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The Fantastic FloatingIslands of the Uros of

Lake Titicaca

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Uros Floating Island, Lake Titicaca, Peru

Lake Titicaca is the world's highest lake navigable to large vessels,

lying at 12,500 feet (3,810 m) above sea level in the Andes Mountains of South America,

astride the border between Peru to the west and Bolivia to the east.

Titicaca is the second largest lake of South America (after Maracaibo).

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The remnants of an ancient people, the Uru, still live on floating mats of dried totora (a reedlike papyrus that grows in dense brakes in the marshy shallows) on

floatings islands of Uro which are about 17.

From the totora, the Uru and other lake dwellers make their famed balsas—

boats fashioned of bundles of dried reeds lashed together that resemble the crescent-shaped papyrus craft pictured

on ancient Egyptian monuments.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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The Uros residents of the islands create their homes from the reeds. The roofs are waterproof but not

humidity resistant.

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Cooking fires are built on a layer of stones to protect the reeds.

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Residents wear layers of clothing, mostly woolen, to protect themselves from the cold, the wind, and the

sun which at this altitude can burn fiercely. Many women still wear the distinctive derby type hat and

full skirts.

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Occasionally, 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 favourite

photographic subject.

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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.

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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.

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A main source of income for the Uros in the present, tourism

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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.

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