- The Friendly Streets and Sidewalk Cafes of Miraflores
- Bars and Balconies in Lima, the Capitol of Peru
- Nazca and the Nazca Lines of Peru
- Touring the Monasteries and Central Market of Arequipa
- Touring the Plazas of the Ancient Inca Capitol of Cuzco
- The Challenges of Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
- Puno, on the High-Altitude Shores of Lake Titicaca
- Uros and the Floating Reed Islands in Lake Titicaca
- Riding in Luxury on the Andean Explorer between Puno and Cuzco
- Travelling by Riverboat into the Peruvian Amazon Jungle
- A Refreshing Stop in Copacabana, Between Cuzco and La Paz
- The Shops, Museums, and Witch Market of La Paz
- The Delightful and Friendly City of Quito
- Artists, Waterfalls, and Condor Reserve of Otavalo
Puno
There are two main reasons why tourists and travelers come to Puno …
PUNO, PERU
ACCOMMODATION
Mosoq Inn
Mosoq Inn offered a friendly welcome followed by a tray of coca tea brought to our room. The rooms were clean and spacious with large windows overlooking the street. Street noise was not a concern through the night and made for interesting viewing the few times we used the room during the day. Puno can get very cold at night and the multiple blankets on the beds kept us toasty warm. The staff were outstanding in their willingness to make our time in Puno a positive experience from William at the door to Ibeth and Rebelhino who manned the front desk, supplied local information and oversaw breakfast. We spent two nights prior to going to Bolivia and one night on our return. Pleased to recommend.
ARRANGEMENTS
Hotel: Made reservation directly with Mosoq Inn through email. Contact persons were Ibeth and Rebelhino. All went well.
Tours: We did a self guided tour around Puno on foot and by motorcycle rickshaw down to the lake where we made our own arrangements for a boat to take us out to the floating reed islands. We taxied to and from the 19th century steamship, the Yavari. No problems.
FOOD & DRINK IN PUNO
BREAKFAST buffet at the hotel was ample with breads, pastries, meat, cheese, fruits, juices, teas and coffee.
There is a VEGETARIAN restaurant next door to the hotel with a very inexpensive 3-course meal of the day.
CHINESE restaurants are popular in Peru and we tried two in Puno (Cheng Xin and Shanghai); in each, our party of four liked some things and not others (soups seemed to win out) but all agreed that value for money was very good.
There was a small corner bar only three or four blocks from the hotel which served excellent pisco sours for a good price.
Sweet shops (try Rico’s Pan) with pastries, cakes and other confections are popular and make for a nice way to finish off a day in Puno.
PLACES TO GO IN PUNO
There are two main reasons why tourists and travelers come to Puno. The most obvious being that it is located on famed Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest commercially navigated lake; and the opportunity to visit the Uros floating reed islands.
Secondly, it offers travellers a relatively easy border crossing into Bolivia; just on the other side of the lake.
Lake Titicaca To simply see the lake is just a matter of walking down to the shore or taking an inexpensive motorcycle rickshaw (three wheeled vehicles, man or motor driven).
Uros floating islands Eager boatmen at the wharf are prepared to deal in order to fill their boats with tourists to the floating islands; it is not necessary to book through a travel agent.
Visit the market The large street market stretches for blocks. Here locals buy produce, meat, household items (some which are smuggled over the border from cheaper Bolivia). It is a fascinating look at the real people of Puno and if you get hungry, buy something.
In and around Plaza del Armas Many choices of accommodations are within a comfortable and interesting walk of the main plaza. There you can sit on a bench and do some people watching, visit the Cathedral de Puno, or do some banking, shopping or eating on the fashionable pedestrian street – Jiron Lima.
The Yavari For ship and history buffs a visit to this historic ship will get you out of town for a bit (taxi about $5 US one way).
Bolivia If you are only wanting a day trip or a overnighter in Bolivia, most hotels will store your luggage for you. Tourist buses are the safest means of travel and wait at the border while you fill out forms and get your passport stamped. Ask your hotel regarding schedules.
There are many more things to do in and around Puno from the real islands in Lake Titicaca … to daytrips outside of the city, it’s just a matter of deciding what you want to do.
TO & FROM PUNO
From Arequipa to Puno by Cruz del Sur bus.
From Puno, Peru to Copacabana, Bolivia by TourPeru bus.
From Puno to Cuzco by PeruRail Andean Explorer.
This entry was posted in PERU, SOUTH AMERICA
