At an altitude of six and a half thousand meters, covered with snow, majestically rise the highest mountains in Bolivia - Illampu and Ankohuma. And at their feet is one of the most mysterious reservoirs - Lake Titicaca, stunningly beautiful and deeply revered by the locals, who call it sacred.
It is located on the border of Bolivia and Peru, rising above sea level at an altitude of 3812 meters, and is considered the world's largest fresh water body located in the mountains. Lake Titicaca is so large that it has more than thirty islands, some of which are inhabited, and the largest keep the secrets of mysterious temples scattered across the hilly surfaces.
According to the legend, in time immemorial the world suffered terrible cataclysms, there was complete darkness, floods, and the human race was on the verge of death. Then Lake Titicaca opened up, and the god Viracocha came out of it, who ordered the Sun, Moon and Stars to rise, and he himself began to re-create women and men. According to this archaic myth, everything happened on the island of Tiunako, which has sincerevered in the Andes as a holy place.
It is Titicaca - a lake shrouded in a mysterious veil, considered the birthplace of Manco - the first king of the Incas, and Inti - the god of the sun. By boat you can get to the island of the Sun, where the same sacred stone is located, from which the great leader appeared. This is what attracts tourists every year who are interested in the history of the ancient people.
For quite some time, Lake Titicaca, whose photographs and videos are striking in their beauty, has attracted scientists, explorers and treasure seekers. It is the existence of a huge number of legends associated with it that made this place so popular.
There is a version that it was in these waters, in the underwater city of Wanaku, that the legendary Inca gold was hidden from the Spanish conquistadors. Numerous stories about the treasures lost here also attracted the famous oceanographer Jacques Yves-Cousteau, who explored Lake Titicaca in a submarine in 1968 and even found ancient pottery, which became concrete evidence that the legends may well be true.
In 2000, international archaeologists discovered the ruins of an ancient temple in Lake Titicaca dating back to about 1000 AD, that is, even before the Inca civilization. This find, confirming the existence of a once mighty civilization here, only enhances the aura of mystery surrounding the reservoir, attracting more and more tourists who come here to look at the maintourist attraction of two states - Bolivia and Peru. Between June and September, the months here truly begins the pilgrimage of travelers from all over the world.
Lake Titicaca is framed by marshland covered with reeds, considered the main natural material for the Uros Indians. It is from it that they make their famous reed boats.
Navigation has been developed in the lake since 1870, today small ships make regular trips from Puno in Peru to Guaki in Bolivia.
