Lake Titicaca

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squishy floating islands!

Lake Titicaca

 South America » Peru » Lake Titicaca By TheTouringTexan
December 7th 2006
Andrew Stone Husmann
squishy floating islands! Lake Titicaca is the world's highest navigable lake (4,000 meters). In the lake, native peoples live more or less like they have for the past 5,000 years. On the Peruvian side are the islas flotantes, or the floating islands, which are constructed by the people using reeds which grow in the lake. Driven to this in order to escape invasions and warfare, the people remained there for thousands of years unmolested, where they still speak their native languages. That was at least until the tourists came. Now their main industry is living like their ancestors for the benefit of tourism. Also, there are several large non-manmade islands, which over the millenia have been completely cultivated, by hand. One of these islands, the isla del sol, is the birthplace of the sun god in the traditional mythology.

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Photos

Lake Titicaca...it's big
Lake Titicaca, Peru

on the floating islands, reed boat
Lake Titicaca, Peru

floating islands made of reeds
Lake Titicaca, Peru

on the lake
Lake Titicaca, Peru

boy with wind burns
Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia

riding the reed snake
Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia

traditional milling
Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia

5,000 years of agriculture on the islands in the lake
Lake Titicaca, Peru

at the ruins atop the island
Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia

traditional farming
Lake Titicaca, Peru

life is the same as always on the islands
Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia

coca fields
Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia

annelies finds llamas!
Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia

on the boat to isla del sol, chewing some coca leaves!
Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia