Some trips are born twice - Peru April - May 2025 (page 3 of 13)

Hi Virginie,

After taking a few tumbles myself, I now walk with poles

I actually had trekking poles and hiking shoes with good soles too. 🙁

I can imagine it’s even more beautiful in person

Yes, it really is even more beautiful. Photos don’t do justice to the grandeur of the canyon or the blooming that was everywhere at that time of year.

Wednesday, April 23

At 6:30 AM, Joel, our driver, comes to pick us up. A long day of driving awaits us, punctuated by several visits we’re absolutely determined to make. We take the same road back toward the canyon as we did on the way there, but this time in the opposite direction. After the pass at 4,910 meters above sea level, we head toward Puno.





The famous Misti volcano

We stop at the Bosque de Piedras and go for a walk in this maze of rock formations. We feel tiny among these blocks sculpted by time and wind. Then we head to the Catarata de Pillones - Pauza. The waterfall seems smaller than in the photos we’d seen while planning the trip.

Joel doesn’t know of any other waterfalls, but he agrees to follow the track north to reach the spot I’d marked on the Organic Maps app. We arrive at a tiny dirt parking lot. A trail leads down; at one point, the path is very steep, and we have to hold onto a rope. Finally, we discover the beautiful waterfall. Joel, who wanted to come with us, seems thrilled to find this place he didn’t know about.

After that, we take a break at Laguna Lagunillas to snap a few photos before heading to Sillustani, located at 3,844 meters above sea level. We grab some soup at the restaurant with our driver, then explore the site while Joel takes a nap in the car. The Sillustani site is stunning—the deep blue Lake Umayo and the many chullpas are definitely worth the detour. These pre-Inca funerary monuments can reach up to twelve meters in height.

Laguna Lagunillas

Sillustani















After an hour and a half of exploring, we hit the road again and arrive in Llachon, on the Capachica Peninsula, at 4:45 PM. We’re welcomed by Jesús from Casa Valentin. The view of Lake Titicaca from the house is amazing. Jesús arranges our outing for the next day to visit one of the Uros Titinos floating islands and the island of Taquile.

You can find the rest of the travel journal here: https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=11462387;a=11462387

These landscapes are truly stunning! I’m having a bit of trouble following your routes... do you happen to have a map of your itinerary by any chance? If not, no worries—I’ll just Google it all 😉

I saved all the points on Organic Maps, the equivalent of Maps.me but without download limits for maps. I don’t know if it’s possible to export the map... I can export the GPS points, but that won’t be any use to you. If anyone has a solution, I’d love to hear it!

The Sillustani site is truly magnificent and still free from mass tourism. We had it almost all to ourselves, which was really nice. It does require a small detour to get there, but there’s a big upside—you don’t have to go through Juliaca. That city is awful: dusty, dirty, polluted, and packed with traffic. We passed through it when leaving the Lake Titicaca area to head to San Pedro.

Thanks for this interesting travel journal with some lovely discoveries for me. Ouch, that fall! The rest of the trip must have been really painful. I hope you’ve recovered.

As for the map, maybe a screenshot of the map in the app would work. By the way, thanks for the tip—I didn’t know about this map app.

Hi Carmen, it’s been a while! It’s great to see longtime friends returning. I’ll be following your travel journal closely, especially since this is a destination we’re hoping to add to our short-term plans! Jacques

Ouch, that fall. The rest of the trip must have been really painful.

At first, yes, especially in bed and in the car. Then, as I already mentioned, I found a rather unconventional "treatment" for the pain, and it helped me a lot.

Otherwise, for the map, maybe a screenshot from the app? By the way, thanks for the info—I didn’t know about this map app.

Good idea, I’ll actually take some screenshots. It won’t be very precise, but it’ll give an idea.

Hi Jacques,

It’s really nice to reconnect virtually like this! 😉

Peru is a gorgeous country—we loved our trip there.

Here are two screenshots.

Here you can see the Colca Canyon with our stops. In red are the visits and hikes, and in purple are the hotels.



Here, the red dots mark the places we visited between Colca Canyon and Lake Titicaca. On the left, you can see the different points of the Colca Canyon from the first photo. The Sillustani site is the small lake near Titicaca.

Thanks Carmen, I can picture your route better now 😉.

Hi Carmen,

Just finished reading the start of your story. A really lovely travel journal and some gorgeous photos. The landscapes are absolutely stunning! !

Wednesday, April 23 We finally discover the beautiful waterfall. Joel, who wanted to come with us, seems really happy to see this place he didn’t know about.

Carmen prepared so much for her trip that she’s guiding the guide!! 😎

Because of time—and by choice—I’d skipped this area, going straight from Arequipa to Puno, then Amantani and Taquile... Looks like I’ll have to go back! Gorgeous hike!

Carmen prepared her trip so well she ended up guiding the guide!! Cool

No guide, just a driver.😛

Due to lack of time, and by choice, I skipped this area, going straight from Arequipa to Puno, then Amantani and Taquile... Looks like I’ll have to go back! Gorgeous hike!

If you’re talking about the waterfall, I’ve got to disappoint you. It wasn’t a hike—you just had to go down, pass the end with the ropes, and walk a short stretch along the river.

On the other hand, at Sillustani, you do have to walk more to explore the site.

For some great hikes, you’ve got to head to Colca Canyon. If you don’t want to go down into the canyon, the hike to Chimpa Fortress is awesome. We had the place all to ourselves.

Good evening,

Really nice travel journal. It's amazing to see the difference in colors and vegetation compared to summer. The Altiplano between Arequipa, Colca, and Puno remains an incredible memory !

Hi Manu,

I just looked at your photos in your travel journal again. Indeed, the difference is striking. In August, everything looks so dry.

Later on, you’ll see—on the islands of Lake Titicaca, in Pisac, at Moray, and also at Machu Picchu—the difference is amazing.

Thursday, April 24

We leave at 8:00 AM with Ismaël and his small wooden boat to reach one of the Uros Titinos islands. These islands are much less touristy than the Uros near Puno.



After a 35-minute boat ride, we dock on a small island where we’re greeted by a woman in traditional clothing. She explains how these floating islands are made.

We take a short ride in a traditional boat. We’d rather help them earn a little money with this tour than buy necklaces or other handmade trinkets. After 45 minutes of visiting, we leave the island and head toward Taquile.

An hour later, we arrive at the port of Alsuno on Taquile Island. We agree with Ismaël to stay for four hours on the island. We take the path that circles the island. The landscapes are stunning: the lake water is a deep blue, and the colors of the terraced crops and flowers are gorgeous. We don’t encounter any tourists and are completely enchanted by this island.











We reach the village square just as the first groups of tourists, arriving by boat from Puno, start gathering. They disembarked at the main port and went straight up to the square.

We buy our picnic at a small shop, then climb up to the highest point on the island, Mulsina, located at 4,070 m above sea level. We’re alone, the view is breathtaking, and the landscape is splendid.











We slowly make our way back down from the Mulsina viewpoint and take a break at a restaurant for a drink before heading back to the port, where Ismaël is waiting for us. He explains that the boats from Puno always arrive at the main port. The tourists then head up to the village, the guides take them to one of the many restaurants, and then they leave. We finally understand why we didn’t run into anyone on the path circling the island or at the Mulsina viewpoint. So, it’s really important to choose the right excursion.

We leave Taquile, and forty minutes later, we dock at the small pier below Casa Valentin. We do a little laundry, then head to the beach to watch the sunset.

The rest of the travel journal is here: https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=11462968;a=11462968