Casa Andina
The private island of Isla Suasi, in the north of Lake Titicaca, is as high as the Andes, and the views are literally breathtaking. You can see the vast blue lake from everyone of the twenty-four rooms in this small rustic hotel, not to mention alpaca and vicuna grazing on the hotel’s garden out front. Stripy hammocks swing outside in the breeze as multitudes of birds catch fish in this, the deepest part of the lake. It is hard to believe there that stress exists. Photo by: sling2008
The downside of this Peruvian paradise id how long it takes to get there; this also means that the place is not going to be swarming with tourists. The island is about five hours from Puno, and you can access it by speedboat, stopping off at the Uros islands, where traditional communities live on artificial islands made of floating reeds. Photo by: mkrossbach
Staying on Suasi Island feels like a real retreat. The Casa Andina Private Collection hotel might be built from traditional adobe and totora reed, but the wine cellar is well-stocked with Chilean and Argentine wine lying next to the Moet. If you desire more privacy, Andean Cottage has two private rooms, a lakeside terrace, and private butler service. It is decked out with a sober cream and dark-wood interior and is designed with honeymooners in mind. Photo by: mkrossbach
If you are looking for genuine South American sanctuary, there is a traditional Andean sauna there, and you can also arrange sessions with a shaman, to make offerings to the Earth. Or you can take in the serenity of the lake with a canoe or wooden boat tour hike up the flower-strewn hillsides, or watch the stars by a telescope at night. The air is so clear and unpolluted there, that you can see for miles. Photo by: jonathan_simon
