Uros Islands

The Uros Islands, which float in Lake Titicaca, are one of the most interesting and unusual locations there. The floating Uros Islands can be found in a sliver of Lake Titicaca, which holds the record for the highest navigable lake in the world. It is safe to claim that there is no other location on the planet that is even remotely comparable to it.

The history

It is thought that the Uru or Uros people are descended from some of the earliest residents of the area around Lake Titicaca. They have successfully maintained a lifestyle of floating for hundreds of years. The indigenous Uros people constructed movable islands out of the endemic totora plant in order to defend themselves against invading tribes.

In the event that a danger arose, they could easily relocate their islands to a different part of the lake. This strategy was successful for a while, but in the end, both the Incas and the Spanish found their way to the islands.

The Uru are the enigmatic descendants of one of the most ancient cultural groups to have ever existed in the Americas, yet very little is known about their past. According to urban legend, the Uru people are derived from those who once spoke the Pukina language, which has since been extinct.

As a result of their continuing trading and intermarriage with the Aymara tribe of the mainland approximately 500 years ago, the Uru people no longer speak their native Uru language. Instead, the Uru people predominantly communicate in the Aymara language of the mainland. Even though they no longer speak their original language, they have preserved a great deal of the other distinctive features of their indigenous culture.

Location

The Uros Islands are located in the middle of Lake Titicaca, on the Peruvian side of the lake, a short distance from Puno, the most important city on the lakeshore. After a terrible storm in 1986, the islands either migrated closer to the coast or rebuilt themselves there. Previously, they were located further out in the middle of the lake.

How to get there?

Taking a guided tour out of Puno, Peru is the best way to see the Uros Islands. From the Puno pier, you may take a guided tour to Uros every day of the year. The trip to the islands takes around 20 minutes by boat, and most boats leave the harbour between 7 and 8 in the morning. Puno is conveniently located close to three major Peruvian cities: Cusco, Arequipa, and La Paz. There are four ways to get between Cusco and Puno.