A group of travelers on a guided hike up to Pachamama, one of two sacred peaks on the island of Amantani.
Populated by some 800 Quechua-speaking families, Amantaní is a circular, 9 sq. km. island located 36km (22 miles) northeast of Puno. The island is dominated by two mountain peaks, called Pachatata (Father Earth) and Pachamama (Mother Earth), next to which some pre-Hispanic ruins are found (including a mummy cemetery). The island's main attraction, though, are the two lookouts atop the peaks, almost 300 metres over the lake. They offer beautiful sights of Lake Titicaca, particularly during sunsets. The hillsides of the island are lined with stone walls that divide the many terraces planted with typical Andean crops: potatoes, corn, quinoa, beans, etc. Besides agriculture, the Amantaní people, distributed in half a dozen or so villages, live on fishing and raising cattle, sheep, and alpacas (which are found grazing freely on the hills). As with the Taquiles, Amantanís are too first-class weavers.
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Photo credit: © Thornton Cohen / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: 25-45, amantani, america, backpackers, brick, couple, dry, female, gate, group, guided, hikers, indigenous, island, lake, latin, men, peru, quechua, scenic, south, terraces, titicaca, tour, tourism, tourist, travel, vertical, walkers, walls, woman, yrs
