Photo | Courtesy
Amantani is an island on Peru’s Lake Titicaca, located on the Peruvian side. If you like the idea of visiting Peru then this would be a great location to add to your list of must visits.
It is believed if you walk around the temple three times and make a wish to Pachatata, it will come true.The Amantani island is toad-like shaped symbolizing material and spiritual wealth, giving balance to the individual and offering organized visits to overcome emotional problems, bring harmony, encounter the interior and bring balance to the body’s energies.
With an elevation of 13331 feet (4063 meters). Considering that the surface elevation of the lake itself is 12,507 feet (3,812 meters), Amantani is the highest island in the world.
It isn’t a huge island, covering a total of 3,580 square meters (9,28 km2), there are just around 5,000 inhabitants, made up of about 800 families, all of which speak Quechua.
This photo of Puno is courtesy of Tripadvisor
This photo of Puno is courtesy of Tripadvisor
The island has two mountain peaks. One is “Pachamama” which means “Mother Earth” in Quechua, and the other one is “Pachatata” which means “Father Earth.” Both of the peaks have ancient Inca ruins on their tops.
The island is simply magical. The two temples at the top of the peaks where the Fiesta de la Santa Tierra festival occurs every third Thursday of the month of January every year. During the festival is the only day the two temples (Pachamama and Pachatata ) are open. At this time, the island’s inhabitants are divided into two groups and they go to pay their respects in the temple that their group belongs to. According to people’s traditional beliefs, Pachamama portends a bountiful harvest in the following year.
Pachamama Inca Ruins, Amantani Island (Isla Amantani), Lake Titicaca, Peru 
A gate leading to the Pachatata Temple
The hillsides spreading down the peaks are ribbed. The villagers of Amantani are farmers mostly farming potatoes, quinoa, and wheat on those terraces and work the land by hand. Besides the mentioned plants, there are also other vegetables and a lot of herbs.
Most of the inhabitants live in houses made of adobe and spend their days farming their land and taking care of their households.
Most of the houses don’t have water pipes, and the people get their water from local pumps. There aren’t any street lights and the electricity in the houses is limited.
The dwellers of Amantani are also famous for their textiles and ceramics. There isn’t a massive tourist trade on the Isle, especially on the western side which doesn’t see many visitors, but the people sell their products up at the ruins or down by the harbors.
Women selling their textiles
There are no hotels, no restaurants, no French bread, or Italian coffee. But as a tourist you can stay with some of the families on Amantani, and they will prepare all the meals.
In an informal deal between the villagers, those who offer accommodation to the tourists are supposed to have a separate room for them and if they do have tourists staying with them, they are not allowed to sell their products outside their houses.
All the sights on the island are beautiful, but the view from the top of the peaks at any time of the day or the night are simply out of this world.
As most of the villagers are asleep by nine o’clock in the evening, all you can hear is the lake and the wind. Without any electricity, the only light is the moon or the stars.
Without any cars there is nothing to pollute your air, so every breath you take is brought by the wind from Lake Titicaca.
This landmass is surely one of the worlds adorable treasures.
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