Andes man

A trek through the peaks of Bolivia leaves David Noton breathless for many reasons

The boat drops us on the southern tip of the island with all our bags; now what? Eventually a young lad with a donkey arrives, and up the track to our lodge we trudge, wheezing in the thin air. Here on the Isla del Sol it feels like we’re at the seaside, but we are in fact 4000 metres above sea level. The visibility at this altitude is amazing. The views across Lake Titicaca to the Cordillera Real and Peru are incredible. And so, as dusk settles, I’m set up beside the tripod on a hilltop, taking advantage of light so clear I reckon those distant Andean peaks I’ve trained my long lens on are over 50 miles away, and yet there’s not a trace of haze.