Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [163]
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Ferries (round-trip S30; admission to island S5) leave from the Puno port for Amantaní at 8am every day. There are departures from Amantani to Taquile and Puno around 4pm every day – check, though, as times vary – and sometimes from Amantani to Puno around 8am, depending on demand.
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CAPACHICA PENINSULA & AROUND
Poking far out into the northwestern part of the lake, midway between Juliaca and Puno, the Capachica Peninsula is as beautiful as the lake islands but without the crowds and commercialism. Each pueblito (tiny town) boasts its own glorious scenery, ranging from pastoral and pretty to coweringly majestic. A few days here among the local people –handsome, dignified men in vests and black hats, and shy, smiling women in intricate headgear – with nothing to do but eat well, climb hills and trees, and stare at the lake, is chicken soup for the soul. Homestay is the only accommodation on offer and a major part of the fun.
Strung along the Capachica Peninsula between the towns of Capachica and Llachón, the villages of Ccotos and Chifrón are linked by deserted, eminently walkable dirt roads and lackadaisical bus services (it’s generally quicker to walk over the hill than drive around by the road). Escallani is further north, slightly off the peninsula proper, not far from Juliaca. Locals get to the mainland by lancha (small motorboat), which they are happy to hire out.
There is no internet reception on the peninsula, but cell phones work. There are no banks or ATMs and, as elsewhere in Peru, breaking big notes can be very difficult. Bring all the money you need, in bills of S20 or smaller if possible.
Travel agencies in Puno (Click here) can get you to any of the peninsula’s communities. CEDESOS (36-7915; www.cedesos.org; 3rd fl, Moquegua 348, Puno) offers fully guided, standard and tailored trips to these communities and others in the area. This NGO works to improve local income and standards of living through tourism. It offers villagers training and cheap credit to ready themselves to receive tourists. Tours are not cheap, but they’re well organized and come highly recommended by readers.
All of the communities listed below offer the same deal on food and accommodation, similar to that encountered on Isla Amantaní. Families have constructed or adapted basic rooms for tourists in their homes, and charge around S20 per person per night for a bed, or about S50 for full board. Full board is recommended – each town has at least one shop, but supplies are limited, and the food provided by the families is healthy and delicious. Apart from trout, the diet is vegetarian, with emphasis on quinoa, potatoes and locally grown habas (broad beans).
Llachón and, to a lesser extent, Escallani are set up for travelers just turning up. For other communities, it’s very important to arrange accommodation in advance, as hosts need to buy supplies and prepare. It’s preferable to call rather than email. Generally, only Spanish is spoken.
Capachica
The peninsula’s blisteringly forgettable commercial center has a couple of very basic restaurants and hospedajes, as well as a pretty church and an astonishingly oversized sports coliseum, all of which you can see from the bus. There’s no reason to stop here unless you need to use the internet or a public telephone (there are a couple around the plaza); you won’t find either in any of the other communities on the peninsula.
Llachón
Almost 75km northeast of Puno, this pretty little village community near the peninsula’s southern tip offers fantastic views and short hikes to surrounding pre-Inca sites. The most developed of the peninsula’s communities, thanks to locally managed tourism, it nevertheless feels far from the bright lights of modern Peru. With few cars and no dogs, it’s an incredibly peaceful place to sit and enjoy stunning views of Lake Titicaca, while