Yavari

I highly recommend visiting this renovated boat, originally from 1870. The captain on board depicts the full story of this monument, from the difficulty of bringing to the high altitude lake to the current usage of the boat, while giving the full tour of the boat from the crew deck to the engine room. 10/10 would recommend.

The ship has an interesting story being built in pieces in Birmingham UK and shipped in 1862 in about 2700 pieces in crates to Bolivia. The crates were unloaded in Arica Chili and then transported by porters and mules 4800m uphill to Lake Titicaca. There it took until April 1871 to reassemble the ship and launch it. Inside you now can see some nice technical details

We weren’t sure what to expect but this was a really pleasant surprise. The security guard at the hotel was very helpful and helped us find the boat behind the hotel. The tour guide gave a quick but informative and interesting tour and was very friendly. Unique!

fascinating steam ship built 1862 still working and undergoing restoration. the captain collected us from the jetty and showed us around the ship, engines, bridge etc. we had turned up without notice and the security guard at the hotel called the captain. Our own personal guided tour! this really made our trip to Puno extra special.

Difficult to find out accurate info but definitely worth making the effort. We decided to turn up on the off chance and took a leisurely walk from Puno centre (approx 45 mins along the promenade most of the way). Dropped down from the road to the Sonesta Hotel Posadas Del Inca. Was net by a security guard who took our passport details then walked us around the side of the hotel to a jetty. A tender came to pick us up. The super helpful lady showed us the whole boat, with plenty of explanation in good English. There’s a visitor book and donation box at the end. She then dropped us back to the jetty. Really interesting history.

The boat is currently located in the PeruRail pier in Puno port. It can be difficult to find but there is pedestrian access through the nearby artisan market. A very nice lady gave us a tour of the boat which looks fantastic and is 90% restored to its original condition. There is no entrance fee but you are encouraged to leave a donation to contribute to the continuing restoration. I highly recommend a visit if you are in Puno, it is much more interesting and informative than the nearby Navy Museum.

What an incredible and magical experience, we were so close to not going as it appeared on google as if this was closed. We arrived via the hotel grounds by the pier near the boat and after waiting on the pier for less than ten mins the engineer on the Yavari sailed out in a small boat to collect us. The story behind this boat is crazy … built in the 1800s and shipped all the way from London to Lake Titicaca, with more than 2000 individual pieces being hauled 190 miles over the Andes (and more than 15,000 ft elevation) to reach the shores of Lake Titicaca where it was assembled, finished on Christmas Day 1870. Originally a steam boat fuelled by Llama dung! Now has a petrol engine. I won’t say anymore other than what an incredible privilege to have set foot on this boat and had the honour of all the knowledge and passion from the engineer on board. Truly a hidden gem and will go down as one of the most special experiences I have had in all my travels.

To visit the steamboat/gunboat Yavari was my best experience in Puno. The captain Maxmimus to the dinghi in and picked me up. Had an hour of guiding. Great story. A must.