Taquile is a small, steep-sided island in Lake Titicaca where Quechua-speaking islanders maintain a social order unlike anywhere else in Peru. Clothing signals everything: married men wear red-and-white knitted caps, single men wear white ones with floppy tips, and the quality of a man's knitting is genuinely assessed by prospective in-laws. UNESCO recognized Taquile's textile art as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2005.
Couples live together for a trial year before marrying, and weddings happen collectively in an annual week-long celebration. Community leaders serve only one-year terms to prevent corruption -- a system the islanders have maintained despite pressure from national law.
The walk up from the harbour to the main plaza takes about 30 minutes along a stone path with widening views of the lake. The plaza has a small cooperative shop selling the island's famous textiles directly from the weavers. A few family-run restaurants serve simple trout and quinoa lunches.
Most visitors come on a day trip from Puno that also stops at the Uros floating islands, but staying overnight in a family homestay is worth it for the sunset and the silence.