Lake Titicaca is located between Bolivia and Peru and, at an altitude of 3,800 metres (12,500 feet), it is the world's highest navigable lake. The tundra plain known as the altiplano stretches to the south and was the location of Tiwanaku, capital of one of the most important Andean cultures during the first millennium CE. The lake was also considered to be the centre of the cosmos and origin of the sun, moon, stars, and humankind and, consequently, was one of the most sacred sites for the Inca civilization.
More about: Lake TiticacaDefinition
Timeline
-
400 BCE - 100 CEThe Pukará civilization flourishes north of Lake Titicaca.
-
200 CE - 1000 CETiwanaku Empire flourishes based around Lake Titicaca.
-
1000 CE - 1100 CETiwanaku is abandoned, probably due to a series of severe droughts.
-
c. 1425 CE - 1532 CEThe Inca Empire flourishes in South America.
-
1471 CE - 1493 CEReign of Inca Tupac Yupanqui who doubles the size of the Inca Empire.