Puno sits on the shore of Lake Titicaca at about 3,800 metres, and the stretch between Jayllihuaya and Ichu runs along the edge of town into the open altiplano. Jayllihuaya is a district on the western side of Puno; Ichu is the name of a river and of the tough bunch grass, ichu, that blankets the high plateau and feeds llamas, alpacas and the little sheep that wander the verges. The label belongs to the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road system that tied this far southern province, Collasuyu, to Cusco, and the old trail is the thread that connects these segments.
The altiplano is a strange, spare country to ride. The land is wide and almost treeless, ringed by distant ranges, with the lake lying cold and blue like a sheet of steel. The air is thin enough that a small engine loses real power and you feel the effort in your own lungs. Sunlight is fierce, nights drop below freezing for much of the year, and the weather changes in minutes: a hailstorm can sweep across the plain while the next valley stays dry. Wind is steady, and on the open straights it pushes a bike sideways.
The roads here are mostly paved but often patched, with livestock, shared taxis and heavy trucks hauling goods to and from the Bolivian border at Desaguadero. Dogs and sheep on the road are common, and villages have speed bumps that come without much warning. In the rainy season, from December to March, the plains flood in places and the nights are less cold; from May to September the skies are brilliantly clear and the mornings bitter.
Puno is a city of well over a hundred thousand, so fuel, hotels and food are easy to find, with grilled trout from the lake and quinoa soup in plain restaurants. The reed islands of the Uros people and the stone burial towers at Sillustani, built by pre-Inca Colla people on a peninsula in Lake Umayo, are within reach of a half-day ride and both are well worth the time.
Sleep a night in Puno before riding further, since the altitude can give you a pounding headache otherwise.