Obviously, the level of adventure is up to the traveller. You could head to the remote and inaccessible north and strike out through the winding roads and mountain passes for Kuelap, the lesser-known Machu Picchu of the north. Or, like most travellers who have time constraints, you could stick to the south but just break from the conventional thinking. This was my plan the last time I found myself in this magical country and it led to one of the greatest days of my life.
I wanted to explore one of my favourite regions, Lake Titicaca and its islands, but on another level. Things had changed a little since my last visit. The opening of a new luxury hotel just outside of the city, and a new promising restaurant in the heart of the town. Having been to both the Bolivian and Peruvian sides of the Lake before I was determined to find something new and different, not just experience a luxury hotel and stuff my face.
The conventional wisdom has always been to spend two nights in the little grubby town of Puno. Nestled on the western shore of Lake Titicaca. You arrive late afternoon, sleep, then have your day on the Lake and head on off again the next day.
Understandable as on the surface Puno is a city where only the main square has any of the colonial charm on show throughout the rest of the country. A city where even the “posh” hotels felt like a 1970’s airport lounge.