Uros Qhota Uta Lodge — Hotel in undefined

Yup, you can be the normal tourists (boring) by optioning for a nice hotel in Puno with flush toilets, showers and restaurants nearby. But my wife and I who are in our late 50’s are not the boring types. Here we were at Puno, next to Lake Titicaca at an elevation of about 12,000 which is famous for its floating islands which the local people have lived on for hundreds of years, so why not spend a night on one of the islands.||||Actually we spent two nights. We found the Uros Qhota Uta Lodge on line and made arrangements to spend two nights. We arranged for transportation through the lodge to pick us up at the bus station when we arrived from Cusco.||||There was a driver who spoke very little English but he was waiting with a sign with my name on it. He drove us out to a small landing on the other side of town where a small boat with a motor was waiting for us.||||The boat operator turned out to be the gentleman who along with his wife has lived on the island which we were going to. He navigated his way through the small channel surrounded by the reeds and across an open area which was surrounded by about 90 of the reed islands with people.||||When we landed we greeted by his wife and shown to our room which was made out of reeds and lined with plywood and decorated with colorful tapestries. Since we arrived late, I had ordered dinner which was an additional charge of $10 USD per person. It was served in the large dining hut next to our hut.||||In the bathroom there was a primitive style toilet like the kind you might find in a camper which didn’t flush but you would covered your “business” with a coating of ash that was in a container next to the toilet. There was a sink though the cold water came out slowly. There was no hot water and our room didn’t have a shower as advertised though I believe the other two rooms did. The showers were solar heated so if you happen to get one of the other rooms with a shower, you better hope for a sunny day if you want a hot shower.||||There was limited electricity on the island as it relied on solar panels. We did have lights in our room and in the bathroom but there weren’t any electrical outlets. I believe that in the dining hut there was an outlet which you might be able to use to recharge batteries.||||Though it wasn’t one of the better accommodations we had been to, it certainly was one of the best experiences we had during our time in Peru.||||The gentleman and his wife who runs the lodge have lived on the island for about 70 years. One of his sons who live in Puno is the one you will be in contact with regarding reservations and transportation. The gentleman and wife speak very little to no English but they are warm and friendly.||||The view from our bedroom was beautiful with the lake just an arm’s reach out the window. There is a complimentary breakfast provided in the morning. The gentleman and his wife will dress you up to look like locals and take you on a one hour tour of the community of the floating islands for about $10 each.||||The following day after our arrival and after touring around the islands in the morning dressed like tourists in local attire, we went on an all day tour to the island of Tequille which the gentleman arranged for us for 200 soles each which is something like $62 USD which included lunch. He took us by motor boat out to a central meeting point where we met up with a large boat that took us out to the island.||||I believe they have been in operation for about three months as of April 2018.||||I think just a one night’s stay will be sufficient to enjoy the experience. They are a sweet warm couple and it’s good to support the local economy and especially the people who try to survive the...

Yup, you can be the normal tourists (boring) by optioning for a nice hotel in Puno with flush toilets, showers and restaurants nearby. But my wife and I who are in our late 50’s are not the boring types. Here we were at Puno, next to Lake Titicaca at an elevation of about 12,000 which is famous for its floating islands which the local people have lived on for hundreds of years, so why not spend a night on one of the islands.||||Actually we spent two nights. We found the Uros Qhota Uta Lodge on line and made arrangements to spend two nights. We arranged for transportation through the lodge to pick us up at the bus station when we arrived from Cusco.||||There was a driver who spoke very little English but he was waiting with a sign with my name on it. He drove us out to a small landing on the other side of town where a small boat with a motor was waiting for us.||||The boat operator turned out to be the gentleman who along with his wife has lived on the island which we were going to. He navigated his way through the small channel surrounded by the reeds and across an open area which was surrounded by about 90 of the reed islands with people.||||When we landed we greeted by his wife and shown to our room which was made out of reeds and lined with plywood and decorated with colorful tapestries. Since we arrived late, I had ordered dinner which was an additional charge of $10 USD per person. It was served in the large dining hut next to our hut.||||In the bathroom there was a primitive style toilet like the kind you might find in a camper which didn’t flush but you would covered your “business” with a coating of ash that was in a container next to the toilet. There was a sink though the cold water came out slowly. There was no hot water and our room didn’t have a shower as advertised though I believe the other two rooms did. The showers were solar heated so if you happen to get one of the other rooms with a shower, you better hope for a sunny day if you want a hot shower.||||There was limited electricity on the island as it relied on solar panels. We did have lights in our room and in the bathroom but there weren’t any electrical outlets. I believe that in the dining hut there was an outlet which you might be able to use to recharge batteries.||||Though it wasn’t one of the better accommodations we had been to, it certainly was one of the best experiences we had during our time in Peru.||||The gentleman and his wife who runs the lodge have lived on the island for about 70 years. One of his sons who live in Puno is the one you will be in contact with regarding reservations and transportation. The gentleman and wife speak very little to no English but they are warm and friendly.||||The view from our bedroom was beautiful with the lake just an arm’s reach out the window. There is a complimentary breakfast provided in the morning. The gentleman and his wife will dress you up to look like locals and take you on a one hour tour of the community of the floating islands for about $10 each.||||The following day after our arrival and after touring around the islands in the morning dressed like tourists in local attire, we went on an all day tour to the island of Tequille which the gentleman arranged for us for 200 soles each which is something like $62 USD which included lunch. He took us by motor boat out to a central meeting point where we met up with a large boat that took us out to the island.||||I believe they have been in operation for about three months as of April 2018.||||I think just a one night’s stay will be sufficient to enjoy the experience. They are a sweet warm couple and it’s good to support the local economy and especially the people who try to survive the...

We were excited to be able to stay on one of the Uros islands, but as it turned out, the picture we had in our minds didn't fit the reality.||We arrived to Qhota in the afternoon, after a day-trip to Taquile island. As expected, there is not much to do on Uros islands. We planned just to sit down in lounge chairs and enjoy the views of the lake and tranquility. Well, the chairs weren't comfortable and there weren't enough for all the guests staying at the island (there are three guest houses). The island is not isolated as we thought and it is on a traffic route; passing motorboats destroying the "quiet and desolated" feeling.||The room was nice and spacious. There of course is no heating, but there were several thick covers on each bed and we were given a bottle filled with hot water as a good-night treat, so temperature during the night was no problem at all.||There was no hot water in the bathroom and it puzzled us why they installed a fancy massage shower cabin at all. The toilet is of course not a classical one - think of using sand instead of flushing after you have used the toilet.||The dinner was quite basic; not worth the 10$ price, but it is the only option you have anyway (perhaps we could go to some of the restaurants on nearby islands, but then we would have to pay for the boat and would probably get similar quality of food). There was lack of (clean) cups, so even having a tea was a logistical challenge. The plates, along with all food leftovers from the dinner were still there in the morning when we came to have a breakfast.||What bothered us most was the island itself. We wanted a rustic environment, but that doesn't include pieces of construction wood, remains of an old boat, plastics, etc. lying all around the island. It felt almost like being in the middle of a waste disposal facility.||Luckily, we booked for one night only. Sadly, with no good memories...