Qualla: Taquile Island

Taquile Island: Introduction

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0. On Taquile Island, you can tell whether a man is married or single by the color of his hat. The men of this small island in Lake Titicaca -- 5.5 kilometers long, rising to 4,050 meters above sea level -- are the community's knitters, learning the craft in early boyhood and producing textiles so fine that UNESCO proclaimed "Taquile and Its Textile Art" a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. About 2,200 people live here, 45 kilometers offshore from Puno, speaking Puno Quechua and governing themselves by a moral code inherited from the Inca: ama sua, ama llulla, ama qhilla -- do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy.

Read more: Taquile Island on Qualla

Image: Ingo Mehling | CC BY-SA 4.0

Taquile Island: Thread and Identity

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit bobistraveling, CC BY 2.0. Textile production on Taquile is not a cottage industry or a tourist performance. It is the organizing principle of social life. Men knit the chullo caps whose colors and patterns communicate marital status, community role, and personal skill. Women spin wool and dye it using veg...

Read more: Taquile Island on Qualla

Image: bobistraveling | CC BY 2.0

Taquile Island: The Island's Own Rules

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit bobistraveling, CC BY 2.0. Taquile runs on collectivism. The island is divided into six sectors, called suyus, which rotate crops to maintain soil fertility on the steep terraced hillsides where potatoes are the primary staple. Families own rams, sheep, cows, chickens, and sometimes guinea pigs. Fishing su...

Read more: Taquile Island on Qualla

Image: bobistraveling | CC BY 2.0

Taquile Island: Forty Thousand Visitors a Year

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit No machine-readable author provided. Alfredobi assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain. Tourism arrived on Taquile in the 1970s, and approximately 40,000 visitors now come each year. The Taquileans responded by building one of the most studied community-controlled tourism models in South America, offering homestays, local guides, cultural activities, and communal re...

Read more: Taquile Island on Qualla

Image: No machine-readable author provided. Alfredobi assumed (based on copyright claims). | Public domain

Taquile Island: Cantuta and Coca Leaves

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit No machine-readable author provided. Adnus~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain. The landscape of Taquile is austere and windswept, but not barren. Kolle trees provide firewood and roofing material. The cantuta flower, Peru's national flower, grows on the hillsides. Chukjo plants serve as natural detergent, and muna is brewed into medicinal tea. Coca leaves, ...

Read more: Taquile Island on Qualla

Image: No machine-readable author provided. Adnus~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). | Public domain