Things to do in Puno
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Puno
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season and best overall, with sunny clear days, calm lake mornings and reliable boats and roads.
Rainy season with warmer days, afternoon showers, choppier crossings and fewer tourists and lower prices.
What's on
- Fiesta de la Candelaria late January to mid-February, peak around 2 February
UNESCO listed festival honouring the Virgen de la Candelaria with stadium competitions and street processions.
- Aymara New Year / Willkakuti 21 June
Andean Amazonian New Year dawn ceremonies welcoming the returning sun at sacred sites around the lake.
- Semana Santa March/April, varies
Processions and local festivities without Candelaria scale or prices.
- Puno Week / city anniversary early November, city founded 4 November 1668
Concerts and local festivities, with the Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo lake emergence re enactment around 5 November.
Best things to do in Puno
Taquile Island
A real Quechua island with terraces, stone paths and a UNESCO recognised textile tradition run by men.
Amantaní Island
An overnight homestay with host families, home cooking and sunset at the Pachatata and Pachamama temples.
Uros Floating Islands
Reed islands built and constantly renewed by the Uros people, fascinating but the closest ones are commercialised.
Sillustani
Colla and Inca funerary towers on a still lagoon peninsula, best in late afternoon light.
Museo Municipal Carlos Dreyer
A small regional museum packing Pukara, Tiwanaku and Inca material plus the Sillustani gold treasure.
Puno Cathedral
An Andean baroque cathedral begun in 1669 with native motifs carved into its stone facade.
Casa del Corregidor
One of Puno oldest colonial houses, now a cafe and cultural space with a sunny courtyard.
Mirador El Cóndor
The serious viewpoint with 600 plus steps to a giant condor statue and a panorama over Puno and the bay.
Where to stay in Puno
Centro - Plaza de Armas / Jr. Lima
first trip, all-round base
Walk to the Cathedral, Dreyer Museum, restaurants and early tour pickups, with lit busy streets at night.
The lakeshore - Isla Esteves & Huaje
luxury and quiet
Sunrise over the bay, gardens, private docks and full hotel infrastructure a short taxi ride from the centre.
Off-grid lake bases - Capachica, Amantaní, Uros
second stay and slow travel
The lake after day trippers leave, stars with little light pollution and mornings that start on the water.
Think twice about
- Juliaca
A gritty transport city with heavy traffic and petty crime risk around terminals and no lake access. Use it only for the airport.
- Highway strips and far outskirts of Puno
Cheap properties with no walkable restaurants, no tour pickup and unlit walks back at night past stray dogs.
- Main bus terminal and Mercado Bellavista blocks
Noisy from pre dawn, diesel heavy and charmless as a base, though fine for an early bus with earplugs.
Best restaurants in Puno
Mojsa Restaurant
The best table in Puno for Novo Andino cooking like grilled trout and alpaca with quinoa risotto.
Alma Restaurante
The fine dining end of Puno with refined Andean plates, lake views and a proper wine and pisco list.
La Casona Restaurant
A 27 year institution with huge portions of Peruvian and Andean staples in a fireplace warmed room.
Balcones de Puno
Dinner with a folklore show where costumed dancers run through the Candelaria repertoire as you eat.
Taquile Community Comedor
Quinoa soup, grilled trout and muna tea in a community comedor looking over the lake after the climb.
Luquina Community Lunch
A community lunch of trout or pejerrey, many potato varieties, fresh cheese and quinoa on Capachica.
Mercado Central
Market stalls serving quinoa soup, chairo, caldo and fried trout at local prices for breakfast and lunch.
Giorgio's
The long running wood fired pizza fallback on Jr. Lima for an early night or a group that cannot agree.
Best coffee in Puno
Ricos Pan
A bakery cafe by the market area for bread, empanadas, coffee and cakes, and an easy market entry point.
Casa del Corregidor
The pleasant mid morning coffee and cake stop in a colonial courtyard after the Dreyer Museum.
Outdoor things to do in Puno
Kayak to Uros
Paddle reed channels at your own pace to a quieter southern Uros island for a home visit and lunch.
Kayak Llachón to Taquile and Ticonata
A multi day paddle and sail expedition from Llachon with community overnights on Taquile or Ticonata.
Capachica Peninsula
Quechua villages with family lodges, lake beaches, hill walks, fishing and home cooking on the mainland.
Sillustani and Cutimbo
Walk Sillustani properly and add Cutimbo, a rougher and far less visited chullpa site on a rocky mesa.
Aymara Route
A full day south to Chucuito, Inca Uyo, Molloco and Aramu Muru that rewards a private guide.
Colca Canyon via Puno
A two day transfer tour via high passes and hot springs to watch condors at Cruz del Condor at dawn.
Lakeshore cycling to Chucuito
Guided riding along the south lakeshore through Aymara villages and totora beds with a support vehicle.
Stand-up paddle and sailing on Puno Bay
Sunrise paddle, traditional sailing or a private sunset boat on the bay with no island sales circuit.
Best hotels in Puno
Titilaka by Andean
An 18 room all inclusive lodge on a private peninsula with private guides and included lake excursions.
GHL Hotel Lago Titicaca
The classic full service lake hotel on Esteves Island with all lake views and private dock departures.
Casa Andina Premium Puno
The polished chain luxury option with spacious lake view rooms, Alma restaurant and a spa.
Sonesta Posadas del Inca Lago Titicaca Puno
A full service lakeshore hotel on the Huaje shore with gardens and quiet nights away from the centre.
Mirador del Titikaka
A smaller hillside hotel with panoramic views, grounds to walk and resident alpacas guests can pet.
Tierra Viva Puno Plaza
The mid range pick to beat with great showers, strong breakfasts and practised altitude care including oxygen.
Qelqatani Hotel
A family run Puno institution in the centre with warm staff, oxygen and coca tea, and excellent value.
Hotel José Antonio Puno
A larger full service hotel with spacious rooms and big balconies with city and lake views.
Is Puno expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | PEN 180 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | PEN 650 a person |
| Splurge | PEN 1,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Taquile Island: weeks ahead
- Amantaní Island: a few days ahead
- Uros Floating Islands: a few days ahead
- Sillustani: a few days ahead
- Titicaca National Reserve: a few days ahead
- Fiesta de la Candelaria: months ahead
- Kayak to Uros: a few days ahead
- Kayak Llachón to Taquile and Ticonata: weeks ahead
- Candelaria hotels, stadium seats and trains sell out months ahead.
- Titilaka, lakeshore luxury rooms, the Titicaca Train and small group speedboat tours need weeks ahead in May to October.
- Reserve Mojsa a day ahead. Standard group island and Sillustani tours can be booked the day before locally.
Is Puno safe?
- Altitude illness is the main risk. Keep day one light, hydrate, skip alcohol the first night and descend if symptoms worsen at rest.
- UV at 3800 m burns in minutes. Wear sunscreen, a hat and layers every day.
- Watch for petty theft in markets, terminals and festival crowds, and walk viewpoint paths in daylight with company due to stray dogs.
- Drink bottled or treated water and be cautious with tap water and market ice while adjusting to altitude.
Puno travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Uros reed boat ride presented as optional costs an extra 10 to 15 soles and is hard to decline once seated.
- Airport and terminal touts in Juliaca and Puno selling transfers, tours and exchange at bad rates.
- Too cheap lake tours mean a big slow boat, a huge group and a rushed Taquile stop.
- Doing the mirador, the Taquile climb and a pisco crawl on night one is the sequence that ruins trips.
Getting around Puno: public transport and more
- Walk the centre slowly at altitude. Taxis are cheap and unmetered, so agree the fare first or have your hotel call one.
- Centre to lakeshore hotels and centre to the port are short rides. Your hotel desk is your transport app here.
Who Puno suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | OK |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Puno your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store