I wanted to visit Lake Titicaca since I first heard about it in school. I have always been fascinated by the fact that this huge body of water lies at 3,800m above sea level and it is surrounded by the Andes. Plus the name Titicaca just sounds so magical. Thus, we had no doubt that we will include Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, in our South America backpacking itinerary.
Lake Titicaca lies on the border of Peru and Bolivia, and I have heard that it is worth visiting from both sides, because one will get very different views. And I must say, it is very true, we had unique experiences at each side and liked them both.
The largest Peruvian settlement on the shore of Lake Titicaca is Puno. The town apart from being a major hub for travelers is also known as the folklore capital of Peru. While we were in Puno (13-15 of October) we got a taste of Peruvian folklore music and dance, as the whole town was busy rehearsing for their anniversary celebration (4 of November). There were children and young adults dancing and playing the pan flutes each day on the square in front of our hotel. This picture was taken from our hotel room one morning.
Puno has an old town center with a few colonial buildings, but besides that the town has no other sights to explore.
However, both food and accommodation is quite cheap in Puno, so it is a great place to relax and try local food such as alpaca meat and trout from the lake. Here is how a good alpaca steak looks like; very tender.
The port of Puno is a good base for visiting the islands of Lake Titicaca: the unique floating islands of Uros, Isla Taquile and Isla Amantaní. 
You can visit these islands on a day trip from Puno, or you can choose to overnight with a local family on one of the islands. We decided to do a day trip, because we are not exactly fluent in Spanish, so we would not get much out of staying with a family and on the other hand we were not that into sleeping in a dirt house again, when we could have a nice hotel room in Puno.
On our day trip we first visited the floating reed islands, which are home to the Uros people. The Uros started to live on these islands centuries ago in an effort to escape from the more aggressive tribes such as the Collas and the Incas. At the moment there are about 80 islands floating on Lake Titicaca and each tour visits a different island, so they do not feel crowded.
We visited an island which was home to three families. The president of the island (El Presidente) explained how the islands were made and showed their handmade textiles that were of course for sale.
After the presentation we got invited into one of the houses on the island; it was very basic. I do not know if the Uros really live in these houses or it is just a show for tourists. Anyway, it was fun to see.
Then we took a ride on a traditional reed boat, which was very relaxing and a great way to admire the beauty of Lake Titicaca.
Kasper became a very close friend with one of the passengers on the boat, they even cuddled together.
We had such a beautiful weather that day; the sky and the water were just picture perfect.
After Uros we headed to Isla Taquile, which is inhabited by Quechua speaking islanders who have a long tradition of weaving and knitting. We were very much looking forward to seeing the locals in their traditional clothes, but there were only tourists on the island. Despite we walked across the entire island, we did not see any local in his tightly woven woolen hat. It was a bit disappointing, but the island itself was very picturesque.
We also had a nice view of Isla Amantaní, which lies just a few kilometers northeast of Taquile.
I have made a short panorama video from the main plaza of Isla Taquile. The music you hear in the video is live Peruvian folklore music, which I recorded in Puno.
We had a fantastic day at Lake Titicaca, which definitely did not disappoint us; it was just as beautiful and magical as we thought. I would say Lake Titicaca is a must, if you are visiting Peru.
