Exploring man-made floating islands, experiencing an ancient culture during home stays with local families, and catching spectacular views of sunsets and ruins are just a few of the activities that await those who plan to visit Lake Titicaca—one of the world’s premier eco-travel destinations.
It’s easy to see why the lake with the funny name is listed among the top 77 nominees of the New Seven Wonders of Nature online campaign in the round of voting that ended July 7. The number of finalists will be narrowed to 28 on July 21.
Lake Titicaca's Isla del Sol (Photo by Ron Rubin Photography)
http://www.rondubinphotography.com/
Spanning the border between Bolivia and Peru, Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America. It’s also one of the highest lakes in the world, situated at 12,500 feet above sea level. There’s much to explore when it comes to Lake Titicaca, from the floating islands to Incan ruin sites. If experiencing history and local culture to it’s fullest is your idea of a dream vacation, then a visit to Lake Titicaca is a fantastic option for you.
Titicaca has a unique feature that you may be hard pressed to find anywhere else: man made floating islands that are made up of floating reeds. They were actually constructed for the purpose of moving them should a threat to the inhabitants arise, but now mainly serve as a tourist attraction for the many visitors to the area.
Using Plants to to Make Islands.“It’s really interesting to see how they build these islands using the Totora plant that grows at the edge of the lake,” said Raul Pino who visited the area last year. Raul, who blogs about his travel experiences on ilivetotravel, said that the island’s inhabitants keep adding Totora “to replenish the island as the bottom slowly rots away.”
“As time goes by, they keep expanding the islands, otherwise they would only last about 30 years,” he said.
“Walking on the island, you don’t feel you are floating.” That’s because the islands are somehow anchored to each other and eventually to the lake, he explained.
Lake Titicaca (Photo by Ron Rubin Photography)
Another must-see site in the region is the island of Amantani. It’s fantastically unique in the fact that you can arrange for an overnight stay with one of the families that inhabit the six square mile island. In exchange for dry goods to cook with and school supplies for the children, you can stay with a family in one of their guest rooms, learn about their lifestyle and culture, even dress up in traditional clothing and participate in their village dances.
Host Families for Visitors. “These families are local farmers and have gone through a process of training and certification to serve as host families to visitors,” Raul said. “After settling in, our tour group hiked to the top of Amantani to catch sunset. The view at the top was simply spectacular.”
Off the Bolivian coast on the lake is Isla del Sol, home to roughly 180 Incan ruins. The island does not permit motor vehicles and there are no roads, but there are plenty of experiences to be had. The Incans believe that their sun god was born on the island, at a place called Chicana, Kasa Pata, and Pilco Kaima.
Isla del Sol (Ron Rubin Photography)
Adventures slightly away from the lake are abundant too, in the neighboring cities of Puno and Juliaca. Puno is well known for being the “folkloric capital of Peru” for the 300 or so typical dances of the people in the area, and if it is area tradition and culture you are after, there is no better place to experience it. Two notable events are the Feast of the “Virgen de la Candelaria” (the city’s patron), which is held in February, and the Regional Competition of Autochthonous Dances.
The town of Juliaca is near the Sillustani, a burial ground of the Aymara people. The Aymara built what are called chullpas, which look like small towers, to bury their dead. Entire families were entombed in one chullpa, and a few still survive today despite being built before the 1400s.
History and culture are abundant in the Lake Titicaca region of South America, and if you’ve always dreamed of experiencing life in that area, the vacation of your dreams awaits you!
Special thanks to Ker & Downey for sponsoring this post. Ker & Downey is a luxury travel company servicing not only South America, but other exotic locations around the world. For more information visit http://kerdowney.com/
on Jul 14th, 2009 at 5:18 am
Nice writeup! When I went to Puno (early May), the miniature festival was going on (I think it is held more than once a year). People go around buying miniatures of things they hope to have (a car, food, a house, a spouse, children, etc.). It is very interesting and, of course, I had to buy some – just in case! I liked Puno. Juliaca, I was told by the locals who were hosting me for work, was not a town to really go venture in. I couldn’t tell you whether they were right or wrong.
on Jan 11th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Incredible!! I stayed in Lake Titicaca and was an amazing experience. Also I visited a lot of place in Puno thanks to Kawsay a travel agency that works responsible tourism. I am going to remember these tours always and I recommend you to hire this travel agency. If you want more information this is its website http://www.perufairtravel.com