Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

At an altitude of six and a half thousand meters, covered with snow, the highest mountains in Bolivia - Illampo and Ancohuma - rise majestically. And at their footsteps is located one of the most mysterious reservoirs - Lake Titicaca, stunningly beautiful and deeply revered by locals who call it sacred.

It is located on the border of Bolivia and Peru, towering above the sea level at an altitude of 3812 meters, and is considered the world's largest freshwater pond 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 over hilly surfaces.

According to legend, in times immemorial, the world suffered terrible cataclysms, there was a continuous darkness, floods, and the human race was on the verge of destruction. Then the lake of Titicaca opened and from it came the god Viracocha, who ordered the Sun, the Moon and the 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 since been revered in the Andes as a holy place.

It is Titicaca - the lake, enveloped in a mysterious veil, considered the birthplace of Manco - the first Inca king, and Inti - the sun god. On the boat you can get to the island of the Sun, where is the very sacred stone from which the great leader appeared. This is what attracts tourists here annually who are interested in the history of the ancient people.

For a sufficient period of time, the lake of Titicaca, whose photos and videos are amazing with its beauty, attracted scientists, researchers and treasure hunters. 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 Spanish conquistadors hid the legendary gold of the Incas. Numerous stories about the treasures lost here attracted the well-known oceanographer Jacques Ives-Cousteau, who in 1968 explored the lake of Titicaca on a submarine and even found ancient pottery, which became concrete evidence that legends may well be true.

In 2000, in the lake of Titicaca, international archaeologists discovered ruins from an ancient temple, whose age dates back to approximately 1000 AD, that is, before the Inca civilization. This finding, which confirms the existence of once a mighty civilization, only strengthens the aura of secrecy surrounding the reservoir, attracting more and more tourists who come here to see the main tourist attraction of the two states - Bolivia and Peru. Between June and September, the pilgrimage of travelers from all over the world begins here.

Lake Titicaca is framed by a swampy terrain, covered with reeds, considered the main natural material for Indians uros. It is from him that they make their famous reed boats.

In the lake since 1870, shipping has been developed, today small ships make regular flights from the Peruvian Puno to the Bolivian Guaki.