The Southern Andes and Lake Titicaca: Places to Explore

Cradled by three steep, gargantuan, snow-covered volcanoes, the jaw-dropping white-stoned Arequipa, one of the most visually stunning city's in Peru, shines under the striking sun at 2,350 meters (7,709... Read more

... You'll hear lots of talk about crossing Lake Titicaca from Peru to Bolivia via hydrofoil or catamaran. At this time you cannot go completely across without stopping at the border and walking from Peru... Read more

Known for its beaches, Camaná is a magnet for Arequipeños in the summer months (December-March). Outside this time, this small fishing village, like all the other coastal villages, is nearly... Read more

If you're driving along the coast, Chala, with nearby Puerto Inca, is a good place for an afternoon stretch. The coastal village is surrounded by quiet beaches. The shore is lined with hole-in-the-wall... Read more

The largest town in the Colca Canyon region is Chivay, a small, battered-looking village with a population of 3,000. Most tourist facilities are here, which are not many, but include restaurants, hotels... Read more

Chucuito (in Aymará: Choque-Huito, Mountain of Gold) is the first of several small towns that dot the lake as you travel from Puno into Bolivia. If you aren't interested in architecture, colonial... Read more

Cataratas de Sipia. Below the village of Cotahuasi is the valley of Piro, the gateway to the canyon, which is close to this 150-meter (462-foot), 10-meter-wide waterfall. Sipia Falls is the most visited... Read more

At one time this village may have been an important Aymará religious center, and it has served as a Jesuit training center for missionaries from Paraguay and Bolivia. Juli has been called "Little... Read more

Stunning, unpredictable, and enormous, Lake Titicaca is a world of unique flora, fauna, cultures, and geology. Lago Titicaca, which means lake of the grey (titi) puma (caca) in Quechua, borders Peru and... Read more

Mollendo is a cheerful, Spanish-influenced port town with colorful, colonial architecture and 35 km (21 mi) of clean, sandy beach. The brightly painted colonial homes and groomed plazas appear as if they... Read more

Puno doesn't win any beauty pageants—brown unfinished cement homes, old paved roads, and a dusty desert has been the landscape for years. It's a sharp contrast to Puno's immediate neighbor, Lake Titicaca... Read more