Puno - Home to the Candelaria festival and Lake Titicaca

Puno is a major city in Peru on the shores of Lake Titicaca and is at 3810 msl and is higher than Leh, India. The gateway to Puno is the Juliaca airport which is 1 hr away from Puno. It costs 15 Soles ($4.5) to Puno by a Collectivo, which is a shared taxi and need not be booked in advance. Take your time to acclimatize to the altitude if you are coming here directly from Lima.

Super colorful dancers at the Candeleria

All sizes, All shapes

We were here during the best days of their carnival - Fiesta de Virgin de Candelaria. Around 10000 dancers decend into this town to celebrate from all over Peru and even Bolivia. The festival is a tribute to their local guardian and is celebrated in the form of different local dances. You will see Quechua, Aymara and even Spanish influences in their dance styles. In 2016, 83 different dance groups paraded around the city streets in revelry, with beer in one hand and props in the other. It's all about drunken fervor and keeping up their centuries old traditions alive. The dancers are so full of life that come rain, hail or sun, nothing stops their fun. Some costumes weigh almost 10kgs and they dance in those all day. Pretty girls are seen everywhere in their 5-inch heels. Even kids take part wearing costumes which is simply adorable. It is advisable to check the carnivals itinerary and be there in Puno for the parade day.

Whoever said February is a bad time to come to Peru, clearly never saw Puno's carnival.

They say about 70,000 people (including dancers and tourists) come into the city to be a part of this carnival so make sure you make hotel reservations in advance.

Uros floating islands:

The Uros islands on Lake Titicaca

From Puno you can book a couple of day trips or even half day trips to Uros, Taquile and Amantani islands. Uros is the most touristy of them all but still worth a visit to see their floating reed islands. Myth is that Uros descendants are either of Japanese or Egyptian origin. Taquile and Amantani provide a much better view of the island. The best way to experience Titicaca is from Bolivia side either through Copacabana or on the island of sun (Isla del Sol). Reservations not needed in advance. If you have the luxury of time, stay in a home stay on one of these islands which can easily be booked online or from Puno. Another half day trip can be to Silustani which is a ruin site not far off from Puno.

Time needed in Puno: Atleast 3 full days during the Carnival. Else 2 days is enough. If you want to cover Bolivia (Copacabana, Salar de Uyuni), add 2-3 days