At an altitude of 3,800m (12,500 ft.), Puno is a daunting elevation for most travelers. We recommend visiting either Cusco or Arequipa/Colca first, giving yourself a chance to acclimate. Travelers just arriving in Puno/Lake Titicaca should try to take it easy for at least a day or two, avoid heavy meals, and drink plenty of water and mate de coca, or coca-leaf tea, or mate de muña, another herbal remedy (however, it’s best to abstain from mate de coca at night, since it has caffeine-like effects). For those who suffer from altitude sickness, sorojchi (or soroche) pills available in pharmacies are recommended; it’s best to take them 24 hours before going to the highlands. In all Casa Andina hotels in high-altitude zones you’ll find oxygen in reception areas, and in Private Collection hotels there are rooms specially enriched with oxygen.

Puno itself does not have an airport; the nearest is in Juliaca, 45km (28 miles) north of Puno (about 45 minutes by road). The ideal option is to have a car or taxi service already reserved. Casa Andina maintains its own van service and can offer Juliaca pickups at a reasonable rate for guests, although it’s best to reserve this in advance of your arrival. For additional information, contact us at travel@casa-andina.com). Otherwise, there are common taxis available at the airport.

Visiting the islands of Lake Titicaca is an essential, and unforgettable, experience. The inhabited islands visited by most travelers are the Uros floating islands, Taquile and also Amantaní, which has begun to gain in favor among backpackers as a friendly and inexpensive place to spend the night. Suasi, however, is a wholly different experience: much more remote and essentially uninhabited, an unequalled chance to disconnect and relax in uncommon ways. Tiny Suasi, the only privately owned lake in the massive expanse of Titicaca, has an extraordinary and unexpectedly sophisticated ecolodge, which is administered by Casa Andina.

Sunset in Puno is frequently obscured by the surrounding mountains, although sunrise is a spectacular sight seen from the banks of Titicaca. On Isla Suasi, howver, the sunset is magical. One of the late-afternoon rituals there is to hike a half-hour to the top of the hill at the edge of the island to observe the magnificent colors of the sky as the sun fades into the lake horizon; you can see clear across to Bolivia.

Boats generally don’t travel on the lake after 4pm for safety, so it’s best to plan for early-morning tours of the lake and its islands (meaning all arrangements should be made at least the day before if not sooner).

Both Puno and Lake Titicaca can be particularly dry and cold, especially at night, and the sun is extraordinarily intense at this altitude, so precautions (sweaters, gloves, sunglasses, hats and sunscreen) are necessary.