Floating Islands of the Uros

Visiting the floating islands of the Uros. These are indigenous pre-Incan people that live in self-made floating islands in lake Titicaca, in Peru and Bolivia. To visit them is a unique experience. At first you don’t believe that the islands are in reality floating, but then you find out it that yes, the islands are floating and also can be moved and anchored elsewhere

Morning is breaking in Lago Titikaka

The lake and the small anchorage where you board the boats for the islands of the Uros

Navigation to the islands can be a little tricky as the boats have to wind through such narroways

A very small island was the first we saw. Kamisaraki means something like welcome

The average-sized island is big enough for up to 10 families

Approaching and getting of to a floating island

Little Uros children

The best way to visit is by boat from nearby Puno. I visited for roughly a morning tour in August 2012. The weather was sunny but very cold. Due to the high altitude, even in summer it is very cold. The Uros say about themselves that they have ‘black blood’ because they don’t feel the cold as much as others. In reality this means that after millenia of living in Titicaca they have adapted to the cold climate

A young woman of the Uros with traditional dress

The islands are based on those root systems

On top of the roots a layer of reeds is put and on top of them light buildings are built

Islands are build in blocks which are then put together.

Many islands are anchored together, giving the appearance of a floating island

Traditional Uros boats, made also of reeds

The islands are floating but not permanent. They are built on three layers, a bottom layer of weeds that expand with water and float, a middle layer of reeds and on top of them a light structures such as dwellings. The bottom layer must be renewed every 40 years or so and the middle every 10-12 years. The islands are build in blocks packed together so when a block is renovated, people and structures can move and use the other blocks of the island. Ingenious

A solar panel, installed recently

Most children go to school to nearby cities, such as Puno

Our boat, complete with a small platform for observation

Leaving the Uros archipelago, going back to Puno

Advertisements