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Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca is the world's highest navigable lake and the center of a region where thousands of subsistence farmers eke out a living fishing in its icy waters, growing potatoes in the rocky land at its edge or herding llama and alpaca at altitudes that leave Europeans and North Americans gasping for air. It is also where traces of the rich Indian past still stubbornly cling, resisting in past centuries the Spanish conquistadors' aggressive campaign to erase Inca and preInca cultures and, in recent times, the lure of modernization. |
Lake Titicaca , the cradle of Incan civilization, and the origin of the Inca Empire is the largest lake on the South American continent. It is reputed to be the highest navigable lake in the world (about 3810 m/12,500 ft above sea level), extending from southeastern Peru to western Bolivia. The lake is 196 km (122 mi) long with an average width of 56 km (35 mi). The lake has waves, testament to its size and not surprising the waters are cold. At that altitude and fed from snow-clad Andes the lake does not invite swimming. It is the remnant of an ancient inland sea and the blue waters make a beautiful contrast to the parched altiplano. |
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| Lake Titicaca History |
Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake on earth at 12,580 feet altitude. Straddling the border between Peru and Bolivia, the Andean peoples refer to the lake as "The Sacred Lake: and legends say that the first Inca rose from its depths and went out to found the Inca Empire. Actually two lakes joined by the Strait of Tiquina, it sprawls over 3,500 square miles, fed by waters from the melting snows of the Andes.
Nearby, on the Bolivian side of the lake, arose the population and ceremonial center of Tiahuanaco, capital of one of the most important civilizations of South America. Tiahuanaco ceremonial sites were built along the lake's shores, indicating that the lake was considered sacred at least 2,000 years ago.
Excavations have uncovered the remains of five civilizations, one on top of the other, the last one ending a hundred years before the first Inca. Tiahuanaco was a pilgrimage site for the Incas.
At the time of the Spanish Conquest, one of the most important religious sites of the Inca Empire was located on the Island of the Sun. Titicaca was perceived by its ancient cultures to be an inland sea connected to the ocean, mother of all waters.
Today, people still believe that the lake is involved in bringing rain and that, closely associated with the mountain deities, it distributes water sent by them. The people who utilize the lake's resources still make offerings to her, to ensure sufficient totora reeds for boats, for successful fishing, for safe passage across its waters and for a mild climate.
At 3,856 meters (12,725 feet) above sea level it has two climates: chilly and rainy or chilly and dry. In the evenings it becomes quite cold, dropping below freezing from June through August. In the day, the sun is intense and sunburn is common.
According to legend, this lake gave birth to the Inca civilization. Before the Incas, the lake and its islands were holy for the Aymará Indians, whose civilization was centered at the Tiahuanaco, now a complex of ruins on the Bolivian side of Titicaca but once a revered temple site with notably advanced irrigation techniques.
Geologically, Titicaca's origins are disputed, although it was likely a glacial lake. Maverick scientists claim it had a volcanic start; a century ago, Titicaca was popularly believed to be an immense mountaintop crater. A few diehards today stick to the notion that the lake was part of a massive river system from the Pacific Ocean.
Indian legend says the sun god had his children, Manco Capac and his sisterconsort Mama OcIlo, spring from the frigid waters of the lake to found Cuzco and the beginning of the Inca dynasty. Later, during the Spanish Conquest, the lake allegedly became a secret depository for the empire's gold. Among the items supposedly buried on the lake's bottom is Inca Huascar's gold chain weighing 2,000 kilos (4,400 lbs.) and stored in Koricancha - the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco - until loyal Indians threw it into the lake to prevent it from falling into Spanish hands
Uros Islands
The islands have been inhabited for many years by the Uros Indians who constantly lay down tortora reeds to keep the islands built up. They also use the reeds for building homes and their boats. One of the 40 or so tortora reed islands is kept as a kind of living museum to this traditional way of life of the Uros Indians.
Suasi Island
Suasi Island is a private 106 acre island near the remote northern shore of Lake Titicaca. Martha Giraldo, the owner, originally managed a small eco-lodge on the island. However, this has now been franchised to the Casa Andina Hotel chain forming part of their Private Collection, whilst Martha continues to manage the rest of the island.
Amantani Island
This terraced island is home to farmers, fishers, and weavers. It is a beautiful but barren place, with a handful of villages composed of about 800 families and ruins. There are some excellent opportunities for hikes, with good views of the lake and the sparsely populated island landscape.
Taquile Island
This is a far more prosperous island than Amantani with a thriving tradition of weaving and knitting. All the men knit hats. You can buy some of the famed Taquile textiles at the cooperative warehouse in the centre of town. The island has limited electricity and a few small restaurants. The people of Taquile speak Quechua as opposed to the Aymara which the Amanatani islanders speak.
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| Facts of Lake titicaca |
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These floating islands are the home of the Uros tribe, one which pre-dates the Incan civilization. According to their legends, they existed before the sun, when the earth was still dark and cold.
They were impervious to drowining or being struck by lightning. They lost their status as super beings when they disobeyed universal order and mixed with humans, making them susceptible to contempt. They scattered, losing their identity, language, and customs. They became the Uro-Aymaras, and now speak Aymara. Because of their simple and precarious lifestyle, the Incas thought them worth little and accordingly taxed them very little. Yet the Uros, with their basic reed homes outlasted the mighty Incas with their huge stone temples and mountain-top enclaves.
The totora is a cattail type rush growing native in the lake. Its dense roots support the top layer, which rots and must be replaced regularly by stacking more reeds on top of the layer beneath. The islands change in size, and more are created as the need arises. The largest island is currently Tribuna. The surface of the islands is uneven, thin, and some liken walking on it to walking on a waterbed. The unwary might not notice a thin spot and sink a leg or more into the frigid waters of the lake.
The islands are part of the Titicaca National Reserve, created in 1978 to preserve 37 thousand hectares of marsh reeds in the south and north sectors of Lake Titicaca. The reserve is divided into two sections, Ramis, in the provinces of Huancané and Ramis; and Puno, in the province of the same name. The reserve protects over 60 species of native birds, four families of fish and 18 native amphibians species. There are three islands in the lake, Huaca Huacani, Toranipata and Santa María.
The floating islands are protected within the Bay of Puno and are home to 2000 or so Uros, who claim to have "black blood" are consequently immune to the cold. They call themselves be kot-suña, or people of the lake, and consider themselves the owners of the lake and its waters. They continue living by fishing, weaving and now, tourism. They catch fish for themselves and to sell on the mainland. They also catch shore birds and ducks for eggs and food. Occasionaly, if the level of the lake decreases, they may plant potatoes in soil created by the decaying reeds, but as a norm, they are not agricultural. The reed boats quite often have an animal face or shape on the prow and are a favorite photographic subject.
- About half the lake resides in Peru and half in Bolivia
- It is the highest navigable body of water at 3,821 (11,463 feet) meters
- It covers 8,300 square km, sunning 190 km NW to SE & is 80 km across
- It lies in a 60,000 square km basin between the coastal & eastern Andes
- The average depth is over 100 m with deepest point at 281 m
- 25 rivers, mostly from Peru, flow into the lake and a small outlet leaves the lake at Desaguadero on the Bolivia-Peru border, which is only 5% of the inflow with the rest lost in evaporation.
- The lake is the remnant of a vast area of water formed in the Ice Age known as Lake Bolivian
- The traditional totora-reed boats take 3 days to build and last 7-8 months while wooden boats take longer to build but last 7-8 years
- If someone falls into the lake, like a fisherman, it is traditional not to rescue them but to let them drown as an offering to the Earth Goddess Pachamama.
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| Getting There
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| Juliaca has flights to Lima for USD59-89 and to Arequipa for USD49-69. If you fly directly, take it easy the first few days, as the height will slow you down. You might suffer symptoms of altitude sickness. There are busses to Cuzco, 7 hours and 9 USD, Arequipa, USD 11, 11 hours and Lima, up to 40 hours. You can get a direct bus to La Paz, but you might consider breaking the trip at Cococabana or even take a tour that visits some of the islands along the way.
There are also trains to Cuzco, which are rather expensive, because of the special tourist prices and no longer faster. They are also infrequent, leaving only every other day or so. |
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