Description of the attraction
Taquile Island, with an area of 5, 72 sq. Km, is located in Lake Titicaca, 35 km from the city of Puno. The island is 5 km long and 1.5 km wide and has an elongated shape. To visit the island, you can take a boat from the port of Puno and make an intermediate stop on your three-hour journey to visit the floating islands of Uros.
In ancient times, the island was part of the Inca empire. After the Spanish conquest, the island became the property of Count Rodrigo of Takvila, later the island was named after him. The Spanish colonists banned the local people from wearing their traditional clothes, the islanders began to wear Spanish peasant clothes, combining elements of traditional clothing and accessories in the Andean style, such as ponchos, belts, capes, wallets, and other elements.
During colonial times and until the beginning of the 20th century, the island was used as a political prison, but since 1970 the island has become the property of ordinary people of Taqwile. Currently, about 300 families of Quechua Indians live on the fertile land of the island, who preserve the customs of their ancestors. The male part of the population is mainly engaged in agriculture and fishing, while women are engaged in the manufacture of fabrics and clothing. The textile art of Taqwile Island was declared by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2005.
The island has traditionally adopted a system of natural exchange of products, this system has been implemented from generation to generation, and each family helps each other. Recently, most of the local residents have begun to engage in rural tourism, organizing small boarding houses in their homes, where you can eat and stay overnight. This allows visitors, within the framework of their rituals and customs, to make more direct contact with the local culture of the indigenous inhabitants of the island.
