From La Paz, Bolivia, to Lake Titicaca, “World’s Highest Navigable Lake”
A geological wonder before even the Ice Age — about sixty million years ago — Lake Titicaca was formed when massive earthquakes shook the Andes Mountains, splitting the range in two, and forming a hollow in which a body of water eventually gathered, fed by massive melting glaciers that morphed into river systems and streams, ultimately creating an immense lake 1,343 years ago…
Today, Lake Titicaca — situated at a height of 3,812 meters above sea level — is the “World’s Highest Commercially Navigable Lake”. The western part of the lake lies within the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern part is situated in the La Paz department of Bolivia.
The lake has an area spanning 8,372 square-kilometres, with a total shore length of nearly 700 miles, making it “South America’s Largest Lake” by volume of water. Its deepest point lies 922 feet below the surface.
Lake Maracaibo, despite covering a larger surface area, is discredited of this title, as it is directly connected to the sea. Titicaca on the other hand is fed by five major river systems — the largest being Ramis — and 22 other smaller streams. It is drained by the Desaguadero River which flows through Bolivia into Lake Poopó.
The aerial image of the lake appears in the form of a puma chasing a rabbit. Not surprisingly, hence, the word Titicaca translates to “Rock Puma”. The name is also translated as “Crag of Lead”.
The name is derived from words in the local languages Quechua and Aymara— titi “wild cat” and karka “stone”. According to Inca legend, the titis swam from the lake’s islands to the mainland, in search of food. Today, the Titi Cat, or Andean Cat, is the most endangered cat species in the Americas.
Tumbling backwards into history, the Inca civilization held Lake Titicaca sacred. According to Inca lore, after a great flood, the god Viracocha arose from the depths of Lake Titicaca on the sacred Rock Gate in Isla Del Sol — Island of the Sun — to create the world.
The sister island, Isla de la Luna — Island of the Moon — housed the convent of the Virgins of the Sun. Viracocha commanded the Sun “Inti”, Moon “Mama Kilya”, and stars to rise, and then went to Tiahuanaco to create the first human beings — Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo.
These first humans, the “Inca Adam and Eve,” were formed from stone and brought to life by Viracocha, who commanded them to go out and populate the world. Manco Capac was regarded the first King of the Incas, and his wife Mama Ocllo, the first Queen.
Thus, Lake Titicaca became the birthplace of the Incas, whose spirits would return to their origin in the lake, upon separation from the body at death. The Lemuria Solar Disc associated with this sacred lake governed the thousand-year-cycle of Inca time.
In one legendary story, the Incas threw a 2,000-kilogram chain of gold into Lake Titicaca, just before the Spanish troops invaded the Inca village of Cuzco in Peru, which stood at the center of the Inca Empire.
This giant gold chain was never found despite a 45-day expedition in 1968—headed by famous French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau — to explore the lake with a mini-submarine … some ancient pottery was all that was found.
However, the expedition brought out rare animal species that could not be found elsewhere in the world — such as the giant Titicaca Water Frog that can grow to about a foot long.
Another startling feature of Lake Titicaca is its 41 floating islands. Of these the Isla Del Sol and the Isla De La Luna are noteworthy. The Isla Del Sol, was considered the home of the supreme God of the Incas, the Sun God, Inti.
Ironically, the Island of the Moon, Isla De La Luna, housed chosen women known as the “Virgins of the Sun,” who lived a nun-like lifestyle. They wove garments from alpaca wool and performed ceremonies dedicated to the sun.
Architecture in Isla Del Sol was influenced by the pre-Inca Aymara culture, but the Incas left their mark — such as the typical trapezoidal doors.
On the north end of the “Island of the Sun” is the town of Challapampa, home to the fascinating Chinkana (labyrinth) — a huge stone complex full of mazes, thought be a training center for Inca priests.
Further along the path toward Challapampa are two very large footprints, said to have been created when the Sun dropped down to Earth to give birth to Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo.
On the south end of the Isla del Sol is Yumani, the largest town on the island and the site of the “Inca Steps” — 206 steps built by the Incas that lead up into the town and to a sacred fountain made of stone and having three separate springs—claimed to be the “Fountain of Youth”.
Sunset on the Isla del Sol is magical, and best appreciated from the lighthouse on the highest point on the island at 4,096 meters above sea level. Sunlight paints the sacred mountains in bright colors, and reflects its light in the deep blue of the sacred lake, before sinking below the horizon!
Shortly before the team’s arrival at La Paz, their instructor had handed them a cutting from a newsprint dated 23 August, 2000 — a Wednesday. The ruins of an ancient temple had been found by international archaeologists under Lake Titicaca!
A terrace for crops, a long road, and an 800-metre-long wall had also been found at the bottom of the lake. The pre-Inca ruins — dating back 1000–1500 years — had been attributed to the indigenous Tiwanaku or Tiahuanaco people.
The holy temple measured 200-by-50 meters — almost twice the size of an average football pitch — and had been found by explorers after they had followed a submerged road, in an area of the lake not far from Copacabana town.
The cutting went on to say that the lake continues to draw the fascination of deep-sea divers, by virtue of various legends associated with it, including one of an underwater city called Wanaku and another of Inca gold lost by the Spanish…
At the middle of the cutting, a couple of lines had been underlined in red. It read: “More than 200 dives were made into the lake, to depths of as much as 30 meters (100 feet), to record the ruins on film”.
The point hit home after they read the underlined text. They found it hard to believe that they were going to dive into the mysterious depths of the sacred lake, beyond 100 feet underwater!
For Yathu, it was literally a “dream come true” … she was going to dive into “the mysterious depths of a sacred lake in search of a lost city”!
