Visiting Puno by train (380 km in 10 hours)

Yes, a 10 hour train ride definitely does not sound like the most pleasant thing for most people. But this train ride from Cusco to Puno is not done in a normal train but in a touristic train. You might ask what the difference is. Basically, in Peru a touristic train offers extra comfort and extras, like gourmet food included, live music and dancing demonstrations and a bar cart. Of course this also comes with a price tag, we paid for 275 USD for one way. But ever since the airport in Juliaca (the nearest airport to Puno) stopped offering direct flights from Cusco, there is not a lot of alternatives to get there. A much cheaper but also not really fast option is taking the bus (I will talk about this a bit later).

Already entering the train station that is located in the center of Cusco was quite an experience. They offered coffee and beverages and already had live music and dancing on the tracks. They also had people taking you to your seat.

The interior was really beautiful, with fresh flowers and very comfortable seats. There was three "normal" coaches with passengers in it and there was one coach that served as an entertainment / bar / outdoor coach.

Below you can see the entertainment / bar / outdoor coach with some local snacks that were also included.

The musicians were playing almost during the whole ride, ranging from Peruvian songs to Western music. As we were switching between our coach for the food and drinks they brought us and the entertainment coach we didn't get bored during the whole journey.

You might ask yourself if there is any alternative for Peruvians to take a local train. Unfortunately all local trains stopped their services to Puno which is mainly due to the fact that the tracks are not well maintained and thus the trains have to go very slow (that's why the journey takes so long). Also there are only few points where the trains can cross. So the railway company concluded it's not attractive anymore for them to offer local services and focused on the tourists.

After 10 hours and finally arriving in Puno, we took a short taxi ride from the train station to the city center, where our hotel was located and tried to get a good rest as we had a busy day ahead.

We decided to use our day in Puno by taking a day trip to the isles of Uros and to the island Taquile, both famous spots on the Titicaca lake that can be visited by taking a boat.

First stop was one of the Uros islands, where we were introduced in their art of building islands and houses based on totora, a type of reed that grows on the surface of the Titicaca lake.

Next, we took a short tour in one of their boats (also made of totora).

With this, our trip to the Uros island had already finished and we made our way to our second stop: the Taquile island. This fairly big island is home to around 2000 people and we were able to get insight in their local culture and textile production. 

Plus the views were absolutely stunning! The view below was from our lunch spot, where we were able to eat some fresh trout.

And with that our time in Puno already had come to an end. After a quick dinner at the Rupha Cafe (tourist friendly restaurant with English menus) we headed back to our hotel, as we had to wake up again early next day.

To save some money but still make most of the ride, we decided to take a touristic bus back. The normal buses connecting Cusco and Puno take around 7 hours (many of them being night buses). The touristic bus takes 10 hours but stops at different tourist attraction spots on the way (called "ruta del sol"). We hoped the ride would be less boring and feel shorter this way.

The stops ranged from viewpoints to museums, churches and inka ruins and also a buffet lunch (that was included in the ticket price). My highlight were the cute alpacas at the restaurant.

The stops overall were okay (some more interesting, some quite boring), so overall this bus tour can be an option to get from Cusco to Puno or vice versa. But you will not miss out too much if you just take the regular bus.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed visiting Puno – even for such a short time and can recommend it on everyone's itinerary. It is also a great option for a stop on your way from Cusco to Bolivia.