The floating island of Uros Khantati
“Get out of Puno as quick as you can” says every traveller you meet in Peru. Whilst we didn’t find it the worst place in the world we had been recommended a nearby home stay that we definitely couldn’t miss.
Just 15 minutes by boat from the marina of Puno you will find Uros Khantati. The Uros are a pre-Incan community living on over 50 floating islands on Lake Titicaca. Expansion and Colonisation by the Incas meant that their ancestors were forced to abandon their homes on land and seek a life on the surface of the lake.
Zooming past a giant cluster of home stays, which looked slightly commercialised, we found Uros Khantati nestled a nice distance away from the other lodges. On arrival we were greeted by Victor the owner and father to Eddie and Maribelle who took care of us for the duration of our stay. We were the only people on the island with them for our stay, a quiet retreat after the buzz of the Amazon.
After checking into our extremely clean and colourful reed hut we were taken out on a giant reed canoe by Victor who was eager to teach us about his community and lifestyle.
The islands are constructed of tutora reeds that grow on mass on the lake. They huts and islands themselves require constant maintenance as lower layers decompose. The reeds are also useful for many other things, one of which Victor absolutely loved. If you pull a reed out of the water you can peel back the root to expose a white edible vegetable like food. He quickly mentioned that the food was only ok for the locals to eat as the water it has grown in would have made us ill. He then absolutely devoured about 12 roots himself, only stopping in between each root to emit a heartwarming deep belly laugh. A wonderful moment between us three as he crunched away very happily on the celery like root.
We were then shown how they catch fish using a giant net that is sat in the lake. He simply lifted up the net and there were dozens of fish ready to be caught. The Uros people use fish as a currency which they trade in Puno for rice and potatoes. It was eye opening to see a community where trading goods was, at times, of greater value than money.
Victor passionately described to us his belief in the “Mother Lake”. The lake has everything they need to survive. Fish, “chickens of the lake” (birds which they eat), and the reeds which can be used as transport, sturdy accommodation and the foundations of their island. Their lives depend on the island and yet their impact on the environment is minimal. The reeds themselves are cut only half way up to ensure that they regrow within 6 months.
Back at the lodges the weather took a turn for the worst and we spent the rest of the afternoon reading in our hut before being fed a hearty meal and going to bed. They didn’t let us miss out on anything however as the next day we took our turn at fishing.
In the centre of the island they had created a small fishing hole which Chris sat patiently at before eventually catching a king fish… It may not look big but it was a good catch according to Eddie.
Then it was my turn.
With not much luck for either myself of Eddie I moved to the easier section and caught not only one but two fish within minutes. Not quite a king fish but it will do!
Before heading off we couldn’t resist being dressed up in traditional gear. Maribelle kindly braided my hair and dressed me up from head to toe, enjoying the experience as much as me.
Here’s a few snaps just for entertainment purposes…
All in all this was an extremely enchanting and humbling experience. A simple life which we all, myself included, could learn a lot from.
