Puno is an interesting Peruvian city in the south east of Peru on the shores of Lake Titicaca. It’s a popular destination among travelers in Peru who want to visit the Lake Titicaca region and it’s also a common route to travelers who want to cross the border from Peru into Bolivia.

If you want to travel from Cusco to Puno there are several modes of transport you can take:

Fly to Puno from Cusco

It’s possible to fly directly from Cusco to Puno with LAN Airline. The flight takes about 50 minutes and should cost around $150-$200. It’s usually much cheaper to book your flight inside Peru than outside. Also note that the airport you need to fly to is actually Juliaca which is a short distance by car from Puno.

Train to Puno

The Peruvian rail network is currently not very extensive, however it is possible to take a direct train from Cusco to Puno. The rail network is currently controlled by Peru Rail and unfortunately for tourists this is surprisingly a very expensive way to travel. A roundtrip by rail between Cusco and Puno currently costs about $220 which is outrageous in my opinion. Rail travel is far cheaper in expensive western countries! Visit the scam merchants at http://www.perurail.com for more info.

Bus to Puno

The cheapest way to travel to Puno from Cusco is by bus. There’s usually several buses per day and take approximately 6 hours to travel between Cusco and Puno. It should cost about ??

Organised trips including visits to ruins.

There are a few interesting ruins between Cusco and Puno, such as the Racchi ruins which are worth a visit if you’re interested in the Inca history. If you take the train or the bus then it won’t be possible to visit these ruins. There are several fairly inexpensive tours you can take from Cusco to Puno that will allow you to visit these places of interest along the way. Shop around at the different tour agenices in Cusco to see what they can offer you.