Lake Titicaca

A breath-snatching, mountain-ringed lake so vast it serves as a natural border between Peru and Bolivia and so enchanting that it spawned its own Pre-Columbian mythology, Lake Titicaca is not easily comparable to anywhere else.

Such is its remoteness (nearly 4,000 metres up in the Andean Altiplano) that it feels like a land forgotten by time – shielded from the wider world by colossal ice-capped peaks.

It’s said the Inca civilisation was born here. The god Viracocha rose from the depths to create the sun, moon and stars, and the first humans. In that regard, Lake Titicaca is something akin to an Incan Garden of Eden, which seems fitting considering its celestial beauty. Gazing at the lake waters mirroring the millions of stars in the night’s sky, you are compelled to wonder what the people of this early civilisation must have thought.

Enigmatic temples and ruins lurk in its surrounding landscapes and islands, and even submerged by its waters, waiting for the exploration by the adventurous visitors, while navigating the lake itself is part of the allure. Island hopping between Isla de la Luna and Isla de la Sol is a particular highlight.

Lake Titicaca works very well with a tailor-made tour of the Uyuni Salt Flats or combined with a tour of Peru. Like the Pyramids of Giza, it is a vitally important and venerated centre of early civilisation, but unlike the Pyramids it still enjoys a truly magnificent setting. Contact Lightfoot Travel’s South America Travel Designers for a tailor-made quotation.