Fundo Chincheros

A cactus forest grows near the summit of the ranch's highest hill, its Cylindropuntia stems thick and ancient enough to pass for trees. Fundo Chincheros began as a cattle ranch in the late 19th century and still runs llamas, alpacas, sheep and cows across 126 hectares on the edge of the Titicaca National Reserve. The old hacienda house, tied to the railway that opened in 1876, now holds three separate guest quarters, each with its own kitchen and sitting room. Cows graze loose across the fields and are milked once a day, by hand, so their calves keep their share. Guests can watch the milking at dawn, walk the marked trails alone, or hire a guide for the steeper routes. One path climbs 100 metres to a pre-Inca ceremonial site before dropping to a valley where fossilised trees lie scattered like broken stone. It is a quiet stretch of Altiplano. You can wander to the alpaca enclosure in under 20 minutes, moving slowly, since the animals are curious but wary of getting too close. Puno's centre lies barely 20 minutes away, though little here suggests it. Evenings end in the bungalows, with a fireplace and open sky for company, the courtyard given over to stars once the farm work is done.