Puno is a small city (about 150,000 people in the whole region) located in southeastern Peru.

It is roughly 6 hours from Cusco (the main city on route to see Machu Picchu) and another 4 from La Paz, Bolivia. Puno is conveniently located right on the shores of Lake Titicaca and this is the major reason tourists come to this relatively small village.

From this spot, there are numerous day tours that will allow you to step foot on the floating islands of Uros. These islands are made up entirely of floating reeds. Apparently, the Uros people designed these islands to protect themselves from any conflict. If a war began, they could simply float their island down the lake to a more peaceful area. True aquatic nomads..

*watchtowers to keep an eye on the mainland

In total there are about 40-50 of these islands and I would guess no more than 10 people live on each one..

The final two pictures show the island of Taquile. Also located on Lake Titicaca, this island is quite large and is home to over 2000 people. There are no cars or hotels on the island and there are only a few little shops (to cater to the tourists). Interestingly, the island is governed by a collective community which follows three basic Inca principles: don’t be lazy, don’t steal and don’t lie.