Lake Titicaca

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Everyone has heard of Lake Titicaca, whose distinctive name, a mixture of Quechua and Aymara meaning puma de piedra (stone puma), has a way of sticking in your memory. For some people, "Titicaca" is simply a funny word; for others, it is fraught with folkloric associations. In any case, this legendary lake is up to 280 metres deep and stretches lazily across 6,900 square kilometres on the border of Peru and Bolivia. Located at an altitude of 3,182 metres, it is known as the highest navigable lake in the world. Actually, there are other, smaller, lesser-known lakes that could make the same claim, but international celebrity has its rewards!

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Lake Titicaca topped the list of the world's highest navigable lakes in 1870, when a steamboat was assembled on its shores after being carried by mules piece by piece from the Peruvian coast, a perilous (and some might say crazy) undertaking.

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