Kayaking on Lake Titicaca

There is no better way to see the beauty of Lake Titicaca than by sea kayak. We began our kayaking trip far from the hustle and bustle of Puno, where most travelers arrive, at Llachón, a Quechuan village on the lake’s shore. At dawn, with Bolivia’s snow-covered mountains aglow in the morning sun, we launched brand-new sea kayaks onto black waters. I had been to Lake Titicaca several times before but never had I experienced it like this.

Instead of chugging across the lake on a diesel-powered boat, we glided on glassy waters past boulders covered with bright-green algae. We breathed in the musty, seaside air and watched waves fold onto the white sand beaches. I would have sworn we were on an ocean were it not for the impossibly thin air—and the fact that our guide kept drinking the crystal-clear lake water from his cupped hands. We left the shoreline and began to paddle across the lake, as deep as 900 feet in some places, toward the rising hulk of Isla Amantaní. By evening, the lake was glassy calm and stained red by the setting sun.

Two of Peru’s top adventure agencies are now offing sea kayaking trips on Lake Titicaca. A new company called Titikayak (Bolognesi 334, tel. 051/36-7747, postmast@titikayak.com, www.titikayak.com), part-owned by the reputable ExplorAndes agency, offers a variety of safe, well-planned trips that leave from Llachón. Half-day trips ($45) tour the shores of the peninsula, a full-day trip ($95) goes back and forth to Taquile in one day, and a three-day trip ($190) explores the island in detail. Longer 10-day trips to out-of-the-way places can be arranged. The company has excellent equipment and provides everything needed. Lodging in Lachón is in the quaint cabins operated by Valentín Quispe. Another reputable agency, the Cusco-based Amazonas Explorer (400 Jose Gabriel Cosio, Cusco, tel. 084/22-7137, sales@amazonas-explorer.com, www.amazonas-explorer.com), plans to offer Lake Titicaca trips in the near future.