares works by Mark Lewisohn, John Connolly and Gillian Flynn
-
Properties of the week: grand rural residences
The Week Recommends Featuring homes in Wiltshire, Devon, and East Sussex
-
Heads of State: 'a perfect summer movie'
The Week Recommends John Cena and Idris Elba have odd-couple chemistry as the US president and British prime minister
-
The Red Brigades: a 'fascinating insight' into the 'most feared' extremist group of 1970s Italy
The Week Recommends A 'grimly absorbing' history of the group and their attempts to overthrow the Italian state
-
Jurassic World Rebirth: enjoyable sequel hampered by plot holes
Talking Point The latest dinosaur reboot captures the essence of the original – but leans too heavily on 'CGI-heavy set pieces'
-
Summer in Seattle: Outdoor dining like nowhere else
Feature Featuring a patio with a waterfront view, a beer garden, and more
-
Film reviews: F1: The Movie, 28 Years Later, and Familiar Touch
Feature An aging race car driver gets one last chance, a kid struggles to survive in this '28 Days Later' update, and a woman with dementia adjusts to her new life