We found the beautiful Lake Titicaca truly fascinating. At 13,000 feet above sea level, it is the highest navigable lake in the world. It is also a very sacred site for the Inca civilization who believed that this was where the world was created from and where the first Inca king was born. Bordered by Peru and Bolivia, Lake Titicaca is also home to ancient cultures that pre-date the mighty Inca civilization. On the Peru side, the Uros and the Taquile people have lived on their islands on the lake for many centuries and still live pretty much the same way their ancestors did.

The Floating Islands of the Uros

The Uros have been living on their floating islands for centuries. They used their islands as defense from colliding with the Inca and Colla cultures. They make their islands out of Totora reeds that grow naturally and abundantly on the banks of the lake. The mighty Incas with huge stone temples thought very little of the Uros people for living very simply out of reeds. Yet interestingly, the Uros outlasted them.

 

There are about 40 floating islands on the lake. The bigger islands have watch towers as well as schools.  The Uros maintain their islands by constantly adding reeds on the surface.

 

The Uros also build their homes and furnitures out of reeds.

 

Uros women wear very colorful clothes. They alway dress in layers, mostly woolen, to protect themselves from wind, the cold and the sun which can be very fierce at this altitude.

 

An Uros woman wearing a traditional bowl hat.

 

Uros men traditionally wear white shirts and colorful hats.  They make a living out of fishing.

 

The Uros women are excellent in handicrafts and they help make additional income for the family by selling their handicrafts to the tourists.

 

The Uros navigate the lake by boats made out of, yes, reeds!

 

Behind us is a double-decker reed boat…for tourists.

 

A woman preparing a meal. Reed is also part of Uros diet. It is said to be highly nutritious.

 

A beautiful Uros girl, Lisa, sitting quietly by herself while her mother was preparing a meal.

 

A woman in high Uros fashion lazing on a reed lawn.

A happy Uros toddler.

Keith with his young Uros buddy, Felipe. Upon seeing Keith, Felipe run excitedly to him and jumped into his lap as if seeing a long lost friend.

 

An Uros woman and her baby watching the activities on the lake.

 

Things become a bit modernized since I first visited the floating islands in 2001. Some of them have solar panels now which they use to power their own radio station and few hours of television a day.

 

The Totoro reeds that grow abundantly on Lake Titicaca and which provide major sustenance to the Uros people.

 

Taquile Island

Taquile is a tiny beautiful, hilly island in the heart of Lake Titicaca. It has been inhabited for more than thousands of years and was part of the Inca empire.

 

We climbed a steep stair with about 540 uneven steps to get to this point from the dock. Hiking in Taquile was a good acclimatization for us to prepare our lungs for the Lares Valley Trek to Macchu Picchu.

 

A mother and child hanging out in the plaza overlooking the deep blue water of Lake Titicaca.

 

A woman knitting in the plaza. Everyone in the island knits, including men and children. Taquilenos are known for producing one of the best quality handwoven textiles in Peru.

 

The archway that lead to the main plaza. Archways like this are found throughout the island. Notice the cross on top of the arch? The island fell into the hands of the Spanish explorers and left their usual religious stamp in this tiny colony.

 

Girls playing ball in front of a church.

 

We went  in the municipal center and saw this  daring little girl climbed up a stair to see what was going on in the plaza.

 

Keith performing magic tricks for the Taquile kids.

 

Keith giving out colored pencils to his appreciative audience.

 

Lovely children of the island that shuns modernity.

 

 Beautiful Taquileno siblings.

A woman passing through the archway the leads to the dock.

 

A little boy wearing a traditional knitted cap. Single males wear red and white cap and married males wear solid red cap.

 

Keith spoke English and the boy spoke Quechuan, but somehow they understood each other.

 

Strong women climbing the steep hill with their heavy loads.

Exploring the islands of Lake Titicaca left us breathless — literally and figuratively! We made it our first stop on our Peruvian adventure to  give us more time to acclimatize to the high altitude before tackling a more challenging adventure ahead –  trekking to Machu Picchu via the spectacular Lares Valley.

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Travel Notes

Getting there: We flew to Juliaca from Lima and then took a taxi to Puno. From Puno, we arranged for the boat tour of the islands through our hotel travel desk. You may also book the boat tour from travel agencies in Puno.

Travel Guide:  Lonely Planet

Related Blog:  Lake Titicaca, Peru by The Nomadic Pinoy

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