Uros Floating Islands Tour with Local Families
From €9 per person
See availability →This Uros floating islands tour with local families is a short cultural visit: hear Aymara, see how the reed islands are built, wear the traditional costume and step into family homes.
On this Uros floating islands tour with local families, the people who live on the reeds are the heart of the visit. They are direct descendants of the lake's ancient settlers, and you meet them in their own homes. After hotel pickup, the boat to the islands is also the first lesson: the guide covers the lake's species and legends and explains what the name Titicaca means.
On the first of the Uros islands the local president or representative greets you in Aymara. A real totora model shows how the islands are built, explained by the locals in their own language and translated into Spanish and English by the guide. The families then invite you into their homes, you can dress in the typical Uros costume for photos, and there is time to look at handmade crafts and buy them directly from the makers.
At the end you can choose a horseback ride or a totora catamaran, the traditional boat woven wholly from the reed that sustains the islands, to reach the second island, or stay on the main boat. The second island is livelier, with cafes, shops and restaurants serving trout, fried or as ceviche. A third island, the Totora Museum, is an optional extra created by two community elders, with bird sculptures and a copy of the earliest Uros raft.
The tour lasts about three hours, and then you return to the harbor and to your hotel or downtown Puno.