Even the student knows where Lake Titicaca is on the map. It is located on the border of Bolivia and Peru, in South America. The lake is unique in its location relative to the level of the oceans. The mirror of the water surface lies at an altitude of three thousand eight hundred and eleven meters. Thus, it is the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca occupies a position in the list of "most-most" natural objects in several more respects. Firstly, it is the largest lake in South America in terms of fresh water reserves. And secondly, there are floating islands on it. And habitable! On floating islands, of which there are about forty on Titicaca, from ancient times, for many centuries in a row, the Uros Indians live. How land plots can swim and how the life of the people living in them develops - read in our article. We will tell you how to get to the floating islands and what to see.
Harmony of the lake and people
First we’ll clarify how land areas can float. In fact, these are not islands, but huge rafts. Along the banks of the Titicaki, reed, called the Totor, grows in abundance. It is so much that if it had not been cut, it would have covered with itself the entire expanse of the lake. But the Uros tribe came up with his best use. The reed is cut, pressed into blocks, tied with ropes. The resulting raft is driven away to places where Lake Titicaca is devoid of vegetation. On these islands, people live from generation to generation. Houses, boats and even a variety of utensils uros also make from reed. Of course, this material is short-lived, especially if it comes into contact with water. Boats on average serve about six months, after which they begin to rot and leak. The same process happens with the islands. The lower layers gradually rot and are washed away by the current. But Uros constantly build up their islands and very well follow the rules of fire safety. After all, one spark is enough for a dry reed to flash like a torch.
History of the Floating Islands
The Uros Indian tribe is known for the fact that its representatives never wanted to fight. In response to the invasion of the aggressors, these pacifists preferred to hide. For this defensive purpose, they built islands of reed, while the warlike tribe of Aymara occupied the shores of Lake Titicaca. Time passed, the conflict gradually smoothed out. Tribes began to trade with each other. Small uros began to adopt the language of Aymara. Now this dialect is considered almost extinct. It is spoken by only a few dozen people. Soon, an army of the mighty Inca empire arrived in these highland lands. Aymara fought with them, but were defeated. The remaining warriors tried to find refuge behind the reed wall that surrounded Titikaki's expanse of water. The pursuers chased them and discovered floating islands. The Incas led the Aymar warriors into slavery, and the Uros tribe was levied a tribute. The Spanish conquistadors who came later Christianized the locals, but their way of life remained the same.
Secrets of Lake Titicaca
On the map, this water area is located far from the Pacific coast. Yes, and she ascended to more than three kilometers high. But still, once, a hundred million years ago, Titicaca was part of the sea bay. Then the magmatic activity of the bowels of the earth lifted this lake to a height. Thanks to the tributaries of the streams, the water in the water area has become fresh. But Titikaku is still inhabited by marine fish species (including sharks) and crustaceans. On the shores of the lake you can see traces of the effects of ocean storms. Scientists find there the fossilized remains of ancient animals that once lived in the sea. Uros, inhabiting the floating islands, keeps the legend that at the bottom of Titicaki is a city of the unknown civilization of Wanaku. In 2000, Italian archaeologists conducted underwater explorations of the lake. They found the remains of a stone pavement, a wall stretching for a kilometer, and a stone head of a sculpture at a depth of thirty meters. These findings, according to the analysis, are about one and a half thousand years old.
How to get to the floating islands
Traveling in South America will be incomplete if you do not see the high mountain lake Titicaca and the islands drifting along its surface. Since the water lies between Bolivia and Peru, you can travel to the sights from both Lima and La Paz. Russian travel agencies have developed many routes that pass through Titicaca. You can see this lake in the comprehensive program “Bolivia and Peru” with further beach holidays in Capacabana. There are tours of Peru and Easter Island. And how to get to Titicaki attractions on your own? On the floating islands they leave from Puno, a picturesque town on the southwestern shore of the lake. Ten minutes on a motor boat - and the hospitable Uros tribe is already meeting you. You can get to Puno from Lima by bus in forty-two hours or by plane to Juliaki with a change in Cuzco. From the last city you can reach the lake by train Andean Explorer (the journey lasts ten hours).
Organized trips
Tours in Peru give travelers the opportunity to reach Lake Titicaca with its floating islands without much hassle. And along the way also see a lot of interesting things. The most exciting tour lasts eleven days. The route begins in Lima, on the Pacific coast. Then tourists flock to the Andes, where they visit Titicaca with its islands, Cusco and the mysterious Machu Picchu. Having crossed the mountains, travelers find themselves in the jungle of the Amazon (Puerto Maldonado). There are tours to Peru for sixteen and twenty days. During this time, travelers will see a bird's eye view of the lines in the Nazca Valley, the Kolkinsky Canyon, rafting along the Urubamba River and trekking through the Amazon jungle to the Bora Bora tribe. There are more extreme routes that include climbing Kampa Peak (five and a half thousand kilometers above sea level). And for those who want to combine educational excursions with relaxation on the beach, the program "Peru and the Ballestas Islands" is provided.
Bolivia: Tours to Lake Titicaca
This Latin American country is poorer than Peru. But Bolivia also has a developed tourism business. Air traffic is also well established here, due to the fact that this country is very mountainous, and many settlements can be reached only by air. All routes invariably start in La Paz, the highest capital of the world. Further, the route runs through the most important sights that Bolivia has. Tours last from five to thirteen days. During this time, travelers visit not only Lake Titicaca, but also other interesting places: the island of the Sun, Sucre, Potosi, Kolchan. Especially beautiful is the world's largest salt marsh Uyuni. A surface of twelve thousand square kilometers is covered by unusual crystal formations. Tourists visit Lake Pescado, whose shores cover thousands of tall, tree-sized cacti. The age of some specimens is a hundred years.
Cost of tours to Lake Titicaca and the floating islands
Traveling in South America is not cheap. The flight to the Southern and Western Hemisphere is especially expensive . Even in Bolivia, a poor but colorful country, a stay will cost one hundred and sixty thousand rubles a week. A grand tour covering the entire Triangle of the Andes (Chile, Peru and Bolivia) will cost the traveler five thousand one hundred seventy US dollars. This trip lasts two weeks. Its price does not include intercontinental flight. And it costs no less than sixty-one thousand rubles round trip. You also need to consider that Russian tourists need a visa (twenty dollars) to Bolivia, and when you leave for your homeland you also need to pay a fee of $ 25. Independent travel will cost, of course, cheaper. But keep in mind that in Bolivia, a rather dangerous criminal situation.
Modern life of the Uros tribe
This nationality today numbers about two thousand people. But living from birth to death on a raft, albeit a large one, is quite difficult. All the days the "islanders" spend patching and arranging their piece of land. After all, straw quickly rots. Therefore, many representatives of the Uros tribe moved to the shores of Titicaki. The remaining inhabitants also earn their daily bread by fishing and hunting waterfowl (flamingos, ducks). But these business sectors are gradually fading into the background. The decisive factor that significantly affects GDP is tourism. Guests are always welcome here. For them, residents put on colorful, bright colors, traditional costumes, carry them on straw boats and feed them with crown dishes. By the way, the main ingredient of the dishes is the same cane of the rotor. Soup is made from it, tea is steamed, it is chewed with a hangover, etc.
Excursion
Most motor boats and boats set sail from Puno, the main port town on Lake Titicaca. And the goal of the lion's share of excursions is the largest floating island. Uros is kept there even by cattle, feeding him a tootor. The sight of the floating islands is unforgettable. Reed whitened by the mountain sun is everywhere - houses, boats, fire watchtowers are made only of it. But even more emotions are the descent from the side of the boat onto the floating island. It is extremely flat, and rises above the lake surface by only a few centimeters. The "Earth" is springing underfoot, like on a mattress filled with water. Just dizzy - it seems as if your legs are about to break through a fragile straw bedding. But there is nothing to worry about. The whole structure is very strong. There are many souvenir stalls on the big island. There you can buy various crafts. The question of what served as material for wicker figurines or dishes is truly rhetorical.
Uros and civilization
Getting on floating islands, you never cease to be amazed at the amazing mixture of patriarchal way of life and modern technology. Reed huts are electrified. And the trivial wires of power lines do not reach for them. The islands are equipped with solar panels, supplying electricity to all residents. They perfectly catch mobile phone networks and the Internet. And it seems very strange that a satellite dish is on the thatched roof . Locals are happy to take visiting guests to their home. The huts look miserable only from the outside. Inside, they are furnished quite modernly. The standard of living of the “islanders”, receiving income from tourists, allows them to get a refrigerator, a TV and other electrical appliances.
Lakeside
Floating islands are not the only attraction of the reservoir. It is worth staying for a few days to see the towers with the remains of the leaders of Silustani. There are quite real islands on the lake. Takile is interesting in that only men are engaged in yarn and weaving. On the island of Amantani there are temples of Pachatata and Pachamama, which are located at an altitude of 4200 meters. It is also worth climbing to the village of Chukito to see the ancient church of Santo Domingo. Twenty kilometers south of Puno is the ancient port of Tiahuanaco with the Akapana pyramid, Kalasasaya stone and the Gates of the Sun. The town of Chukito (eighteen kilometers from Puno) is another tourist attraction of Titicaki. In this town you need to see thirteen phallic symbols sticking out of the ground in the Inca Uyo fertility temple.