07/05/2018
THE LAKE TITICACA, The cradle of Incan civilization
Extending from southeastern Peru to western Bolivia, Lake Titicaca is the largest lake on the South American continent and is reputed to be the highest navigable lake in the world, at 3,810m above sea level.
According to Andean belief, this lake gave birth to the sun, as well as the father and mother of all the Incas, Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo. Pre-Inca Pukara, Tiwanaku and Collas people all lived here and left monuments, like funerary towers, scattered across the landscape.
Infinite landscapesWorlds collide around Lake Titicaca. Here the desolate altiplano (Andean plateau) meets the storied peaks and fertile valleys of the Andes. Crumbling cathedrals, rolling hills, checkerboard valleys and mountains in the background all conspire to make anyone a pro-photographer.
The remnant of an ancient inland sea, Lake Titicaca shimmers with a distinctive navy blue, and its gemlike islands and gentle shores are an agricultural paradise.
Ancient agrarian communities live here, and you will see campesinas (peasant women) in bowler hats and sandals made from recycled truck tires tending to their llamas.
Uros IslandsThe best known islands on the lake are the floating reed islands, which are maintained by adding fresh reeds to the surface even as the ones on the bottom decompose. These islands are home to the descendants of the ancient Uros culture, who still live a simple, traditional life. SOURCE: BBC Travel.