At an altitude of six and a half thousand meters, covered with snow, majestically rise the highest mountains in Bolivia - Illampu and Ankohuma. And at their feet is one of the most mysterious reservoirs - Lake Titicaca, stunningly beautiful and deeply revered by locals who call it sacred.
It is located on the border of Bolivia and Peru, rising above sea level at an altitude of 3812 meters, and is considered the largest freshwater reservoir in the world, located in the mountains. Lake Titicaca is so large that it has more than thirty islands, some of which are inhabited, and the largest keep secrets of mysterious temples scattered on hilly surfaces.
According to legend, in time immemorial, the world suffered terrible cataclysms, there was continuous darkness, floods, and the human race was on the verge of death. Then Lake Titicaca opened up, and the god Viracocha emerged from it, who ordered the Sun, Moon and Stars to rise, and he himself began to recreate women and men. According to this archaic myth, everything happened on the island of Tiunako, which has since been revered in the Andes as a holy place.
Namely Titicaca - a lake shrouded in a mysterious veil, is considered the birthplace of Manco - the first king of the Incas, and Inti - the god of the sun. By boat you can get to the island of the Sun, where the very sacred stone from which the great leader appeared. This is what attracts tourists annually who are interested in the history of the ancient people.
For a sufficient time, Lake Titicaca, whose photos and videos are striking in its beauty, has attracted scientists, researchers and treasure seekers. It was the existence of a huge number of legends associated with him that made this place so popular.
There is a version that in these waters, in the underwater city of Wanaku, the legendary Inca gold was hidden from the Spanish conquistadors. Numerous stories about the treasures lost here attracted the famous oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau, who explored Lake Titicaca in a submarine in 1968 and even found ancient pottery that became concrete evidence that the legends may well be true.
In 2000, ruins from an ancient temple dating back to about 1000 AD, that is, even before the Inca civilization, were discovered by international archaeologists in Lake Titicaca. This find, confirming the existence of a once mighty civilization, only strengthens the aura of secrecy surrounding the reservoir, attracting more and more tourists who come here to see the main tourist attraction of two states - Bolivia and Peru. Between June and September, a truly pilgrimage of travelers from all over the world begins here.
Lake Titicaca is framed by a marshland covered with reeds, considered the main natural material for the Uros Indians. It is from him that they make their famous reed boats.
Since 1870, navigation has been developed in the lake; today, small vessels make regular flights from the Peruvian Puno to Bolivian Guaki.