Staying at Khantati Floating Island in Titicaca, Peru
Khantati Island is an own island on the Uros floating Islands in Titicaca. Titicaca is a lake on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The lake is around 3800 meters above sea level and there are multiple different islands in Titicaca. The closest ones to Puno in Peru is the Uros Floating Islands.
The Uros floating islands are made out of Tototra or California Bulrush in English. The floating islands were originally made as a defence mechanism were the islands can be moved at any time. The totora that it is made of is incredibly strong and they need to put more and more totora on the islands every year where the island itself will get higher and higher.
Victor from Khantati Island picked us up at the hostel we stayed at in Puno. The boat ride was very short. It was only 30 minutes from Puno.
It was incredible to see how well the island is made and seeing all the details like this gate.
View from the lookout at Khantati. The island is powered by solar panels at you can see in the picture.
Everyone who stayed at the island spent a long time just looking around the island exploring all of the small details.
The island had even a swing made out of the totora.
Perfect place to sunbathe. We were so lucky with the weather. Victor said that it has been cloudy for days before we came.
The room
This is a picture of our room. There were many rooms on the islands. I think the island has room for at least 30 people. Some of the rooms could have around 8 people. That is perfect for groups.
I was so excited to stay in a hut made out of totora floating on a tiny island!
Going fishing on the traditional boat
After chilling around and exploring the tiny island we got to join Cristina and Victor fishing.
Cristina had it really fun watching us trying to steer the totora boat. It was very hard, but it looks so easy when they do it.
Victor was showing us the totora that they use and how they cut it. He said that Uros people can eat it or suck on it, but it was not a good idea for tourists to try it. He said some tourists have tried and got a very upset stomach afterwards. Which makes sense because this comes from the lake itself.
After the small fishing trip, we got inside for lunch. There were another group of people coming and joined us.
Trying on the traditional Uros clothes, Khantati style
After chilling a bit after the delicious lunch we got to try on the traditional Uros clothes.
It looked like my head was too big for the hat, but Cristina said it was supposed to be like that.
We were 14 visitors on the island and 4 people working there. It was an incredibly fun group. Some were from the United States, 2 from Spain, 2 from Germany, 1 from Romania, 1 from Ecuador and me from Norway.
Mauricio and I posing in front of the Welcoming sign.
I absolutely loved the clothing. It was very warm even though it was a skirt.
And of course, we got to take photos with the Totora boat with the clothes on.
The day soon turned into night and the sky was amazing. I have never seen so many stars in my life. It was incredibly cold but we were prepared.
Cristina had a great time joking about that she was gonna bring some Hombres Calientes or hot guys to warm us. She meant hot bottles under our bed of course.
Was it worth it?
I don't regret staying at Khantati at all. It was the best decision ever and it was authentic. The day we left we saw the original route that tourists usually do when they visit Uros Island and other islands like Amantani. They just stopped at a small floating island that looked quite temporary. The tourists just saw the fishing and how they cut the totora and ability to shop handicrafts etc. They only got to see one floating island for 1 hour!
Staying at Khantati was the highlight of my trip to Peru and I would highly recommend it. It really makes you understand how the Uros people live without being rushed or pushed to buy handicrafts and then leave.
Would you stay a night on a floating island like Khantati?
Next step: What to pack for a trip to Peru.
