Uros Floating Islands, Lake Titicaca, Peru

The "Floating Islands" are small, human-made islands constructed by the Uros (or Uru) people from layers of cut totora, a thick, buoyant sedge that grows abundantly in the shallows of Lake Titicaca. The Uros harvest the sedges that naturally grow on the lake's banks to make the islands by continuously adding sedges to the surface.

According to legend, the Uru people originated in the Amazon and migrated to the area of Lake Titicaca in the pre-Columbian era, where they were oppressed by the local population and were unable to secure land of their own. They built the sedge islands, which could be moved into deep water or to different parts of the lake, as necessary, for greater safety from their hostile neighbors on land.

Golden in color, many of the islands measure about 15 by 15 m (50 by 50 ft), and the largest are roughly half the size of a football field. Each island contains several thatched houses, typically belonging to members of a single extended family. Some of the islands have watchtowers and other buildings, also constructed of sedges.

Historically, most of the Uros islands were located near the middle of the lake, about 14 km (9 mi) from the shore; however, in 1986, after a major storm devastated the islands, many Uros rebuilt closer to shore. As of 2011, about 1,200 Uros lived on an archipelago of 60 artificial islands, clustering in the western corner of the lake near Puno, Titicaca's major Peruvian port town. The islands have become one of Peru's tourist attractions, allowing the Uros to supplement their hunting and fishing by conveying visitors to the islands by motorboat and selling handicrafts.

Navigating Lake Titicaca from Puno to Uros

Toll at the entrance to Uros
At the entrance to Uros we are determined which floating island we are going to visit.

This allows each island to have an equal opportunity to be visited.

Typical totora boats
Typical boats made of totora reeds sail between the floating islands.

Suma Uro Island
The island we happen to visit is Suma Uro Island.

Central courtyard
The small island has a central courtyard surrounded by some houses.

The typical stove is in the central courtyard
Food is classically cooked in pots on pottery stoves; these are placed on flat stones to prevent the flammable reed islands from catching fire.

Guests are welcomed with the smell of cooking potatoes.

The island's location is explained on the map

A local Uru island chief explaining the structure of an Uros Floating Island.
The Uros harvest the sedges that naturally grow on the lake's banks to make the islands by continuously adding sedges to the surface.

The islets are made of multiple natural layers harvested in Lake Titicaca.
The base is made of large pallets of floating Totora roots, which are tied together with ropes and covered in multiple layers of totora reeds.
These dense roots that the plants develop and interweave form a natural layer called Khili (about one to two meters thick), which are the main flotation and stability devices of the islands; each floating block of Khili measures approx. 4 m × 10 m (13 ft × 33 ft).
Said blocks used to be harvested with Eucalyptus wedges but are now sourced using 1.5 m (4.9 ft) long metal saws custom made for this purpose. They are anchored with ropes attached to large Eucalyptus poles driven into the bottom of the lake.
Once the Khili pallets are tied together and anchored, multiple layers of cut reeds are added. The bottom layer of covering reeds rot away fairly quickly, so new reeds are added to the top constantly, about every two weeks to three months depending on weather. This is especially important in the rainy season when the reeds rot much faster.

Exhibition of traditional handicrafts
The islands have become one of Peru's tourist attractions, allowing the Uru to supplement their hunting and fishing by conveying visitors to the islands by motorboat and selling handicrafts.