Titicaca National Reservation, National reserve at Lake Titicaca, Peru
Titicaca National Reservation is a protected area on Lake Titicaca in Peru's Puno Department, covering wide marshlands along the eastern and northern shores of the lake. The reserve stretches across two provinces and protects habitats where reed beds line the shallow water and open surfaces appear between the islands.
The Peruvian government created this protected area in October 1978 to preserve the aquatic world of Lake Titicaca and safeguard its biodiversity. Since then, rules have limited overfishing and protected the reed zones where birds nest and fish spawn.
The Uros build their floating islands from totora reeds and renew them constantly, as the material slowly rots in the water. Visitors watch families apply this technique to create houses, boats, and walkways that all rest on the flexible reed mats.
Visitors reach the reserve on guided boat tours that depart daily from Puno and navigate through channels between the islands. The trips usually last several hours, and the best time to visit falls between May and October, when the sky remains clear and the waves stay calm.
The reserve sits above 12,500 feet (over 3,800 meters) and ranks among the highest wetlands in the world. The thin air and intense sun create a light that makes the water surface and reed bundles stand out with particular clarity.
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