The Uros people are an ancient race, predating the Incas by millennia and, according to local legend, the sun and stars. Heavily taxed by the Incas and enslaved in the silver mines by the Spanish, the Uros have managed, through ingenuity and isolation, to outlast their tormentors with their unique culture largely in place. The key to their survival is the reeds, whose starchy tubers are consumed for food, flowers brewed to make tea, and stalks used for medicine, handicrafts, and the construction of gondolas, homes, schools, churches and just about everything else on the islands.
The islands are part of Titicaca National Reserve which protects 37,000 hectares (143 square miles) of reed bed, including some 60 species of bird and 14 of fish, many collected by the Uros for meat, eggs, and as work animals, such as cormorants used to fish. You’ll also see plenty of domesticated cats, to keep mice from devouring the delicate islands.
Uros Floating Islands are in Lake Titicaca, which is located on the border between northern Bolivia and southern Peru. Daily morning boats leave Puno, Peru around 7:30pm; expect about a 30-minute ride. A popular route is to take a boat to Uros, followed by Amantani (a stay overnight there), and then Taquile Island on the way back the next morning.
Lake Titicaca (and the Floating Uros Islands) are accessible year-round, but the most pleasant time to visit in terms of weather is from February through November, when days are spring-like with virtually no rain. December and January are usually quite rainy. The lake is 12,4673 feet (4,800 meters) above the sea-level, which means nights can get chilly during any time of the year.
The islands are part of Titicaca National Reserve which protects 143 square miles (37,000 hectares) of reed bed, including some 60 species of bird and 14 of fish, many collected by the Uros for meat, eggs, and as work animals, such as cormorants used to fish. Travelers will also notice (and be amused by) the colony of domesticated cats who elegantly keep mice from devouring the delicate islands.