Amantani, a lovely and peaceful island even further away from Puno than Taquile. is another small island on Lake Titicaca populated by Quechua speakers. About 800 families live in six villages on the roughly circular 15 square kilometres (6 sq mi) island. There are two mountain peaks, called Pachatata (Father Earth) and Pachamama (Mother Earth), and ancient ruins on the top of both peaks. Amantani was once part of the Inca empire, as attested to by local ruins, before the Spanish invaded and slaughtered the islanders. The Spaniard who was granted a concession to the island used the Indians in forced labor and his descendants were still in control after Peru's independence from Spain.
Amantani has opened its doors to outsiders who are willing to live for a few days as the Aymará-speaking islanders do -and that means sleeping on beds made of long hard reeds and eating potatoes for every meal. The people maintained the same traditions for centuries. Some Amantaní residents live and die without ever leaving the island.
The residents make beautiful textiles and sell them quite cheaply at the Artensania Cooperative. The people are Quechua speakers, but understand Spanish.
