5 Best Hotels in Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna, Lake Titicaca

Staggered on a hillside, each of this property's bungalows is named for a type of flora and has an unobstructed view of Lake Titicaca, making this the perfect place to watch the sunrise. The eco-lodge uses alternative energy, recycles water back into the garden, and takes garbage off the island. All 15 palapa-adobe buildings have hot-water showers warmed by solar power, and Trombe walls heat the rustic-European-style rooms with stone-floor bathrooms and beamed ceilings. Three-course meals are served at a set time in a common dining area, and both breakfast and dinner are included in the rate, which is significantly cheaper if booked through the office in La Paz.

Your stay at this lovely posada, what is surely the best lodging on the island, begins with a 30-minute mule ride from the boat dock to the garden-lobby, where fruit trees shade handmade reed couches, and the hillside location offers sweeping lake views. Rooms in this beautifully restored, colonial-style hacienda are attractively furnished with reclaimed wood, and showers, wall heaters, and electric blankets are all powered by solar energy. Before dinner, guests gather around the fire in the cozy bar where oxygen is available for those acclimating to the altitude. Rooms must be booked as part of a hydrofoil tour with Crillón Tours in La Paz, making this one of the more expensive options on the island.

If you don't relish the idea of hauling your luggage up to the village, consider this option in Yumani Port, where several large rooms—housed behind adobe walls and small verandas facing the lake—have pastel color schemes, plush beds, spacious en suite baths, and air-conditioning. This hotel definitely sets the bar higher than most of the surrounding, soulless concrete blocks.