Lake Titicaca Tours

Stretching across Bolivia and Peru, the mythical Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, and is considered to be the highest navigable lake in the world (at 3,812 metres above sea level). The Lake Titicaca consists of two separate basins, Lago Grande and Lago Pequeño (also known as Winamarka) joined by a narrow 800-metre wide strait. Since the early 1930s it has been home to the SS Ollanta, a steamship built in kit form in Hull in the United Kindgom, shipped out part-by-part to Bolivia, and then painstakingly re-assembled on the lake.

Mother and son in traditional coloured clothes, Lake Titicaca

What a duo! Orlando and his son at Lake Titicaca in Peru

A typical island will host a couple of families on the Lake Titicaca

Incredible views of Lake Titicaca from the Sun Island in Bolivia

Impressive view of the Lake Titicaca, Peru

A view from a corner of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

A small island off the coast of Sun Island in the Lake Titicaca

Incredible view from Sun Island and Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

View of the Andes Mountain Range and the Lake Titicaca, between Peru and Bolivia

The exact origin of the name Titicaca is thought to be a combination of words from the Quechua and Aymara indigenous languages. The lake plays a central role in the history and culture of Andean indigenous civilisations. According to Inca myth, Manco Capac and Mama Huaca emerged from the depths of the lake to a sacred rock on Isla del Sol (Sun Island), where they founded the Inca Empire. The lake was also home for many pre-Inca civilisations: on the south-eastern shore, for example, you can find the ruins of the ancient city-state of Tiwanaku, which is believed to have flourished for about 500 years before the emergence of the Incas.

Start creating your tailor-made tour to Lake Titicaca

To send a travel enquiry for the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca (Puno and floating islands), please visit the Peru destination page. To enquire for the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca (Copacabana, Moon and Sun Islands), please visit the Bolivia destination page. Alternatively, you can check the Essential Bolivia Tour and / or the Inca Empire – Lake Titicaca & Machu Picchu tour, which include Lake Titicaca and other attractions in Bolivia and Peru.