Pachamama
Journeys
the path of beauty
LAKE TITIKAKA
THE FEMALE POLE OF THE PLANET
Lake Titikaka and the House of the Golden Sun Disc. Peru is a land steeped in
ancient wisdom that is vital for our planet during these transitional times. Life in
the Inkan empire was measured by a thousand year cosmic cycle called an Inti,
which means 'Sun'. This thousand year cycle was then divided into halves, each
of which was referred to as a Pachakuti ("he who transform the earth"). The
cosmovision of the Andean world is the conception of duality that is in permanent
opposition, but complementary, like the principle of Ying - Yang that expresses
this opposition. This same principle of duality applies to each Pachakuti. However,
Pachakuti also refers to the transitional time that divided each Pachakuti and this
is characterized as a time of great changes.

During the five hundred years of the eighth Pachakuti, Pachakutek, the greatest
spiritual leader of the Inkas and the builder of Machu Picchu ruled. This was a
time of light when the Inka Empire flourished and there was expansion and good
fortune.

The ninth Pachakuti, on the opposite side of the duality, brought with it the five
hundred years of darkness when the christians invaded the Andes. We are now
entering the tenth Pachakuti, which the Andean people refer to as the returning of
Pachakutek, the returning of the Light. This is the time when the etheric crystal
cities of the fourth dimension such as the lost golden city of Paititi and the eternal
etheric city under lake Titikaka will again be available to us.

One of the Solar Discs in the Inka time that was at Cusco, and placed in the
Qorikancha, the main Temple of the Sun, stayed there until the coming of the
Christians. At that time, it was returned to Lake Titikaka and placed in the Eternal
Etheric City inside the Lake. In the legend of their origin, this is the place from
where the first Inkas, Mallku Qapak and Mama Oqllo, entered the Earth.

Mallku Qapak and Mama Oqllo. The Solar Disc was used in the capacity of a
cosmic computer that received light information directly from the Universal Mind
Source, Wiraqocha, at the Universe. By entering the Temple of Illumination and
opening themselves, the Inkas could access the sacred wisdom. During this age
of Pachakuti, the sacred Solar Disc is to be re-activated accessing the cosmic
wisdom. Many of the world's spiritual leaders, as well as indigenous teachers,
acknowledge the energy of the Andes, which is the expression of the feminine
electromagnetic light, having its centre in Lake Titikaka. This area is the
acknowledged portal through which the new feminine energies are entering
Mother Earth “Pacha Mama".

We wonder how pre-Columbian and other great cultures had precise knowledge
of astronomy, of planetary and sidereal dimensions, without possessing the
technology of today. These ancient peoples built cities with solar orientation, knew
about geographic and magnetic north, verified the precession of the equinoxes,
arrival of the solstices, passage of the Sun at the zenith, inclination of the axis of
the Earth's rotation axis in accord with the ecliptic (Earth's orbital plane), and
elliptical orbit of the Earth around the Sun. This is the mystery of the ancients,
awakening wonder and awe as we visit Peru's sacred sites.

Aymara People. The Aymara people living in the Titikaka Basin and on the
islands still practice their ancient methods of agriculture on stepped terraces that
predate Inka times. They grow barley, quinoa (a type of pigweed that produces a
small grain), and the potato, which originated on the Altiplano.

The remnants of an ancient people, the Uru, still live on floating mats of dried
totora (a reedlike papyrus that grows in dense brakes in the marshy shallows).
From the totora, the Uru and other lake dwellers make their famed balsas--boats
fashioned of bundles of dried reeds lashed together that resemble the crescent-
shaped papyrus craft pictured on ancient Egyptian monuments. The Uros are
singular people and even though they keep to themselves, they do allow people
to visit with them.

SILLUSTANI. It is an ancient burial ground near lake Titikaka. The tombs are built
above the ground, and with deep symbolism. The ancient people in Peru believed
in a mother earth that created and regulated life. When a person died, they were
mummified in the fetal position, just like they came into the world. The doors of the
tombs face east, because that is where the Sun is born from the mother earth
every day.

AMANTANI. This Island is located 35 km from the city of Puno, 3,810 meters
above sea level, 3,5 hours by motorboat. Amantani is a beautiful island with warm
and hospital inhabitants. Its greatest attraction is based on the social, ethnic and
archaeological aspects. Among its most important and well-known places are the
temples of Pachatata and Pachamama dedicated to the cult of the earth. From
there on you can have an excellent panoramic view of the lake, as well as a view
of the oriental mountain range and the Bolivian side with its mountain range.

Lake Titikaka Legend. Titikaka ("Rock of the Puma") was, according to the
legends, the birthplace of the Andean civilization. Wiraqocha, the creator, brought
light into a dark world by directing the Sun, Moon and stars to rise up out of the
lake and take their place in the sky. With time the Sun and Moon had children who
also rose from the depths of the lake. These new people were sent out from
Titikaka to the four corners of the earth, with Mallku Qapap and Mama Oqllo and
their family clan being sent off to inhabit the Cusco region. Inka legend believed
that Mallku was the first Inka and a direct descendent from the Sun.

The supposed location in Titikaka of the birthplace of the Sun, Moon and Mallku
Qapap is actually on the islands named the Isla del Sol (Sun island) and Isla de la
Luna (Moon island).

Lake Titikaka statistics. The world's highest lake navigable to large vessels,
lying at 12,500 feet (3,810 m) above sea level in the Andes Mountains, astride the
border between Peru to the northwest and Bolivia to the southeast. Titikaka is one
of the largest lake of South America. It covers 3,300 square miles (8,600 square
km) and extends for a distance of 120 miles (190 km). It is 40 miles (65 km)
across at its widest point. A narrow strait, Tiquina, separates the lake into two
bodies of water. The smaller, in the southeast, is called Lake Wiñay Marka which
belongs to Bolivia; the larger, in the northwest, is called Lake Chucuito and
belongs to Peru.

The meaning of the name Titikaka is translated as Rock of the Puma, Stone
Puma, or Crag of Lead. In the snow-covered Cordillera Real on the northeast
shore of the lake, some of the highest peaks in Bolivia rise to heights of more
than 21,000 feet (6,400 m).

The lake averages between 460 and 600 feet (140 and 180 m) in depth, but the
bottom tilts sharply toward the Peruvian shore, reaching its greatest recorded
depth of 920 feet (280 m) around the Soto island in the lake's northeast side.

More than Forty islands rise from Titikaka's waters. The largest, Titikaka Island
(Isla de Titikaka, also called Isla del Sol), lies just off the tip of the Copacabana
Peninsula. There are several islands that can be accessed from Puno City. The
most popular of these are the islands of Uros, Taquile and Amantani.

Ruins on the shore and on the islands attest to the previous existence of one of
the oldest civilizations known in the Americas, antedating the Christian era. The
chief site is at Tiwanaku, at the southern end of the lake.

PUNO

Puno City is located in the southeast corner of Peru, on the shores of the
magnificent Lake Titikaka and only 126km from the frontier with Bolivia. At 3,850m
in altitude, Puno is a melting pot of Andean cultures including the Aimara from the
south and Quechua from the north. This has earned Puno the title of 'Folkloric
Capital of Peru' which it lives up to well with its huge number and variety of
traditional fiestas, dances and music.

The city, whose full name is San Carlos de Puno, was founded in 1668 following
the discovery of nearby silver mines. Prior to this, Puno had been a small
stopping off place between the much larger silver mines at Potosi in Bolivia and to
the way to Lima.

Today, Puno is a predominately agricultural region. Its economic activities are
cultivating potatoes, barley and quinoa, as well as raising cattle, sheep, llamas
and alpaca. If you're looking for Peruvian knitwear you'll find the markets in Puno
have a huge selection and are probably the cheapest in Peru.